key: cord-0930186-muoucsub
authors: Lopez, Monica; Luber, Samuel; Prater, Samuel; Ostrosky‐Zeichner, Luis; McCarthy, Jamie; Suarez, Guillermo; Bobrow, Bentley J.
title: A sentinel COVID‐19 case in Houston, Texas: Informing frontline emergency department screening and preparedness
date: 2020-04-19
journal: J Am Coll Emerg Physicians Open
DOI: 10.1002/emp2.12068
sha: 8aed2f46d794eca9567bff2cc6d20ba30149b0e6
doc_id: 930186
cord_uid: muoucsub

In December 2019, a cluster of severe pneumonia cases of unknown cause was reported in Wuhan, Hubei province, China. A novel strain of coronavirus belonging to the same family of viruses that cause severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) was identified. In February 2020, cases began being identified in the United States. We describe a sentinel COVID‐19 patient in Houston, Texas, who first presented on March 1, 2020. The patient did not meet criteria for a Person Under Investigation (PUI) as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) at the time. This case has broad implications for emergency department screening and preparedness for COVID‐19 and other future infectious diseases.

In December 2019, a cluster of severe pneumonia cases of unknown cause was reported in Wuhan, Hubei province, China. A novel strain of coronavirus belonging to the same family of viruses that cause severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) was identified. In February 2020, cases began being identified in the United States. We describe a sentinel COVID-19 patient in Houston, Texas, who first presented on March 1, 2020. The patient did not meet criteria for a Person Under Investigation (PUI) as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) at the time. This case has broad implications for emergency department screening and preparedness for COVID-19 and other future infectious diseases. 

CoV-2. As its name implies, the hallmark of this condition has been described as respiratory symptoms. This case report is one of the first 

COVID-19)

Clinical characteristics of 140 patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 in Wuhan

Clinical characteristics of 50 466 hospitalized patients with 2019-nCoV infection

Presumed Asymptomatic Carrier Transmission of COVID-19

COVID-19: Gastrointestinal Manifestations and Potential Fecal-Oral Transmission

Informing frontline emergency department screening and preparedness

We acknowledge our friends and families for their unwavering support. We also acknowledge our colleagues on the frontline working diligently to combat COVID-19.

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5162-4281