• David Lanham, Jennifer Roe, Alisha Chauhan, Rebecca Evans, Toby Hillman, Sarah Logan, and Melissa Heightman.
• University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK david.lanham@nhs.net.
• Clin Med (Lond). 2021 Mar 1; 21 (2): e126e131e126-e131.

AbstractPressure on acute medical services in the pandemic mandated an assertive emergency department (ED) discharge policy. Given the potential for subsequent deterioration and growing appreciation of complications relating to COVID-19 infection, this follow up study was instigated to provide clinical reassurance that discharged patients had followed a safe clinical course. 199 patients discharged from the ED of our central London hospital were identified over a 20-day period at the height of the pandemic in April 2020. 44 had already reattended ED and 12 had been admitted. At 2-week telephone follow-up, 14 patients were identified who required urgent recall for assessment. At 4-week telephone follow-up, 87 patients were identified with persistent symptoms requiring face to face review. A COVID-19 follow-up clinic was therefore established to provide multi-professional review and diagnostics. 65 patients attended for this assessment. This is the first report on outcomes in COVID-19 infected patients discharged from an ED. It highlights the importance of safety-netting after discharge, the difficulty in predicting which patients might deteriorate and the need for appropriate follow up services.© Royal College of Physicians 2021. All rights reserved.

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