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The role of routine SARS-CoV-2 screening of healthcare-workers in acute care hospitals in 2020: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Jabs, J M; Schwabe, A; Wollkopf, A D; Gebel, B; Stadelmaier, J; Erdmann, S; Radicke, F; Grundmann, H; Kramer, A; Monsef, I; Rücker, G; Rupp, J; Scheithauer, S; Schmucker, C; Simon, A; Mutters, Nico T.
  • Jabs JM; Institute for Hygiene and Public Health, Bonn University Hospital, Venusberg-Campus 1, 53127, Bonn, Germany.
  • Schwabe A; Institute for Hygiene and Public Health, Bonn University Hospital, Venusberg-Campus 1, 53127, Bonn, Germany.
  • Wollkopf AD; Institute for Hygiene and Public Health, Bonn University Hospital, Venusberg-Campus 1, 53127, Bonn, Germany.
  • Gebel B; Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23538, Lübeck, Germany.
  • Stadelmaier J; Institute for Evidence in Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Breisacher Str. 86, 79110, Freiburg, Germany.
  • Erdmann S; Institute for Hygiene and Environmental Medicine, University Medicine Greifswald, Ferdinand-Sauerbruch-Straße, 17475, Greifswald, Germany.
  • Radicke F; Institute for Hygiene and Environmental Medicine, University Medicine Greifswald, Ferdinand-Sauerbruch-Straße, 17475, Greifswald, Germany.
  • Grundmann H; Institute for Infection Prevention and Hospital Hygiene, Faculty of Medicine and Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Hugstetter Straße 55, 79106, Freiburg, Germany.
  • Kramer A; Institute for Hygiene and Environmental Medicine, University Medicine Greifswald, Ferdinand-Sauerbruch-Straße, 17475, Greifswald, Germany.
  • Monsef I; Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen Bonn Cologne Duesseldorf, Cochrane Haematology, University Hospital of Cologne, Kerpener Str. 62, 50937, Cologne, Germany.
  • Rücker G; Institute of Medical Biometry and Statistics, Faculty of Medicine and Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Zinkmattenstraße 6a, 79108, Freiburg, Germany.
  • Rupp J; Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23538, Lübeck, Germany.
  • Scheithauer S; Institute of Infection Control and Infectious Diseases, University Medical Center Göttingen, Robert-Koch-Straße 40, 37075, Göttingen, Germany.
  • Schmucker C; Institute for Evidence in Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Breisacher Str. 86, 79110, Freiburg, Germany.
  • Simon A; Clinic for Pediatric Oncology and Hematology, Saarland University Hospital, Kirrberger Straße, 66421, Homburg, Saar, Germany.
  • Mutters NT; Institute for Hygiene and Public Health, Bonn University Hospital, Venusberg-Campus 1, 53127, Bonn, Germany. nico.mutters@ukbonn.de.
BMC Infect Dis ; 22(1): 587, 2022 Jul 02.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2196072
ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND:

Healthcare workers (HCW) are at increased risk of infection with SARS-CoV-2. Vulnerable patient populations in particular must be protected, and clinics should not become transmission hotspots to avoid delaying medical treatments independent of COVID. Because asymptomatic transmission has been described, routine screening of asymptomatic HCW would potentially be able to interrupt chains of infection through early detection.

METHODS:

A systematic search was conducted in the Cochrane COVID-19 Study Register, Web of Science and WHO COVID-19 Global literature on coronavirus with regard to non-incident related testing of healthcare workers using polymerase chain reaction on May 4th 2021. Studies since January 2020 were included. An assessment of risk of bias and representativeness was performed.

RESULTS:

The search identified 39 studies with heterogeneous designs. Data collection of the included studies took place from January to August 2020. The studies were conducted worldwide and the sample size of the included HCW ranged from 70 to 9449 participants. In total, 1000 of 51,700 (1.9%) asymptomatic HCW were tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 using PCR testing. The proportion of positive test results ranged between 0 and 14.3%. No study reported on HCW-screening related reductions in infected person-days. DISCUSSION AND

CONCLUSIONS:

The heterogeneous proportions might be explained by different regional incidences, lock-downs, and pre-analytical pitfalls that reduce the sensitivity of the nasopharyngeal swab. The very high prevalence in some studies indicates that screening HCW for SARS-CoV-2 may be important particularly in geographical regions and pandemic periods with a high-incidence. With low numbers and an increasing rate of vaccinated HCW, a strict cost-benefit consideration must be made, especially in times of low incidences. Since we found no studies that reported on HCW-screening related reductions in infected person-days, re-evaluation should be done when these are available.
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Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Main subject: SARS-CoV-2 / COVID-19 Type of study: Diagnostic study / Experimental Studies / Observational study / Prognostic study / Reviews / Systematic review/Meta Analysis Topics: Vaccines Limits: Humans Language: English Journal: BMC Infect Dis Journal subject: Communicable Diseases Year: 2022 Document Type: Article Affiliation country: S12879-022-07554-5

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Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Main subject: SARS-CoV-2 / COVID-19 Type of study: Diagnostic study / Experimental Studies / Observational study / Prognostic study / Reviews / Systematic review/Meta Analysis Topics: Vaccines Limits: Humans Language: English Journal: BMC Infect Dis Journal subject: Communicable Diseases Year: 2022 Document Type: Article Affiliation country: S12879-022-07554-5