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Hsu JY, Liu PY, Tseng CH, Liu CW, Yang WT, Huang WH, Li SY, Liao YC, Wu MJ. COVID-19 Screening for Hospitalized Patients: The Role of Expanded Hospital Surveillance in a Low Prevalence Setting. J Multidiscip Healthc 2021; 14:3027-3034. [PMID: 34737574 PMCID: PMC8558039 DOI: 10.2147/jmdh.s337258] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2021] [Accepted: 10/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose The COVID-19 pandemic poses a serious threat to healthcare workers and hospitalized patients. Early detection of COVID-19 cases is essential to control the spread in healthcare facilities. However, real-world data on the screening criteria for hospitalized patients remain scarce. We aimed to explore whether patients with negative results of pre-hospital screening for COVID-19 should be rescreened after admission in a low-prevalence (less than 3% of the world average) setting. Patients and Methods We retrospectively included patients in central Taiwan who were negative at the first screening but were newly diagnosed with pneumonia or had a body temperature above 38 degrees Celsius during their hospitalization. Each patient might be included as an eligible case several times, and the proportions of cases who were rescreened for COVID-19 and those diagnosed with COVID-19 were calculated. A logistic regression model was constructed to identify factors associated with rescreening. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction tests were used to confirm the diagnosis of COVID-19. Results A total of 3549 cases eligible for COVID-19 rescreening were included. There were 242 cases (6.8%) who received rescreening. In the multivariable analysis, cases aged 75 years or older, those with potential exposure to SARS-CoV-2, or patients visiting specific departments, such as the Cardiovascular Center and Department of Neurology, were more likely to be rescreened. None was diagnosed with COVID-19 after rescreening. There was no known cluster infection outbreak in the hospital or in the local community during the study period and in the following two months. Conclusion In Taiwan, a country with a low COVID-19 prevalence, it was deemed safe to rescreen only high-risk hospitalized patients. This strategy was effective and reduced unnecessary costs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jen-Yu Hsu
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, 407, Taiwan
| | - Po-Yu Liu
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, 407, Taiwan
| | - Chien-Hao Tseng
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, 407, Taiwan
| | - Chia-Wei Liu
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, 407, Taiwan
| | - Wan-Ting Yang
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, 407, Taiwan
| | - Wei-Hsuan Huang
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, 407, Taiwan
| | - Shu-Yuan Li
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, 407, Taiwan
| | - Ya-Chun Liao
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, 407, Taiwan
| | - Ming-Ju Wu
- Division of Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung 407, Taiwan & College of Medicine, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, 402, Taiwan
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