The Infectious Diseases Society of America Guidelines on the Diagnosis of COVID-19: Molecular Diagnostic Testing
January 22, 2021
Kimberly E Hanson, Angela M Caliendo, Cesar A Arias, Mary K Hayden, Janet A Englund, Mark J Lee, Mark Loeb, Robin Patel, Abdallah El Alayli, Osama Altayar, Payal Patel, Yngve Falck-Ytter, Valery Lavergne, Rebecca L Morgan, M Hassan Murad, Shahnaz SUltan, Adarsh Bhimraj, Reem A Mustafa
Clinical Infectious Diseases
The Infectious Diseases Society of America collaborated with a panel of experts and used the GRADE approach for evidence assessment to create a diagnostic guideline to assist medical personal, patients, laboratorians, and policymakers in decisions relating to the ideal use of SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid amplification tests (NAAT). The panel of experts approved 17 recommendations for testing based on the systematic review data which can be viewed at: https://www.idsociety.org/practice-guideline/covid-19-guideline-diagnostics/. The recommendations touch on many circumstances, including testing among immunocompromised patients and testing prior to time-sensitive surgeries or aerosol generating procedures. The panel’s assessment found that nucleic acid testing is recommended for all symptomatic patients suspected of having COVID-19 and asymptomatic patients with known or suspected COVID-19 contact. The authors suggest that testing will be determined by additional factors such as the needs of the patients and institutional-specific resources.
Hanson K, Caliendo A, Arias C. The Infectious Diseases Society of America Guidelines on the Diagnosis of COVID-19: Molecular Diagnostic Testing. Oxford Univ Press Infect Dis Soc Am 2021.