• Euijin Chang, Jae Sung Choi, Tae Yun Park, Seung Bin Kim, Suhui Ko, Yang Sun Kwon, Eun Jin Kim, Hyunju Song, Hwa Kyung Noh, and Sang Won Park.
• Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
• Infect Chemother. 2020 Sep 1; 52 (3): 352-359.

BackgroundSevere acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is not differentiated clinically from other respiratory infections, and intensive care units (ICUs) are vulnerable to in-hospital transmission due to interventions inducing respiratory aerosols. This study evaluated the effectiveness of universal SARS-CoV-2 screening in ICUs in terms of screened-out cases and reduction in anxiety of healthcare personnel (HCP).Materials And MethodsThis prospective single-armed observational study was conducted in 2 ICUs of a single hospital. The number of patients diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infection by the screening program and healthcare workers in ICUs that visited the SARS-CoV-2 screening clinic or infection clinic were investigated.ResultsDuring the 7-week study period, no positive screening case was reported among a total of 142 patients. Among 86 HCP in the ICUs, only 2 HCP sought medical consultation for SARS-CoV-2 infection during the initial 2 weeks.ConclusionA universal screening program for SARS-CoV-2 infection in ICUs with the coordination of other countermeasures in the hospital was reasonably effective in preventing in-hospital transmission in a pandemic situation and making clinical practices and HCP stable.Copyright © 2020 by The Korean Society of Infectious Diseases, Korean Society for Antimicrobial Therapy, and The Korean Society for AIDS.

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