TitleThe Utility of Paired Upper and Lower COVID-19 Sampling in Patients with Artificial Airways.
Year of Publication2021
AuthorNumber of Pages1-8
Date Published2021 May 10
ISSN Number1559-6834
Abstract<p>Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, CDC recommended collection of a lower respiratory tract (LRT) specimen for SARS-CoV-2 testing in addition to the routinely recommended upper respiratory tract (URT) testing in mechanically ventilated patients. Significant operational challenges were noted at our institution using this approach. In this report, we describe our experience with routine collection of paired URT and LRT sample testing. Our results revealed a high concordance between the two sources, and that all children tested for SARS-CoV-2 were appropriately diagnosed with URT testing alone. There was no added benefit to LRT testing. Based on these findings, our institutional approach was therefore adjusted to sample the URT alone for most patients, with LRT sampling reserved for patients with ongoing clinical suspicion for SARS-CoV-2 after a negative URT test.</p> DOI10.1017/ice.2021.222
Alternate TitleInfect Control Hosp Epidemiol
PMID33966664
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