• Devjyoti Tripathy, Avik Kumar Roy, Rohit C Khanna, Subhadra Jalali, Bharat Panigrahy, Deepthi Chandran Parija, and Suryasnata Rath.
• Faculty, Ophthalmic Plastics, Orbit & Ocular Oncology Service, MTC Campus, LV Prasad Eye Institute, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India.
• Indian J Ophthalmol. 2021 Apr 1; 69 (4): 964-970.

PurposeThe aim of this study was to report the use and the impact of a point-of-care rapid antigen test (PoC-RAT) at a tertiary eye care facility in facilitating commencement of elective surgeries, contact tracing of exposed health care professionals (HCPs) and ancillary hospital staff, and implementation of back-to-work (BTW) policy for them.MethodsRetrospective analysis of subjects undergoing PoC-RAT for COVID-19 infection at a tertiary level dedicated eye care facility. Decision making with regard to commencement of elective surgeries post COVID-19 related discontinuation of services, contact tracing of HCPs and ancillary hospital staff exposed to known COVID-19 cases and implementation of back-to-work policy for all staff based upon the results of PoC-RAT were studied.ResultsA total of 311 subjects (224 patients and 87 hospital staff) were tested. Overall positivity rate was around 7%. Asymptomatic patients who were screened preoperatively had a lower positivity rate at around 3% compared to the staff (who were either known contacts or were symptomatic) at around 17%. Contact tracing found three-quarters of the staff at low risk and only one quarter at medium or high risk. Among patients, 97% of those followed up for at least 2 weeks after the test remained healthy. For staff, this was around 65%.ConclusionBased on our preliminary results, we suggest that PoC-RAT may be considered routinely for indication-based preoperative screening of asymptomatic patients, and for on-campus screening, contact tracing and implementation of BTW policies for HCPs and ancillary hospital staff at a tertiary level eye care facility.

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