Authors (including presenting author) :
Lam PM (1), Leung SN(1), Leong YY(2), Chin LS(2), Chow FY(2), Lai YN(3), Tang MK(2), To WK(3), Cheung WM(1)
Affiliation :
(1)Quality and Safety Department, (2) Central Nursing Division, (3)Infection Control Team, Princess Margaret Hospital
Introduction :
To prevent the spread of COVID-19 in hospital setting, admission screening of hospitalized patients is essential for early identification and isolation of COVID-infected patients. General wards in PMH, however, lack side room or AIIR facility for respiratory specimen collection. To streamline the workflow and safety of the specimen collection procedure and to shorten the turn-around time of COVID-19 PCR test, a Temporary Specimen Collection Center (TSCC) was set up.
Objectives :
- To set up a designated site for specimen collection for non-IDC patients* admitted from A&E department. - To ensure the site meet proper infection control requirement for aerosol generating procedure (AGP). - To streamline the workflow and shorten the door-to-result time of COVID-19 PCR test. *IDC: Infectious Disease Centre in Princess Margaret Hospital
Methodology :
A covered outdoor corridor was modified to ensure adequate air-exchange requirement for AGP. Clinical Management System workstation are installed for laboratory test ordering. Staff from clinical departments, after orientation and proper training were deployed to TSCC for specimen collection. TSCC started operation since 5 Oct 2020. Non-IDC patients admitted from A&E were transported to TSCC for respiratory specimen collection before transferal to admission wards. In January 2021, the service scope will be extended to cover pre-admission testing for patients of day admission category and elective admission category.
Result & Outcome :
Seventeen air exchange was achieved by the exhaust inline duct fan to ensure good ventilation for respiratory specimen collection in TSCC. The average time spent in TSCC for respiratory specimen collection is less than 5 minutes. 946, 1678 and 1610 patients were tested in TSCC in October, November and December 2020 respectively. The median turn-around time for non-urgent SARS-CoV2-PCR test sent by TSCC was 7 hours 36 minutes (Vs. 9 hours 56 minutes for test sent by general wards, p< 0.05, Mann-Whitney U test). Establishment of TSCC provided a safe site which met the infection control requirement for AGP. It provided a centralized site for specimen collection. It streamlined the workflow for respiratory specimen collection and shortened the turn-around time for SARS-CoV2-PCR test. The arrangement helped early identification of COVID-19 patients which was of paramount importance to prevent spread of COVID-19 in hospital setting.
