Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can result in severe pneumonia, leading to acute respiratory distress syndrome, which are treated using continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). Patients must be evaluated quickly to commence early CPAP if required.

Aim: To identify patients with COVID-19 in the emergency department (ED) who require early CPAP, using vital signs measurements during triage.

Method: This was a retrospective, observational, single-centre cohort study of patients with COVID-19 admitted to the ED of a university hospital in Lombardy, Italy, between 21 February 2020 and 30 April 2020. These patients were divided into two groups: those who required CPAP and those did not require CPAP. Recordings of their vital signs were retrieved from triage medical records. The vital signs values recorded in the two groups on their arrival at the ED were compared.

Results: Of 601 patients, 120 (20%) required CPAP. It was identified that the typical characteristics of patients requiring early CPAP were: male (P=.013) with a median age of 68 years (P=.000), oxygen saturation of 92% (P=.000), temperature ≥38°C (P=.008), respiratory rate of 26 breaths per minute (P=.000) and had received pre-hospital oxygen therapy before arriving at the ED (P=.000). The CPAP group was divided into two subgroups: patients who had received pre-hospital oxygen therapy and those who had not. The median respiratory rate values between the two subgroups presented a statistically significant difference (P=.004).

Conclusion: This study identified the characteristics of a typical patient with COVID-19 who requires early CPAP. Based on the results, the authors have devised a triage flow chart that uses selected vital signs measurements (oxygen saturation, respiratory rate and receipt of pre-hospital oxygen therapy) to identify patients requiring early CPAP. This flow chart should be trialled in a prospective study before it is used to inform clinical decision-making.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.7748/en.2021.e2091DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

vital signs
20
early cpap
20
signs measurements
12
identify patients
12
patients covid-19
12
respiratory rate
12
pre-hospital oxygen
12
oxygen therapy
12
cpap
10
patients
9

Similar Publications

Background: Mobile health apps have shown promising results in improving self-management of several chronic diseases in patients. We have developed a mobile health app (Cardiomeds) dedicated to patients with heart failure (HF). This app includes an interactive medication list; daily self-monitoring of symptoms, weight, blood pressure, and heart rate; and educational information on HF delivered through various formats.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Guidance for Prescribing Oral Antihypertensive Medications in the Emergency Department.

Curr Hypertens Rep

January 2025

Department of Emergency Medicine, Integrative Biosciences Center, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA.

Purpose Of Review: To review the most current recommendations regarding assessment and treatment of asymptomatic hypertension treatment in the emergency department (ED) and to provide guidance for prescribing oral antihypertensive therapy for ED providers.

Recent Findings: There are varying management strategies for the treatment of asymptomatic hypertension in the ED likely due to a lack of direct guidelines for treatment. There is an increasing body of evidence for the safety of initiating therapy to treat chronic asymptomatic hypertension in the ED.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Physiological responses derived from audiovisual perception during assisted driving are associated with the regulation of the autonomic nervous system (ANS), especially in emergencies. However, the interaction of event-related brain activity and the ANS regulating peripheral physiological indicators (i.e.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) are hypothesis-free studies that estimate the association between polymorphisms across the genome with a trait of interest. To increase power and to estimate the direct effects of these single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on a trait GWAS are often conditioned on a covariate (such as body mass index or smoking status). This adjustment can introduce bias in the estimated effect of the SNP on the trait.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

[Hypertension : what's new in 2024].

Rev Med Suisse

January 2025

Service de néphrologie et d'hypertension, Centre hospitalier universitaire vaudois, 1005 Lausanne.

The major clinical studies in 2024 reviewed in this manuscript will focus on blood pressure measurement, the effect of coffee on the latter, its follow-up in the postpartum period, blood pressure targets for patients at high cardiovascular risk, particularly those with diabetes, and the late onset of primary aldosteronism after a negative initial confirmation test.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!