Using rapid antigen testing for early, safe return-to-work for healthcare personnel after SARS-CoV-2 infection in a healthcare system in Pakistan: A retrospective cross-sectional study.

Anticipating staff shortage during the Omicron variant surge, we modified the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's contingency guidelines at a healthcare system in Pakistan. Infected staff had a SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen test after 5-7 days of isolation, to decide a safe return-to-work. This led to signifcant cost savings without compromising patient/staff safety.

Does the CDC COVID-19 Exposure Assessment Criteria for Healthcare Personnel Work in a Healthcare Setting in Pakistan?

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the real-world performance of the CDC's "Interim US guidance for risk assessment and work restriction for healthcare personnel with exposure to COVID-19" at a private healthcare system in Pakistan. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective observational study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: The Aga khan University Hospital, Karachi, and its associated healthcare facilities in all four provinces of Pakistan, from February to September 2020. METHODOLOGY: Healthcare personnel (HCPs) assessed and tested for exposures to COVID-19 were included in the study. An exposure category was assigned to each HCP presenting with exposure to COVID-19 based on the CDC criteria. Percentage positivity was recorded and compared among the different exposure categories. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify variables significantly associated with COVID-19 infection. RESULTS: Three thousand Six hundred and forty-seven HCPs were assessed for exposure to COVID-19 of whom 603 (16.5%) tested positive. Percent positivity was highest in high-risk symptomatic HCPs (18.2%), 15.6% in low-risk symptomatic HCPs, and 11% in high-risk asymptomatic HCPs. After controlling for age, gender, area of work, and source of exposure, compared to low-risk asymptomatic HCPs, the odds of a positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR were 2.13 (95%CI: 1.49-3.04) for high-risk symptomatic, 1.66 (95% CI: 1.12-2.46) for low-risk symptomatic, and 1.18 (95% CI: 0.83-1.68) for high-risk asymptomatic HCPs. CONCLUSION: Regardless of exposure category, HCPs with symptoms consistent with COVID-19 have the highest likelihood of testing positive. The CDC exposure risk assessment criteria work best for symptomatic HCPs. Testing asymptomatic HCPs with high-risk exposures may not be necessary in low-resource settings with a limited healthcare workforce. KEY WORDS: COVID-19, Employee health, Occupational health and safety programs, Medical surveillance/screening, Return to work.

Frequency of color blindness in pre-employment screening in a tertiary health care center in Pakistan.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the frequency of color vision deficiency among Pakistani adults presenting for pre-employment health screening in a tertiary care hospital. METHODS: The cross-sectional study was carried out at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, and the data was collected for color vision deficiency, age, gender, and job applied for from pre-employment examination during 2013-2014. IBM SPSS 20 was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Three thousand four hundred and thirty seven persons underwent pre-employment screening during 2013 and 2014; 1837 (53.44%) were males and 1600 (46.65%) females. The mean age was 29.01 (±6.53) years. A total of 0.9% (32/3437) persons had color vision deficiency with male being 1.4% and female 0.4%. CONCLUSION: Color vision deficiency was observed in 0.9% of candidates screened for pre-employment health check up in a tertiary care hospital. The color vision deficiency was predominantly present in male individuals.