Home-monitoring reduced short stay admissions in suspected COVID-19 patients: COVID-box project

Dirikgil, Ebru; Roos, Rick; Groeneveld, Geert H.; Heringhaus, Christian; Silven, Annemiek V.; Petrus, Annelieke H.J.; Villalobos-Quesada, Maria; Tsonaka, Roula; van der Boog, Paul J.M.; Rabelink, Ton J.; Bos, Willem Jan W.; Chavannes, Niels H.; Atsma, Douwe E.; Teng, Y.K. Onno

Most COVID-19 cases can be managed in the outpatient setting, however approximately 10–15% deteriorate and require hospitalisation [1, 2]. Worldwide, including the Netherlands, the COVID-19 pandemic causes severe pressure on the national healthcare system and laboratory testing capacity [3]. Home-monitoring has been suggested as potentially beneficial to monitor (suspected) COVID-19 patients while reducing hospital admissions and viral exposure to healthcare workers [4]. We performed a retrospective single-center case-control study on the implementation of a home-monitoring programme of suspected COVID-19 patients presenting to the Emergency Department (ED) of the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC, the Netherlands). Home-monitoring in this study, refered to the clinical pathway (the COVID-box project) in which patients were given tools and devices (blood pressure monitor, pulse oximeter, thermometer and concomitant instructions) upon discharge from the ED to monitor their vital parameters at home three times a day combined with daily teleconsultations (preferably videoconsultations) carried out by a healthcare professional, as extensively reviewed elsewhere [5].