To analyze the diagnostic yield (the effectiveness of identifying true cases) of systematic SARS-CoV-2 screening in asymptomatic patients and assess the impact of false-positive results on patient management.
Key Findings:
Systematic screening identified asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections, contributing to early detection.
False-positive results led to unnecessary delays in patient management and isolation, highlighting a critical challenge in screening.
The incidence of false positives increased in low-prevalence settings, raising concerns about the reliability of screening in such contexts.
Interpretation:
While universal screening can enhance early detection of SARS-CoV-2, it also poses risks of false positives that may complicate patient care and resource allocation.
Limitations:
The study was a nonresearch quality-improvement project, limiting generalizability to broader populations and clinical settings.
Potential biases in data collection and patient management decisions were not controlled, which may affect the validity of the findings.
Conclusion:
The findings highlight the need for careful consideration of systematic SARS-CoV-2 screening in asymptomatic patients, balancing benefits against the risks of false-positive results, and suggest that future screening policies should incorporate these insights.
Invited narrative review supports early, interprofessional rehabilitation across the ICU recovery continuum while emphasizing heterogeneous evidence and inconsistent implementation worldwide.
