Faculty, Ophthalmic Plastics, Orbit & Ocular Oncology Service, MTC Campus, LV Prasad Eye Institute, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India.
Faculty, Glaucoma Service, MTC Campus, LV Prasad Eye Institute, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India.
Indian J Ophthalmol. 2021 Apr;69(4):964-970. doi: 10.4103/ijo.IJO_3119_20.
The aim of this study was to report the use and the impact of a point-of-care rapid antigen test (PoC-RAT) at a tertiary eye care facility in facilitating commencement of elective surgeries, contact tracing of exposed health care professionals (HCPs) and ancillary hospital staff, and implementation of back-to-work (BTW) policy for them.
Retrospective analysis of subjects undergoing PoC-RAT for COVID-19 infection at a tertiary level dedicated eye care facility. Decision making with regard to commencement of elective surgeries post COVID-19 related discontinuation of services, contact tracing of HCPs and ancillary hospital staff exposed to known COVID-19 cases and implementation of back-to-work policy for all staff based upon the results of PoC-RAT were studied.
A total of 311 subjects (224 patients and 87 hospital staff) were tested. Overall positivity rate was around 7%. Asymptomatic patients who were screened preoperatively had a lower positivity rate at around 3% compared to the staff (who were either known contacts or were symptomatic) at around 17%. Contact tracing found three-quarters of the staff at low risk and only one quarter at medium or high risk. Among patients, 97% of those followed up for at least 2 weeks after the test remained healthy. For staff, this was around 65%.
Based on our preliminary results, we suggest that PoC-RAT may be considered routinely for indication-based preoperative screening of asymptomatic patients, and for on-campus screening, contact tracing and implementation of BTW policies for HCPs and ancillary hospital staff at a tertiary level eye care facility.
本研究旨在报告在一家三级眼科医疗机构使用即时检测（POC）快速抗原检测（RAT）的情况，以及该检测在促进择期手术的开展、接触者追踪、辅助医院工作人员重返工作岗位（BTW）等方面的影响。
对在一家三级眼科专科医院进行 COVID-19 感染 POC-RAT 的患者进行回顾性分析。研究了在 COVID-19 相关服务中断后开始择期手术、接触追踪已知 COVID-19 病例的医护人员和辅助医院工作人员以及根据 POC-RAT 结果为所有员工实施 BTW 政策的决策。
共检测了 311 名患者（224 名患者和 87 名医院工作人员）。总体阳性率约为 7%。与术前筛查的无症状患者相比，术前筛查的无症状患者阳性率较低，约为 3%，而工作人员（已知接触者或有症状者）阳性率约为 17%。接触追踪发现，四分之三的工作人员风险较低，只有四分之一的工作人员风险较高或很高。在患者中，随访至少 2 周的患者中有 97%保持健康，而工作人员中这一比例约为 65%。
根据我们的初步结果，我们建议 POC-RAT 可常规用于无症状患者的基于指征的术前筛查，以及在三级眼科医疗机构中用于工作人员的校园筛查、接触追踪和 BTW 政策的实施。
