Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 6, 2025
Dried Blood Spot Collection of Health Biomarkers to Maximize Participation in Population Studies
Published on: January 28, 2014
Use of an algorithm based on routine blood laboratory tests to exclude COVID-19 in a screening-setting of healthcare
Math P G Leers1, Ruben Deneer2,3, Guy J M Mostard4
1Department of Clinical Chemistry & Hematology, Zuyderland Medical Center, Heerlen-Sittard, The Netherlands.
Insights
The CoLab-algorithm can safely screen healthcare workers (HCWs) for COVID-19, ruling out the infection in over a third of cases. This rapid screening allows HCWs to return to work faster and reduces the need for costly RT-PCR tests.
Area of Science:
- Clinical diagnostics
- Infectious disease epidemiology
- Healthcare management
Background:
- The COVID-19 pandemic has strained hospital resources and led to significant sick leave among healthcare workers (HCWs).
- Accurate and rapid diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection is crucial for HCWs to safely return to work.
- Current diagnostic methods, like RT-PCR, can be time-consuming and resource-intensive.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of the CoLab-algorithm as a screening tool for excluding COVID-19 in HCWs.
- To determine if the CoLab-algorithm can expedite the return-to-work process for HCWs with COVID-19-related symptoms.
Main Methods:
- A prospective study included 726 HCWs with COVID-19-related complaints from January to March 2021.
- SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR was performed alongside blood sample collection for the CoLab-algorithm's 10 laboratory parameters.
- Data were analyzed using ROC curve analysis to determine the algorithm's diagnostic performance.
Main Results:
- The CoLab-algorithm achieved an Area Under the Curve (AUC) of 0.853.
- At a cut-off value of -6.525, the algorithm demonstrated 100% sensitivity and 34% specificity for excluding COVID-19.
- No SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR positive cases were missed, and COVID-19 was safely ruled out in 34% of HCWs.
Conclusions:
- The CoLab-score is a reliable and rapid algorithm for screening HCWs for COVID-19.
- Results are available within 1 hour, facilitating a faster return to work for negative HCWs.
- This screening approach reduces the number of RT-PCR tests required, saving costs and resources.
Background:
COVID-19 is an ongoing pandemic leading to exhaustion of the hospital care system. Our health care system has to deal with a high level of sick leave of health care workers (HCWs) with COVID-19 related complaints, in whom an infection with SARS-CoV-2 has to be ruled out before they can return back to work. The aim of the present study is to investigate if the recently described CoLab-algorithm can be used to exclude COVID-19 in a screening setting of HCWs.
Methods:
In the period from January 2021 till March 2021, HCWs with COVID-19-related complaints were prospectively collected and included in this study. Next to the routinely performed SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR, using a set of naso- and oropharyngeal swab samples, two blood tubes (one EDTA- and one heparin-tube) were drawn for analysing the 10 laboratory parameters required for running the CoLab-algorithm.
Results:
In total, 726 HCWs with a complete CoLab-laboratory panel were included in this study. In this group, 684 HCWs were tested SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR negative and 42 cases RT-PCR positive. ROC curve analysis showed an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.853 (95% CI: 0.801-0.904). At a safe cut-off value for excluding COVID-19 of -6.525, the sensitivity was 100% with a specificity of 34% (95% CI: 21 to 49%). No SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR cases were missed with this cut-off and COVID-19 could be safely ruled out in more than one third of HCWs.
Conclusion:
The CoLab-score is an easy and reliable algorithm that can be used for screening HCWs with COVID-19 related complaints. A major advantage of this approach is that the results of the score are available within 1 hour after collecting the samples. This results in a faster return to labour process of a large part of the COVID-19 negative HCWs (34%), next to a reduction in RT-PCR tests (reagents and labour costs) that can be saved.
Related Concept Videos
01:10Pre-Procedural Guidelines for Assessing Blood Pressure
01:30Serum Laboratory Studies, Stool Test, Breath Test