Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) screening of asymptomatic healthcare workers in a low-prevalence setting: A single-center UK cohort study

Tariq Azamgarhi; Laura Maynard-Smith; Hannah Bysouth; Simon Warren

doi:10.1017/ash.2022.44

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) screening of asymptomatic healthcare workers in a low-prevalence setting: A single-center UK cohort study

Antimicrob Steward Healthc Epidemiol. 2022 May 23;2(1):e84. doi: 10.1017/ash.2022.44. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Tariq Azamgarhi¹, Laura Maynard-Smith², Hannah Bysouth³, Simon Warren^{2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Pharmacy Department, Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust, Brockley Hill, Stanmore, United Kingdom.
² The Royal Free Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom.
³ Infection Prevention and Control Department, Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust, Brockley Hill, Stanmore, United Kingdom.

Abstract

In this cohort study of UK healthcare workers, we evaluated the use of fortnightly polymerase chain reaction (PCR) screening to facilitate the safe resumption of elective surgery in a low-prevalence setting. We found that adherence to serial testing was poor, and the resource required to identify 1 asymptomatic case was substantial.

Keywords: COVID-19; Healthcare workers; Screening.