A Case of Covid-19 Diagnosed at Home With Portable Ultrasound and Confirmed With Home Serology Test

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has pushed us to find better ways to accurately diagnose what can be an elusory disease, preferably in a way that limits exposure to others. The potential for home diagnosis and monitoring could reduce infectious risk for other patients and health car...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of emergency medicine 2021-03, Vol.60 (3), p.399-401
Main Authors: Aminlari, Amir, Quenzer, Faith, Hayden, Stephen, Stone, Jennifer, Murchison, Charles, Campbell, Colleen
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
COVID-19
COVID-19 - diagnostic imaging
COVID-19 Testing
echocardiography
Emergency Forum
emergency ultrasound
Female
Home Care Services
Humans
Oximetry
Pneumonia, Viral - diagnostic imaging
Pneumonia, Viral - virology
Point-of-Care Systems
point-of-care ultrasound
pulmonary ultrasound
SARS-CoV-2
Ultrasonography - methods
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Summary:The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has pushed us to find better ways to accurately diagnose what can be an elusory disease, preferably in a way that limits exposure to others. The potential for home diagnosis and monitoring could reduce infectious risk for other patients and health care providers, limit use of finite hospital resources, and enable better social distancing and isolation practices. We report a case of an otherwise healthy emergency physician diagnosed with COVID-19 at home using portable ultrasound, pulse oximetry, and antibody testing. Her clinical picture and typical lung findings of COVID-19 on ultrasound, combined with a normal echocardiogram and negative deep vein thrombosis study, helped inform her diagnosis. She then monitored her clinical course using pulse oximetry, was able to self-isolate for 4 weeks, and had an uneventful recovery. Her diagnosis was confirmed with a positive IgG antibody test after 3 weeks. Novel times call for novel solutions and our case demonstrates one possible path for home diagnosis and monitoring of COVID-19. The tools used, namely ultrasound and pulse oximetry, should be familiar to most emergency physicians. Ultrasound in particular was helpful in eliminating other potential diagnoses, such as pulmonary embolus.
ISSN:0736-4679
2352-5029
0736-4679
DOI:10.1016/j.jemermed.2020.10.022