Hospitals and laboratories already prioritize Covid testing for critically ill patients

With few Covid tests available due to high demand, hospitals and laboratories in São Paulo are prioritizing testing in patients with more severe symptoms.

Doctors from Hospital São Luiz, from Rede D’Or, who asked not to be identified, said that the unit advised professionals to perform tests only on hospitalized patients, so that they could separate patients between wards. Those with mild, asymptomatic symptoms would not be tested, but instructed to self-isolate for a week.

In a note, Rede D’Or states that it continues to carry out testing in all its units, prioritizing “patients with clinical indication to define treatment and isolation, hospitalized patients and health professionals, limiting the performance of elective exams or in patients with good general condition”.

It also states that the test results are being delivered on time, but did not say which or if the deadline was extended or changed according to increased demand.

“As soon as there is a rebalance between demand and available supplies, we will resume testing patients who do not meet the priority criteria mentioned above”, he says, in a note.

The deadlines for delivery of results have also varied between some health facilities.

Hospital Sírio Libanês said test results are usually ready within 24 hours, but with increased demand, there may be delays in the delivery of reports. The time can be between 48h and 72h.

The Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein reported in a note that it prioritizes the testing of patients with more expressive symptoms, such as persistent fever without relief with antipyretics, shortness of breath, intense weakness or excessive sleepiness.

The waiting time for the results may vary depending on the type of test and the unit in which it will be performed — currently, the estimate is 12 hours for antigen, and 48 hours for RT-PCR.

The risk of shortage of Covid tests led Abramed (Brazilian Association of Diagnostic Medicine) to recommend that laboratories prioritize tests on patients according to the severity scale.

That is, those who have serious symptoms, hospitalized patients, surgical patients, people in the risk group, healthcare workers and essential service employees.

The entity recommends that laboratories stop testing people who have only had contact with infected, asymptomatic patients and those with mild symptoms, who should, however, remain isolated until the scenario is normalized.

The City of São Paulo, through the Municipal Health Department, informed that RT-PCR exams and rapid tests (antigens) for the diagnosis of Covid-19 are carried out in the municipal network, and that these are being carried out normally in the health units. attendance.

The government of the state of São Paulo says that the tests are acquired and distributed by the Ministry of Health, but the state administration has also carried out the purchase of rapid antigen tests.

By February, 2 million tests will be made available, in addition to another 800,000 that have already been sent to municipalities.

The Dasa network —which includes laboratories Delboni Auriemo, Lavoisier, Salomão Zoppi, Hospital Nove de Julho, among others— reported that, as a result of the significant increase in the number of Covid and influenza cases, it has temporarily reorganized its stock of supplies, prioritizing the care of inpatients and health professionals and essential services.

Since late 2021, patients have struggled to schedule Covid-19 tests at pharmacies. Between the 29th of December and the 3rd of January to leaf checked the agenda of 40 pharmacies of large chains in São Paulo.

In some cases, the interested party would have to wait five days to get an appointment.

Raia Drogasil pharmacy chains suspended scheduling due to lack of stock. It will only be possible to schedule a test when the supply is normalized.

The goal is for the units to be replenished this week. Those that have remaining tests can use them, and interested parties should contact the establishments directly for more information.

The DPSP Group, responsible for Drogarias Pacheco and Drogaria São Paulo, recorded in the last two weeks an increase of more than 50% in carrying out Covid tests compared to previous weeks.

In a note, he said that the test schedule can be carried out through the website and that “the stores are trying their best to meet all the demand, including making time slots to meet everyone”.