Abstract
Opportunity exists to decrease healthcare-related exposure to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), preserve infection control resources, and increase care capacity by reducing the time to diagnosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). A retrospective cohort analysis was undertaken to measure the effect of targeted rapid molecular testing for SARS-CoV-2 on these outcomes. In comparison with standard platform testing, rapid testing was associated with a 65.6% reduction (12.6 h) in the median time to removal from the isolation cohort for patients with negative diagnostic results. This translated to an increase in COVID-19 treatment capacity of 3028 bed-hours and 7500 fewer patient interactions that required the use of personal protective equipment per week.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 35-39 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Journal of Hospital Infection |
Volume | 107 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 2021 |
Keywords
- COVID-19
- Rapid diagnostics
- SARS-CoV-2
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Microbiology (medical)
- Infectious Diseases