James R Kilgore1, Justin R Johnston1, Barbara Van Der Pol2, Peng Li3, Mark Wilson1,4, William Curry1,5, Cynthia Selleck1,3. 1. Community of Hope Health Clinic, Pelham, AL, USA. 2. Department of Medicine, Infectious Diseases, University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, Birmingham, AL, USA. 3. University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing, Birmingham, AL, USA. 4. Jefferson County Department of Health, Birmingham, AL, USA. 5. University of Alabama Health System, Birmingham, AL, USA.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Community of Hope Health Clinic (CHHC), a free and charitable clinic in Shelby County, Alabama, developed a screening protocol to identify patients with asymptomatic COVID-19 with the goal of minimizing infection risk for other patients, health care providers, and staff. We sought to determine whether the use of the CHHC screening protocol identified asymptomatic carriers of SARS-CoV-2 before their scheduled clinic visits. METHODS: The CHHC screening protocol included the use of an adapted Centers for Disease Control and Prevention questionnaire via telephone 48-72 hours before a scheduled clinic appointment, coupled with a second administration of the questionnaire and a temperature check immediately before the patient's scheduled visit. Patients with positive responses to any questions or whose temperatures were greater than 100.4 °F were refused entry to the clinic, their appointments were rescheduled, and a SARS-CoV-2 test was recommended. SARS-CoV-2 laboratory testing was conducted on all patients with an appointment from October 26, 2020, through February 18, 2021, to verify whether the screening protocol was effective. RESULTS: Of 298 patient encounters, 20 patients screened positive on the SARS-CoV-2 patient screen. Another 278 patients screened negative, were seen for patient care, and received a SARS-CoV-2 test via nasal swab; 274 (98.6%) patients received a negative test result, and 4 (1.4%) patients received a positive test result. CONCLUSIONS: The CHHC SARS-CoV-2 screening protocol, as validated by SARS-CoV-2 assay, was effective in screening out asymptomatic patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 before they were seen in clinic. As clinics and office practices return to prepandemic volumes, the use of such a screening protocol can help mitigate the risk of serious COVID-19 infection, especially for unvaccinated patients, health care providers, and staff.
OBJECTIVE: Community of Hope Health Clinic (CHHC), a free and charitable clinic in Shelby County, Alabama, developed a screening protocol to identify patients with asymptomatic COVID-19 with the goal of minimizing infection risk for other patients, health care providers, and staff. We sought to determine whether the use of the CHHC screening protocol identified asymptomatic carriers of SARS-CoV-2 before their scheduled clinic visits. METHODS: The CHHC screening protocol included the use of an adapted Centers for Disease Control and Prevention questionnaire via telephone 48-72 hours before a scheduled clinic appointment, coupled with a second administration of the questionnaire and a temperature check immediately before the patient's scheduled visit. Patients with positive responses to any questions or whose temperatures were greater than 100.4 °F were refused entry to the clinic, their appointments were rescheduled, and a SARS-CoV-2 test was recommended. SARS-CoV-2 laboratory testing was conducted on all patients with an appointment from October 26, 2020, through February 18, 2021, to verify whether the screening protocol was effective. RESULTS: Of 298 patient encounters, 20 patients screened positive on the SARS-CoV-2 patient screen. Another 278 patients screened negative, were seen for patient care, and received a SARS-CoV-2 test via nasal swab; 274 (98.6%) patients received a negative test result, and 4 (1.4%) patients received a positive test result. CONCLUSIONS: The CHHC SARS-CoV-2 screening protocol, as validated by SARS-CoV-2 assay, was effective in screening out asymptomatic patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 before they were seen in clinic. As clinics and office practices return to prepandemic volumes, the use of such a screening protocol can help mitigate the risk of serious COVID-19 infection, especially for unvaccinated patients, health care providers, and staff.
Authors: Lin T Brandal; Emily MacDonald; Lamprini Veneti; Tine Ravlo; Heidi Lange; Umaer Naseer; Siri Feruglio; Karoline Bragstad; Olav Hungnes; Liz E Ødeskaug; Frode Hagen; Kristian E Hanch-Hansen; Andreas Lind; Sara Viksmoen Watle; Arne M Taxt; Mia Johansen; Line Vold; Preben Aavitsland; Karin Nygård; Elisabeth H Madslien Journal: Euro Surveill Date: 2021-12
Authors: Lucy Rivett; Sushmita Sridhar; Dominic Sparkes; Matthew Routledge; Nick K Jones; Ian G Goodfellow; Stephen Baker; Michael P Weekes; Sally Forrest; Jamie Young; Joana Pereira-Dias; William L Hamilton; Mark Ferris; M Estee Torok; Luke Meredith; Martin D Curran; Stewart Fuller; Afzal Chaudhry; Ashley Shaw; Richard J Samworth; John R Bradley; Gordon Dougan; Kenneth Gc Smith; Paul J Lehner; Nicholas J Matheson; Giles Wright Journal: Elife Date: 2020-05-11 Impact factor: 8.140