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Review
. 2020 Apr 30;9(4):1820-1824.
doi: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_217_20. eCollection 2020 Apr.

Novel coronavirus: A capsule review for primary care and acute care physicians

Ankit Kumar Sahu  1 , Jamshed Nayer  1 , Praveen Aggarwal  1
Affiliations
Review

Novel coronavirus: A capsule review for primary care and acute care physicians

Ankit Kumar Sahu et al. J Family Med Prim Care. .

Abstract

Novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a new emerging infectious agent causing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Since the reporting of early cases of COVID-19 from China on December 29, 2019 till March 15, 2020, it has affected 1,42,539 humans in 135 countries, including 82 cases in India. As it is a difficult task for first-contact physicians, i.e. primary care and acute care physicians, to comprehend the fast-growing knowledge about nCoV and apply for prevention and care of suspected cases of COVID-19, we have tried to provide an updated capsule review of nCoV infection and management of COVID-19. It includes the evidence-based information on epidemiological determinants (agent, host, and environment) of the disease, its clinical features, clinical and laboratory diagnosis, basic infection prevention and control measures, and clinical management of COVID-19 cases. This review also includes the succinct summary of World Health Organization and Center for Diseases Control and Prevention interim guidelines (as of March 15, 2020) on nCoV.

Keywords: Acute care; COVID-19; Update; novel coronavirus; primary care.

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Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
A modified patient flow in Emergency Department (ED), incorporating early triage and isolation of novel coronavirus (nCoV) suspect cases. The nCoV suspect will be defined by WHO definition of “Suspect case“
Figure 2
Figure 2
Summary of the capsule review on COVID-19 for primary care and acute care physicians. Footnote: WHO-World Health Organization, IP-incubation period (the time from infection to illness onset), IQR-interquartile range, R0-reproduction number (expected number of cases directly generated by one case in a population), HCW-healthcare workers, URTI-upper respiratory tract infection, CFR-case fatality rate, URT-upper respiratory tract, LRT-lower respiratory tract, BAL-bronchoalveolar lavage, ET-endotracheal, Dx-diagnosis, CXR-chest radiography, CT-computed tomography, PPE-personal protective equipment
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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