Extract
Admissions to UK hospitals with novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) are exponentially increasing, yet the healthcare community has not put much thought into follow-up of these patients who, in many cases, will be discharged early from hospital to ensure ongoing bed availability. There is currently no UK publication or guideline suggesting a criterion for safe discharge or follow-up advice for those testing positive for COVID-19. Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and viral pneumonia share symptoms and certain radiological findings with COVID-19. In 2003, the World Health Organization (WHO) advised that those with confirmed SARS were to self-isolate for 7 days post-discharge, and to have a chest radiograph and full blood count at day 7 [1], while the British Thoracic Society guidelines for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) only recommend a chest radiograph at 6 weeks if the patient is still symptomatic or has a risk factor for lung cancer [2]. This therefore raises the question, what should be the optimal follow-up duration and imaging modality for hospital survivors of COVID-19? If no follow-up is deemed necessary, what could we be missing?
Abstract
There is a real need for a discharge plan for COVID-19 survivors in the UK. Follow-up imaging could help assess the resolution of infection, exclude underlying malignancy and identify post-inflammatory fibrosis. https://bit.ly/2YJ8hyg
Footnotes
Conflict of interest: L. Lee has nothing to disclose.
Conflict of interest: S. Iyer has nothing to disclose.
Conflict of interest: R. Jose has nothing to disclose.
Conflict of interest: A. Manuel has nothing to disclose.
- Received April 19, 2020.
- Accepted April 29, 2020.
- Copyright ©ERS 2020
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