Impact of Delayed COVID-19 Contact Tracing on Health Results

In a recent study posted on medRxiv* Preprint server, researchers found that delayed tracking of case contact for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, hospitalization, and hospitalization in the United Kingdom. We evaluated the effect of death on health outcomes.

study: Assessment of the impact of events resulting in delayed contact tracing in COVID-19 cases on health outcomes.. Image credit: bob boz / Shutterstock

Contact tracing is crucial in assessing the health response of the general population to SARS-CoV-2, identifying contact with SARS-CoV-2 positive individuals and reducing SARS-CoV-2 infection. Provides advice on self-isolation.

In September 2020, 15,861 COVID-19 case records from the Second Generation Laboratory Monitoring System (SGSS) could not be uploaded to the Contact Tracking Advisory Service (CTAS) data tool, followed by COVID-19 case contact tracking. Was delayed.

SGSS records include demographics and diagnostic information from clinical laboratory reports of patients tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, while CTAS records include case movements and contact information during the period of infection. , Demographic and clinical features.

About research

In a current observational study, researchers at the UK Health and Security Agency, the University of Bristol, and the University of Cambridge evaluated the effects of delayed contact tracing in COVID-19 cases on SARS-CoV-2 infection, hospitalization, and death. bottom. ..

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) provided SGSS records that were matched against CTAS records to validate cases affected by the event, identifying consecutive contacts and cases. In this study, we used CTAS data from SARS-CoV-2 positive individuals and their contacts for analysis.

Matching was performed in several rounds based on a combination of identifiers such as the United Kingdom National Health Service (NHS) number. Unique identifier for SGSS, date of birth (DOB). First name, last name, and zip code.

The CTAS dataset consisted of major event-affected cases, which were called “delayed groups”, but in the same time frame (September 30, 2020 to October 5, 2020). In the main case belonging to), the event consisted of a’control group.

A graph that illustrates how long it takes to start and complete contact tracing for cases and contacts in delay and control groups.

Secondary cases were described as individuals who reported contact with the individual in the primary case, and individuals who contacted the primary case 2 to 14 days after the onset of symptoms or during the day of examination.

In addition, the contact dataset was linked to the UKHSA Hospital Onset COVID-19 dataset extracted on November 22, 2021 and two national datasets (secondary use service (SUS) dataset and emergency medical data). Get daily data from. A set (ECDS) that describes each patient’s hospitalization and usage of emergency medical services.

Primary outcome indicators included secondary incidence (SAR), hospitalization, and primary and secondary contact mortality compared to simultaneous and unaffected cases.

result

A total of 15,861 SGSS records were detected as affected by the event, of which 98% (15,467) matched CTAS records. After data cleaning, 96% (15,285) of the major cases affected by the delay were included in the analysis. The control group consisted of 43,742 simultaneous primary contact cases, including all CTAS records within the aforementioned time frame that were not affected by the event.

The start of contact tracing was delayed by 3 days in the primary contact case of the delayed group compared to the control. This is related to incomplete contact tracing for the individual (80%) and control (83%) primary cases in the delay group.

Delays have increased viral transmission to non-home contacts. The SAR of non-home contacts was higher in the delayed group (7.9%) than in the control group (5.9%). In secondary contact, there was no statistically significant difference between individuals and controls in the delayed group in terms of hospitalization (coarse odds ratio 1) and death (coarse odds ratio 0.7).

whole, The findings revealed that delayed contact follow-up in COVID-19 cases had a slight impact on their health.

*Important Notices

medRxiv Publish preliminary scientific reports that should not be considered definitive as they have not been peer-reviewed, guide clinical practice / health-related behaviors, and should not be treated as established information.