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Outpatient COVID‐19 surveillance testing in orthotopic heart transplant recipients
Author(s) -
Carey Sandra A.,
Afzal Aasim,
Jamil Aayla,
Williams Sarah,
Gottlieb Robert L.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
clinical transplantation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.918
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1399-0012
pISSN - 0902-0063
DOI - 10.1111/ctr.14105
Subject(s) - medicine , population , case fatality rate , transplantation , heart transplantation , cohort , emergency medicine , retrospective cohort study , outpatient clinic , serology , cohort study , pediatrics , immunology , environmental health , antibody
COVID‐19 case fatality rate in the United States is currently reported at 4.8% based on the confirmed cases of COVID‐19. However, there are conflicting reports of estimated deaths in the post‐cardiac transplantation patient population associated with COVID‐19. Methods Observational, retrospective analysis of a large cohort of post Orthotopic Heart Transplantation (OHT) patients in a high volume heart transplantation program in Dallas, Texas underwent outpatient COVID‐19 screening and testing for both SARS‐CoV‐2 nasopharyngeal RT‐PCR and anti‐SARS‐CoV2 IgG serology as a result of a clinic protocol to facilitate re‐opening of face‐to‐face outpatient clinical visits. Results The full outpatient cohort tested at time of their clinic visit tested negative for COVID‐19 by nasopharyngeal RT‐PCR. Only 2 patients tested seropositive for anti‐SARS‐COV2 IgG. Five positive inpatient cases were also identified and all, but one recovered. Conclusion A COVID‐19 surveillance protocol can be easily instituted in this high‐risk population and facilitate safe transplant clinic operation. As the cases and prevalence increase across the United States, further strategies will need to be developed to determine the best course of action to help manage this select population while minimizing their exposure to the ongoing pandemic.