I’m in primary care: Who should I be testing for COVID-19?
March 3, 2020 – You’ve probably heard of 5-Minute Clinic Consult–well, this is going to be a 5-Second Clinical Consult. Primary care providers don’t have time for nonsense!
Who Should be Tested for COVID-19?
| Fever or signs/symptoms of lower respiratory illness (e.g. cough or shortness of breath) | AND | Any person, including healthcare workers, who have had close contact with a laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 patient within 14 days of symptom onset |
Yup, that’s it. Unless the patient requires hospitalization due to the severity of symptoms, these are your screening protocols from the CDC.
Clinical Pearls:
- Contact your local health department immediately for further instructions
- If instructed to take samples, do so on-site and send them directly to CDC (sputum, nose, and throat swabs)
- If a patient calls with suspicious symptoms and exposure, have them call this CDC hotline for testing information: 1-800-525-0127 and press #.
Since this article was first posted, a major focus of the pandemic has been dealing with long-COVID, or what some call long-haulers syndrome.
