The Role of Diagnostic Management in COVID-19 Screening of Asymptomatic Patients Admitted for Elective Surgery

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader The Role of Diagnostic Management in COVID-19 Screening of Asymptomatic Patients Admitted for Elective Surgery Via In vivo (Athens, Greece) In Vivo. 2021 Nov-Dec;35(6):3321-3323. doi: 10.21873/invivo.12628. ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Due to the high risk of COVID-19 transmission by asymptomatic patients, the aim of this study was to evaluate chest computed tomography (CT) and blood differential test as an additional COVID-19 screening tool for patients undergoing elective or urgent surgery. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The preoperative assessment of 118 patients hospitalized from June to July 2020 included real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction RNA test before elective surgery or rapid antigen test in emergency patients. The diagnostics were supplemented by chest CT and a complete blood count with a blood smear in all patients. RESULTS: None of the hospitalized patients had molecular, serological or radiographic symptoms of COVID-19 infection. The chest CT revealed non-COVID-19 pathologies in a total of 48 patients. Leukocytosis and lymphopenia were typic al of emergency patients. CONCLUSION: Routine chest CT scans have no benefit in screening for potential COVID-19 changes in asymptomatic patients. Blood differential tests are readily available, which makes them more helpful in COVID-19 screening. PMID:34697164 | DOI:10.21873/invivo.12628 View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.