Three emergency physicians from Stony Brook (N.Y.) University Hospital outlined their experience on the front lines of the pandemic in an April 13 entry for The New England Journal of Medicine's COVID-19 Notes series.
Adam Singer, MD, Eric Morley, MD, and Mark Henry, MD, are attending physicians in the department of emergency medicine at Stony Brook University's Renaissance School of Medicine.
Stony Brook University Hospital has treated more than 3,500 suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients since Feb. 7, the physicians said. The hospital created an internal registry to track COVID-19 data and help predict how many individuals would require intensive care or ventilation.
Five clinical insights to know:
1. The most common symptoms physicians have witnessed in COVID-19 patients are cough, fever, shortness of breath, muscle aches, fatigue and diarrhea.
2. About 50 percent of patients reported contact with sick individuals.
3. Of more than 2,000 chest X-rays, about half revealed lung opacities.
4. About 70 percent of patients seen in the emergency department can be sent home.
5. Of the 30 percent who are admitted, about 10 percent need immediate intensive care or ventilation, and another 15 percent need this care within two days.
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