ACEP COVID-19 Field Guide
Table of Contents
- ACEP COVID-19 Field Guide
- Publisher’s Notice
- Introduction
- Preparing for Work
- Returning from Work
- COVID-19 Aerosol and Surface Stability
- Self-Isolation
- Guidance for Health Care Personnel Regarding Exposure
- Safety Practices for Health Care Workers Who May Have Had Exposure to a Person With Suspected or Confirmed COVID-19
- Return to Work Criteria With Confirmed or Suspected COVID-19
- ACEP Statements on PPE
- Appropriate PPE
- Aerosolization
- Facility Changes
- Ultrasound Cleaning
- Personnel Safety
- Cardiac Arrest Resuscitation in the COVID-19 Era
- Air Method Guidelines for the Care of Patients With Suspected or Confirmed COVID-19
- Health Care Professional Preparedness Checklist For Transport and Arrival of Patients With Confirmed or Possible COVID-19
- How COVID-19 Moves Within a Hospital
- Infection Prevention and Control Recommendations for Patient Arrival and Triage
- Medical Screening Examinations
- Telehealth and Tele-Triage
- Quick Guide to a Basic Tele-Triage Program
- Risk Stratification and Triage in Urgent Care
- Vaccinations
- Characteristics of COVID-19 Variants and Mutants
- Signs and Symptoms
- Laboratory Abnormalities
- Chest X-Ray and CT
- Ultrasound
- Testing
- Severity and Progression of Disease
- Populations at Risk
- Evaluation Pathway for Patients with Possible COVID-19
- Management of Patients With COVID-19
- Critical Issues in the Management of Adult Patients Presenting With Community-Acquired Pneumonia
- Alternative Treatments
- Acute Cardiomyopathy or Heart Failure
- Acute Myocardial Infarction
- Cardiac Arrest
- Discharge: Expected Recovery
- Discharge to Home Palliative Care
- ICU Care in the Emergency Department
- Ventilators
- Health Care Workers
- Law Enforcement
- Racial and Ethnic Minority Groups
- Elderly Patients
- Immunocompromised Patients
- Pregnant Patients and Pregnancy
- Pediatric Patients
- Homeless Patients
- Dialysis Patients
- Psychiatric Patients
- Behavioral Health Patients
- Patients With Substance Use Disorders
- Immigrants
- Incarcerated Population
- Financial Resources
- Billing and Coding for COVID Care
- EMTALA
- State Waiver of Liability
- Other Federal Updates and Guidance
- ACEP Offers, Wellness, and Counseling Services
- Burnout, Self-Care, and COVID-19 Exposure for First Responders
- Critical Incident Stress Information
- Managing Patient and Family Distress Associated with COVID-19 in the Prehospital Care Setting
- ACEP Policy on Visitation and Custody
- Impact on Research
- Change to Education Policies
- Licensure and Credentialing
Introduction
COVID-19 continues to spread nationally and internationally. As we face this unprecedented pandemic, ACEP has assembled this Field Guide to COVID-19 Care in the Emergency Department to assist in this crisis. This resource is a compilation of what we know now on the evaluation and treatment of COVID-19. It is a living document that will be updated as new information, guidance, and best practices evolve. This field guide aims to provide the information emergency physicians need to assess the available resources in their community and determine their local applications. This document is not meant to set a standard of care and does not represent ACEP policy, unless explicitly stated.
Most of you who use this field guide are serving on the front lines. We hope this guide will save lives and protect you and your family. This crisis will end. Until then, be safe.
William P. Jaquis, MD, FACEP
President
American College of Emergency Physicians
