The following is a summary of “Correlates of improved outcomes in patients with COVID-19 treated in US emergency departments,” published in the December 2024 issue of Emergency Medicine by Slutske et al. 

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to evaluate the impact of therapeutic advances during the COVID-19 pandemic on clinically relevant metrics of emergency care.  

They abstracted data from emergency department (ED) visits across 21 US health systems between February 1, 2020, and January 31, 2022, as part of the NIH-supported COVID EHR Cohort, with the University of Wisconsin coordinating. Monthly patient-level data files were submitted, containing demographic, clinical, and ED outcome measures such as 72-hour returns, returns leading to readmission, and in-hospital mortality. Multivariable models identified correlates of the outcomes and a test for trend-assessed changes in outcomes over time.  

The results showed 1,50,357 individuals aged 18 years or older visited the ED during the 2 years, with a median age of 45.4 years (IQR 27), 58.1% were female, 49% were White, 18.3% were Hispanic/Latino, and 45% were publicly insured or uninsured. The prevalence of 72-hour ED returns, readmissions, and in-hospital mortality significantly decreased over the 2 years. The SARS-CoV-2 vaccination was linked to fewer ED returns and reduced mortality. Therapeutic agents were associated with higher mortality, likely influenced by unmeasured confounding factors.  

Investigators concluded the operational and clinical outcomes of ED-based treatment for individuals with COVID-19 improved in the first 2 years of the pandemic, likely due to the development of vaccines, therapeutic agents, enhanced healthcare delivery, and increased innate immunity. 

Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0735675724004765