Abstract

Background: Preadmission testing has been recommended nationwide across specialties in hospitals as a screening tool for detecting asymptomatic COVID-19 positive patients prior to procedures. Healthcare workers (HCW) have been using these results to decide whether or not the patient can have the procedure done as well as to determine whether HCW should use PPE. However, the majorities of these recommendations are from expert opinion and not evidenced based investigations. In the absence of actual data on the benefits of universal screening in asymptomatic patients, clinicians should really consider the possible pros and cons of this. We set out to review previously published research on COVID-19 testing to determine if universal screening can be justified with science.
Conclusion: At this time, there is no evidence-based data for a universal screening program of asymptomatic patients in the absence of contact tracing. Universal PPE use, hand hygiene and the practice of personal prevention measures should be the major component in decreasing the spread of COVID-19 in the hospital setting.

Keywords

2019-nCoV, Acute respiratory distress syndrome, Autoimmune, COVID-19, Healthcare worker, Novel coronavirus 2019, Pandemic, Personal protective equipment, Polymerase chain reaction, Preadmission testing, SARS coronavirus, Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, Severe acute respiratory syndrome