Survey of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection control policies at leading US academic hospitals in the context of the initial pandemic surge of the severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) omicron variant

Rhee, Chanu; Baker, Meghan A

doi:10.1017/ice.2022.155

Cited by 14 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…In the intervening 3 years, numerous studies have been published related to various specific aspects of the hospital COVID-19 response, including visitation policies,19–23 practice adaptations in specific settings or types of care (eg, ICU, paediatric and cancer care, aerosol generating procedures),24–28 infection control procedures,29 use of technology to assist care and prevent disease transmission 30–33. Many of these manuscripts propose guidelines on deploying a strategy, explore experiences or outcomes of staff and patients or describe evolution of a specific guideline.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Observational study of organisational responses of 17 US hospitals over the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic

Choo,

Strehlow,

Del Rios

et al. 2023

BMJ Open

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ObjectivesThe COVID-19 pandemic has required significant modifications of hospital care. The objective of this study was to examine the operational approaches taken by US hospitals over time in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.Design, setting and participantsThis was a prospective observational study of 17 geographically diverse US hospitals from February 2020 to February 2021.Outcomes and analysisWe identified 42 potential pandemic-related strategies and obtained week-to-week data about their use. We calculated descriptive statistics for use of each strategy and plotted percent uptake and weeks used. We assessed the relationship between strategy use and hospital type, geographic region and phase of the pandemic using generalised estimating equations (GEEs), adjusting for weekly county case counts.ResultsWe found heterogeneity in strategy uptake over time, some of which was associated with geographic region and phase of pandemic. We identified a body of strategies that were both commonly used and sustained over time, for example, limiting staff in COVID-19 rooms and increasing telehealth capacity, as well as those that were rarely used and/or not sustained, for example, increasing hospital bed capacity.ConclusionsHospital strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic varied in resource intensity, uptake and duration of use. Such information may be valuable to health systems during the ongoing pandemic and future ones.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Observational study of organisational responses of 17 US hospitals over the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic

Choo,

Strehlow,

Del Rios

et al. 2023

BMJ Open

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“…During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, many hospitals implemented universal testing of all patient admissions in order to detect occult SARS-CoV-2 infections and to prevent onward transmission. [1,2] This practice was born of data documenting that many SARS-CoV-2 infections are asymptomatic, only mildly symptomatic, or pre-symptomatic yet still highly contagious.…”

Section: Viewpointmentioning

confidence: 99%

In Support of Universal Admission Testing for SARS-CoV-2 During Significant Community Transmission

Rhee¹,

Pak²,

Köhler³

2023

Preprint

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Many hospitals have stopped or are considering stopping universal admission testing for SARS-CoV-2. We discuss reasons why admission testing should still be part of a layered system to prevent hospital-acquired SARS-CoV-2 infections during times of significant community transmission. These include the morbidity of SARS-CoV-2 in vulnerable patients, the predominant contribution of presymptomatic and asymptomatic people to transmission, the high rate of transmission between patients in shared rooms, and the data suggesting surveillance testing is associated with fewer nosocomial infections. Preferences of diverse patient populations, particularly the hardest hit communities, should be surveyed and used to inform prevention measures. Hospitals’ ethical responsibility to protect patients from serious infections should predominate over concerns about costs, labor, and inconvenience. We call for more rigorous data on the incidence and morbidity of nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 infections and more research to help determine when to start, stop, and restart universal admission testing and other prevention measures.

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“…Planners may need to emphasize that they may not be able to identify when pandemic restrictions can be removed. Practically this impacts on return-to-work strategies for employees [ 85 , 86 , 87 , 88 , 89 ], mandatory vaccination strategies [ 90 ], approaches to masking policies [ 91 ], and organization infection control strategies [ 92 ]. As viruses evolve during a pandemic, it may be necessary to re-assess risk calculations and approaches to protect blood safety.…”

Section: How Blood Operators Can Prepare For the Next Pandemicmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lessons Learned from the COVID-19 Pandemic and How Blood Operators Can Prepare for the Next Pandemic

Drews

O’Brien

2022

Viruses

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Humans interact with virus-infected animal hosts, travel globally, and maintain social networks that allow for novel viruses to emerge and develop pandemic potential. There are key lessons-learned from the coronavirus diseases 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic that blood operators can apply to the next pandemic. Warning signals to the COVID-19 pandemic included outbreaks of Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus-1 (SARS-CoV-1) and Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in the prior two decades. It will be critical to quickly determine whether there is a risk of blood-borne transmission of a new pandemic virus. Prior to the next pandemic blood operators should be prepared for changes in activities, policies, and procedures at all levels of the organization. Blood operators can utilize “Plan-Do-Study-Act” cycles spanning from: vigilance for emerging viruses, surveillance activities and studies, operational continuity, donor engagement and trust, and laboratory testing if required. Occupational health and donor safety issues will be key areas of focus even if the next pandemic virus is not transfusion transmitted. Blood operators may also be requested to engage in new activities such as the development of therapeutics or supporting public health surveillance activities. Activities such as scenario development, tabletop exercises, and drills will allow blood operators to prepare for the unknowns of the next pandemic.

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Survey of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection control policies at leading US academic hospitals in the context of the initial pandemic surge of the severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) omicron variant

Cited by 14 publications

References 36 publications

Observational study of organisational responses of 17 US hospitals over the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic

Observational study of organisational responses of 17 US hospitals over the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic

In Support of Universal Admission Testing for SARS-CoV-2 During Significant Community Transmission

Lessons Learned from the COVID-19 Pandemic and How Blood Operators Can Prepare for the Next Pandemic

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