Risk factors for later hospitalization of patients discharged from an emergency department with nonsevere COVID-19 symptoms

Objectives To describe the clinical course of patients discharged from the emergency department (ED) with nonsevere coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and explore possible risk factors for later hospitalization Methods Patients with nonsevere COVID-19 who were discharged from the ED were included prospectively We explored risk factors for hospitalization after discharge Results Seventy-four patients were included;17 (23%) were hospitalized after discharge Three (4%) of the 17 patients died Age, lymphopenia, a high Charlson Comorbidity Index, and a shorter delay between the onset of symptoms and the first visit to the ED were associated with hospitalization afterwards, although on multivariate analysis only time less than 6 days between symptom onset and the first ED visit was associated with later hospitalization (odds ratio, 4 62;95% CI, 1 08–19 7) Conclusion More than 20% of ED patients with nonsevere COVID-19 require hospitalization later