Annals of emergency medicine
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Accurate diagnostic testing to identify severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is critical. Although highly specific, SARS-CoV-2 reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) has been shown in clinical practice to be affected by a noninsignificant proportion of false-negative results. This study seeks to explore whether the integration of lung ultrasonography with clinical evaluation is associated with increased sensitivity for the diagnosis of coronavirus disease 2019 pneumonia, and therefore may facilitate the identification of false-negative SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR results. ⋯ This study suggests that, in patients presenting to the ED with symptoms commonly associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection, the integration of lung ultrasonography with clinical evaluation has high sensitivity and specificity for coronavirus disease 2019 pneumonia and it may help to identify false-negative results occurring with RT-PCR.
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We determine the frequency of elevated blood pressure (BP) readings in the emergency department (ED), the proportion of patients with prior or subsequent diagnosis of hypertension assigned in other settings, and the association between ED BP levels and cardiovascular outcomes after ED discharge. ⋯ Elevated BP readings in the ED are common and are often the first time hypertension is detected; however, they were not associated with adverse cardiovascular outcomes within 2 years of the visit.