AUTHOR=El Tawil Chady , El Hussein Mahmoud , Souaiby Nagi , Helou Mariana 

TITLE=Emergency Department Management of COVID-19 Suspected Patients. An International Perspective

JOURNAL=International Journal of Public Health

VOLUME=67

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.ssph-journal.org/journals/international-journal-of-public-health/articles/10.3389/ijph.2022.1604534

DOI=10.3389/ijph.2022.1604534

ISSN=1661-8564

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Objectives:</bold> In December 2019, an invasive viral outbreak, the Corona Virus Disease 19 spread to the whole world. An international cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate how healthcare workers in Emergency departments dealt with this pandemic.</p><p><bold>Methods:</bold> A questionnaire was sent to 180 healthcare workers around the world during May and June of the year 2020.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> A total of 134 HCW from 23 countries responded with a majority of Emergency physicians (36.8%). The PCR testing is available in 72.9% of the hospitals. Different architectural strategies were used to isolate suspected cases in the Emergency department (ED). Half of the institutions would not allow visitors, while the other half, restricted visiting hours and the number of visitors. Triage for suspected patients relied in 82.8% on symptoms. Almost 98% of HCW used a combination of mask, gloves, gown and face shield. Around 65% of the HCW have a tendency to discharge more patients from the ED than what they were used to.</p><p><bold>Conclusion:</bold> The COVID-19 pandemic made a major change within the emergency departments worldwide.</p>