This paper reports on the use of a high-throughput diagnostic genetic screening for coagulation, platelet, or thrombotic disorders in a series of more than 2000 patients.

Summary There is an urgent need for rapid SARS-CoV-2 testing in hospitals to limit nosocomial spread. We report an evaluation of point of care (POC) nucleic acid amplification testing (NAAT) in 149 participants with parallel combined nasal and throat swabbing for POC versus standard lab RT-PCR testing. Median time to result is 2.6 (IQR 2.3–4.8) versus 26.4 h (IQR 21.4–31.4, p < 0.001), with 32 (21.5%) positive and 117 (78.5%) negative. Cohen’s κ correlation between tests is 0.96 (95% CI 0.91–1.00). When comparing nearly 1,000 tests pre- and post-implementation, the median time to definitive bed placement from admission is 23.4 (8.6-41.9) versus 17.1 h (9.0–28.8), p = 0.02. Mean length of stay on COVID-19 “holding” wards is 58.5 versus 29.9 h (p < 0.001). POC testing increases isolation room availability, avoids bed closures, allows discharge to care homes, and expedites access to hospital procedures. POC testing could mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on hospital systems.

Introduction: COVID-19 has been associated with increased risk of thrombosis, heparin resistance and coagulopathy in critically ill patients admitted to intensive care. We report the incidence of thrombotic and bleeding events in a single center cohort of 30 consecutive patients with COVID-19 supported by veno-venous extracorporeal oxygenation (ECMO) and who had a whole body Computed Tomography Scanner (CT) on admission. Methodology: All patients were initially admitted to other hospitals and later assessed and retrieved by our ECMO team. ECMO was initiated in the referral center and all patients admitted through our CT scan before settling in our intensive care unit. Clinical management was guided by our institutional ECMO guidelines, established since 2011 and applied to at least 40 patients every year. Results: We diagnosed a thrombotic event in 13 patients on the initial CT scan. Two of these 13 patients subsequently developed further thrombotic complications. Five of those 13 patients had a subsequent clinically significant major bleeding. In addition, two patients presented with isolated intracranial bleeds. Of the 11 patients who did not have baseline thrombotic events, one had a subsequent oropharyngeal hemorrhage. When analyzed by ROC analysis, the area under the curve for % time in intended anticoagulation range did not predict thrombosis or bleeding during the ECMO run (0.36 (95% CI 0.10–0.62); and 0.51 (95% CI 0.25–0.78); respectively). Conclusion: We observed a high prevalence of VTE and a significant number of hemorrhages in these severely ill patients with COVID-19 requiring veno-venous ECMO support.

Objective To compare a point of care (POC) nucleic acid amplification based platform for rapid diagnosis of COVID-19 against the standard laboratory RT-PCR test and perform an implementation study. Design: prospective clinical trial (COVIDx) and observational study Setting: a large UK teaching hospital Participants: patients presenting to hospital with possible COVID-19 disease and tested on a combined nasal/throat swab using the SAMBA II SARS-CoV-2 rapid POC test and in parallel a combined nasal/throat swab for standard lab RT-PCR testing. Implementation phase participants underwent SARS-CoV-2 POC testing for a range of indications over a ten day period pre and post SAMBA II platform implementation. Main outcome measures: concordance and sensitivity and specificity of POC using the lab test as the reference standard, test turnaround time in trial and implementation periods; time to definitive patient triage from ED, time spent on COVID-19 holding wards, bay closures avoided, proportions of patients in isolation rooms following test, proportions of patients able to be moved to COVID negative areas following test. Results 149 participants were included in the COVIDx trial. 32 (21.5%) tested positive and 117 (78.5%) tested negative by standard lab RT-PCR. Median age was 62.7 (IQR 37 to 79) years and 47% were male. Cohen's kappa correlation between the index and reference tests was 0.96, 95% CI (0.91, 1.00). Sensitivity and specificity of SAMBA against the RT-PCR lab test were 96.9% (95% CI 0.838-0.999) and 99.1% (0.953-0.999) respectively. Median time to result was 2.6 hours (IQR 2.3 to 4.8) for SAMBA II and 26.4 hours (IQR 21.4 to 31.4) for the standard lab RT-PCR test (p<0.001). In the first 10 days of the SAMBA II SARS-CoV-2 test implementation for all hospital COVID-19 testing, analysis of the first 992 tests showed 59.8% of tests were used for ED patients, and the remainder were done for pre-operative screening (11.3%), discharges to nursing homes (10%), in-hospital screening of new symptoms (9.7%), screening in asymptomatic patients requiring hospital admission screening (3.8%) and access to interventions such as dialysis and chemotherapy for high risk patients (1.2%). Use of single occupancy rooms amongst those tested fell from 30.8% before to 21.2% after testing (p=0.03). 11 bay closures were avoided by use of SAMBA over ten days. The post implementation group was then compared with 599 individuals who had a standard lab RT-PCR test in the 10 days prior to SAMBA introduction. Median time to result during implementation fell from 39.4 hours (IQR 24.7-51.3) to 3.6 hours (IQR 2.6-5.8), p<0.0001 and the median time to definitive ward move from ED was significantly reduced from 24.1 hours (9.2-48.6) to 18.5 hours (10.2-28.8), p=0.002. Mean length of stay on a COVID-19 holding ward decreased from 58.5 hours to 29.9 hours (p<0.001) compared to the 10 days prior to implementation. Conclusions SAMBA II SARS-CoV-2 rapid POC test performed as well as standard lab RT-PCR and demonstrated shorter time to result both in trial and real-world settings. It was also associated with faster time to triage from the ED, release of isolation rooms, avoidance of hospital bay closures and movement of patients to COVID negative open green category wards, allowed discharge to care homes and expediting access to hospital investigations and procedures. POC testing will be instrumental in mitigating the impact of COVID-19 on hospital systems by allowing rapid triage and patient movement to safe and appropriate isolation wards in the hospital. This is also likely to reduce delays in patients accessing appropriate investigation and treatment, thereby improving clinical outcomes.

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