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A nucleic acid amplification test-based strategy does not help inform return to work for healthcare workers with
Diego R Hijano1, James M Hoffman2,3, Richard J Webby1
1Department of Infectious Diseases, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, USA.
Objective:
The objective of this study is to assess the utility of a nucleic acid amplification test-based approach to shorten isolation of healthcare workers (HCWs) with COVID-19 in the setting of the highly transmissible omicron variant.
Methods:
Between December 24, 2021, and January 5, 2022, HCWs who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 were retested with PCR at least 5 days since onset of symptoms.
Results:
Forty-six sequential fully COVID-19 vaccinated HCWs who had tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 underwent follow-up testing. All the samples were confirmed as omicron variants and only four (8.7%) were negative in the follow-up test performed at a median of 6 (range 5-12) since onset of symptoms.
Conclusions:
Implementation of a test-based strategy is logistically challenging, increases costs, and did not lead to shorter isolation in our institution.
