Abstract
As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to circulate, testing strategies are of the utmost importance. Given national shortages of testing supplies, personal protective equipment, and other hospital resources, diagnostic stewardship is necessary to aid in resource management. We report the low utility of serial testing in a low-prevalence setting.
Highlights
Median time from symptom onset to initial test was 3 days, with 69% of initial tests performed in the first week of illness and 17% performed on asymptomatic patients
The most testing was performed via nasopharyngeal (NP) swab, lower respiratory tract (LRT) sampling was more common with repeat testing
The most common indication for repeat testing was signs and symptoms concerning for COVID-19 infection or evidence of LRT infection on imaging via either chest CT or x-ray: 58% for the second testing indication and 50% for the third testing indication
Summary
Patients with a negative or inconclusive COVID-19 rt-PCR test followed by at least 1 additional test were included. 275 patients with initially negative or inconclusive test results (94% negative, 6% inconclusive) underwent at least 1 additional test. Results of the second test were 98.5% (271 of 275) negative, 0.5% positive (1 of 275), and 1% inconclusive (3 of 275). 10 patients (1.5%) underwent >3 tests, with no positive results.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
