Literature DB >> 32861548

Striking the Balance between Safety of Patients and Team Members with Effective, High-Quality Care.

Denise Ignatowski1, Sandra Zemke1, Abby Payne1, Bijoy K Khandheria1.   

Abstract

Entities:  

Year:  2020        PMID: 32861548      PMCID: PMC7362819          DOI: 10.1016/j.echo.2020.07.009

Source DB:  PubMed          Journal:  J Am Soc Echocardiogr        ISSN: 0894-7317            Impact factor:   5.251


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To the Editor: During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, echocardiography departments have a unique opportunity to continue care for this vulnerable patient population given that many other cardiac imaging procedures may still not be easily available. However, with continued care comes the task of balancing the safety of team members and patients. We sought to evaluate the risk for COVID-19 transmission to our staff members who participated in direct care of patients with COVID-19 by testing for the presence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody. Recently, our team instituted focused echocardiographic examinations with a defined safe-care promise that included personal protective equipment and disinfection to balance the safety of sonographers and patients. This method was published in JASE in May 2020. Five designated sonographers collectively performed 100 scans on critically ill patients with COVID-19, with an average in-room scan time of <20 min per examination. As guided by our safe-care promise, the sonographers self-monitored for symptoms of COVID-19; none were reported during the study period. Each of these sonographers underwent a single Abbott Architect Assay test (Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park, IL) for the presence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 IgG antibody ≥15 days after their last scan from the COVID-19 test group. These tests were analyzed in our ACL laboratory on Abbott Architect instruments. Abbott reports a positive result sensitivity of 98.7% for >14 days from exposure and a negative result specificity of 99.2%. The sonographers' IgG index results ranged between 0.01 and 0.09, indicating a nonsignificant presence of the antibody. There was also consideration for team members who perform aerosol-generating procedures. Proper personal protective equipment guidelines and a safe-care promise were established and implemented to continue patient care through the pandemic. For treadmill stress echocardiography, no patient COVID-19 testing was performed, to prevent potential delays in care while waiting for results. Because the nursing staff spends the most time in the procedure room, seven nurses from the stress laboratory also underwent a single Abbott Architect Assay test for the presence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 IgG antibody. As in the sonographer group, all test results for the nursing staff were negative for the antibody. The results from both test groups demonstrate that with appropriate personal protective equipment use and focused protocols to limit exposure, the risk for COVID-19 transmission is minimal. More information regarding COVID-19 antibody testing can be found through the Infectious Disease Society of America. Echocardiography departments should feel secure in the safety of their staff while continuing care for their patient population.
  1 in total

1.  Answering to the Call of Critically Ill Patients: Limiting Sonographer Exposure to COVID-19 with Focused Protocols.

Authors:  Abigail Kaminski; Abby Payne; Sarah Roemer; Denise Ignatowski; Bijoy K Khandheria
Journal:  J Am Soc Echocardiogr       Date:  2020-05-12       Impact factor: 5.251

  1 in total
  1 in total

1.  Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 Antibody in Echocardiography and Stress Laboratory.

Authors:  Renuka Jain; Stacie Kroboth; Denise Ignatowski; Bijoy K Khandheria
Journal:  J Patient Cent Res Rev       Date:  2021-04-19
  1 in total

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