Use of Vinegar and Water to Identify COVID-19 Cases During a Workplace Entrance Screening Protocol.
J Occup Environ Med
; 63(4): e184-e186, 2021 Apr 01.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1153280
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
To evaluate an empirical olfactory test to identify COVID-19 cases during a workplace entrance screening.METHOD:
An active screening for olfactory dysfunction using water and vinegar was conducted in April to June 2020 among 4120 meat packing workers in Latin America.RESULTS:
The sensitivity and specificity of the active olfactory screening examination were 41.2% and 85.3%, respectively, using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests as a gold standard. 10.6% of employees who tested positive for COVID-19 had an olfactory dysfunction as their only symptom. These individuals would not have been identified with standard workplace screening measures including temperature screening.CONCLUSION:
Active screening for olfactory dysfunction may serve as a valuable tool to both identify potential COVID-19 infections and exclude those who do not have infection and should be a part of parallel algorithm combined with standard workplace entrance screening procedures.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Mass Screening
/
Workplace
/
Anosmia
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Diagnostic study
/
Experimental Studies
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
J Occup Environ Med
Journal subject:
Occupational Medicine
/
Environmental Health
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
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