Characteristics and outcomes of family-practice patients with coronavirus disease 2019: a case series

BACKGROUND: The clinical history and outcomes of coronavirus disease 2019 among people not hospitalized is not yet well characterized. To better inform clinical evaluation, we set out to characterize the natural history of coronavirus disease 2019 in primary health care. METHODS: Case series of all patients rostered to physicians at a university-affiliated Family Medicine clinic. Cases met the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention definition of coronavirus disease 2019 from March 1 to May 21 2020. RESULTS: In total, 89 patients meeting Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria for coronavirus disease 2019 were documented. Their average age was 55.6 years (range 6–95 years), and all but one was symptomatic. Fifty-seven cases (64%) had a polymerase chain reaction test for coronavirus disease 2019, of whom 77.2% tested positive. Thirty cases (33.7%) reported contact with a confirmed or probable case of coronavirus disease 2019. Based on the Charlson Comorbidity Index, 28 cases (31.5%) had no comorbid conditions. The median number of days from symptom onset to first polymerase chain reaction test was 6 days (interquartile range 2.3–11 days). The median duration of fever was 3.5 days (interquartile range 1–7 days). Twenty-four cases (27%) visited the Emergency Department, and 10 were admitted to hospital. The median number of days between symptom onset and first Emergency Department visit was 8 days (interquartile range 3.5–27 days). CONCLUSIONS: At the start of this pandemic, the implementation of basic measures such as diagnostic testing was delayed. If we are to improve our control over the spread of coronavirus disease 2019, we will need to substantially reduce the time from symptom onset to diagnostic testing, and subsequent contact tracing. To minimize unnecessary Emergency Department visits, we propose a testable strategy for Family Medicine to engage with coronavirus disease 2019 patients in the acute phase of their illness. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13256-021-02963-7.