Analysis of Incidentally Diagnosed Patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 at the Emergency Department: Single-Center Clinical Experience

Abstract

Objective: Asymptomatic patients with coronavirus disease 2019 can present with signs of various diseasesto hospitals. We aimed to present patients who presented to the emergency department without any coronavirus disease 2019 symptoms and were incidentally diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 in addition tothe diagnosis related to their complaints on presentation.Materials and Methods: The study included patients presented to the emergency department of a hospitalin Erzurum (Turkey) with non-coronavirus disease 2019 symptoms and were incidentally diagnosed withcoronavirus disease 2019 on the basis of their chest computed tomography findings. The patients’ primarydiagnoses were evaluated, and a reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction was performed to confirmthe incidental coronavirus disease 2019 diagnoses.Results: The 42 patients included in the study had various complaints, and the most common complaint wasabdominal pain in 8 patients (19%). The other complaints were at different rates. The most common diagnose was ST-elevated myocardial infarction in 6 patients (14.3%), and the other diagnoses were rib fracturein 3 patients (7.1%) and other similar diseases in the remaining patients.Conclusion: Patients with highly the contagious coronavirus disease 2019 can sometimes be asymptomaticand can be incidentally diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 after presenting to emergency departmentswith symptoms and manifestations other than those of coronavirus disease 2019. Therefore, healthcareprofessionals working in the emergency department should approach all patients who present to the emergency service as potential coronavirus disease 2019 carriers and wear their protective equipment and takenecessary precautions