TY - JOUR T1 - Risk factors for deterioration in mild COVID-19 remain undefined JF - Emergency Medicine Journal JO - Emerg Med J SP - 406 LP - 406 DO - 10.1136/emermed-2021-211233 VL - 38 IS - 5 AU - Felix Wood AU - Thomas Roe AU - Jason Newman AU - Leo Wood Y1 - 2021/05/01 UR - http://emj.bmj.com/content/38/5/406.abstract N2 - The current UK wave of COVID-19 continues to put significant strain on a health service also dealing with winter pressures. Reliable data are needed to inform decision-making in the ED as highlighted recently by the editor.1 However, the current published, presented and preprint studies do not use appropriate outcome measures to give the most useful information for those with ‘mild’ symptoms of COVID-19.Patients requiring supportive measures such as supplemental oxygen are necessarily admitted to hospital from the ED. However, those who present with mild symptoms and normal physiology require a decision to admit, discharge or refer to an ambulatory pathway. This strategy is already being used2 out of necessity but without formal assessments of individual risk. We know that the majority will make an uneventful recovery, never requiring hospital-based intervention.3 However, it is important to identify those at risk of deterioration. Patients who initially present with mild … ER -