The importance of screening asymptomatic patients admitted to healthcare facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic

Kód výsledku v IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00023001%3A_____%2F25%3A00086165" target="_blank" >RIV/00023001:_____/25:00086165 - isvavai.cz</a>

Nalezeny alternativní kódy

RIV/00216208:11110/25:10506247

Výsledek na webu

<a href="https://cejph.szu.cz/artkey/inf-990000-0800_Author-instructions.php" target="_blank" >https://cejph.szu.cz/artkey/inf-990000-0800_Author-instructions.php</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.21101/cejph.a8739" target="_blank" >10.21101/cejph.a8739</a>

Jazyk výsledku

angličtina

Název v původním jazyce

The importance of screening asymptomatic patients admitted to healthcare facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic

Popis výsledku v původním jazyce

Objectives: Screening of asymptomatic patients upon hospital admission became a key strategy to prevent nosocomial transmission of SARS-CoV-2 during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in facilities treating immunocompromised patients. Rapid antigen tests (RATs) were widely used due to their speed, but their reliability in detecting potentially infectious individuals remained debated. In parallel, the role of immunosuppression, especially in solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients, as a risk factor for asymptomatic positivity and prolonged viral shedding raised additional concerns. The aim of the study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of rapid antigen testing compared to RT-PCR in asymptomatic patients admitted to a high-risk hospital, and the difference in SARS-CoV-2 PCR positivity between asymptomatic patients with and without a history of solid organ transplantation. Methods: We retrospectively analysed 17,086 paired RAT and RT-PCR tests collected from 11,858 asymptomatic patients admitted to a tertiary care hospital between October 2020 and October 2022. Viral load was assessed via PCR cycle threshold (Ct) values. The sensitivity and specificity of RATs were calculated using PCR as the reference (Ct &lt; 28). Results: RATs showed a sensitivity of 83.5% and a specificity of 99.3% in detecting patients with high viral loads (Ct &lt; 28). False negatives occurred predominantly in cases with low viral loads (Ct &gt;= 28). SARS-CoV-2 PCR positivity was significantly higher in SOT patients (5.4%) than in non-transplant patients (3.2%) (p &lt; 0.001), a difference that was consistent across viral variants. Conclusions: RATs reliably identified the majority of asymptomatic patients with high viral loads who pose a risk of in-hospital transmission. SOT recipients represent a high-risk subgroup for asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 carriage, underscoring the importance of rigorous admission screening protocols in specialized healthcare settings.

Název v anglickém jazyce

The importance of screening asymptomatic patients admitted to healthcare facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic

Popis výsledku anglicky

Objectives: Screening of asymptomatic patients upon hospital admission became a key strategy to prevent nosocomial transmission of SARS-CoV-2 during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in facilities treating immunocompromised patients. Rapid antigen tests (RATs) were widely used due to their speed, but their reliability in detecting potentially infectious individuals remained debated. In parallel, the role of immunosuppression, especially in solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients, as a risk factor for asymptomatic positivity and prolonged viral shedding raised additional concerns. The aim of the study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of rapid antigen testing compared to RT-PCR in asymptomatic patients admitted to a high-risk hospital, and the difference in SARS-CoV-2 PCR positivity between asymptomatic patients with and without a history of solid organ transplantation. Methods: We retrospectively analysed 17,086 paired RAT and RT-PCR tests collected from 11,858 asymptomatic patients admitted to a tertiary care hospital between October 2020 and October 2022. Viral load was assessed via PCR cycle threshold (Ct) values. The sensitivity and specificity of RATs were calculated using PCR as the reference (Ct &lt; 28). Results: RATs showed a sensitivity of 83.5% and a specificity of 99.3% in detecting patients with high viral loads (Ct &lt; 28). False negatives occurred predominantly in cases with low viral loads (Ct &gt;= 28). SARS-CoV-2 PCR positivity was significantly higher in SOT patients (5.4%) than in non-transplant patients (3.2%) (p &lt; 0.001), a difference that was consistent across viral variants. Conclusions: RATs reliably identified the majority of asymptomatic patients with high viral loads who pose a risk of in-hospital transmission. SOT recipients represent a high-risk subgroup for asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 carriage, underscoring the importance of rigorous admission screening protocols in specialized healthcare settings.

Druh

J_imp - Článek v periodiku v databázi Web of Science

CEP obor

—

OECD FORD obor

30304 - Public and environmental health

Projekt

—

Návaznosti

V - Vyzkumna aktivita podporovana z jinych verejnych zdroju

Rok uplatnění

2025

Kód důvěrnosti údajů

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Název periodika

Central European journal of public health

ISSN

1210-7778

e-ISSN

—

Svazek periodika

33

Číslo periodika v rámci svazku

3

Stát vydavatele periodika

CZ - Česká republika

Počet stran výsledku

6

Strana od-do

170-175

Kód UT WoS článku

001648062300003

EID výsledku v databázi Scopus

2-s2.0-105020480776