The increase in COVID-19 patients and the scarcity of laboratory tests to detect coronaviruses make it necessary to do these tests only in certain cases
Authorities are working to increase tests to detect the coronavirus.
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Los Angeles County, which is the second largest municipal health system in the country, instructed doctors to do not evaluate symptomatic COVID-19 patients if a positive result does not change the way they would be treated, as reported by the LA Times.
The orientation, sent by the Department of Health Services Los Angeles County to its doctors on Thursday, was prompted by the large number of patients and the paucity of tests to detect cases of coronavirus, and It could be difficult to know precisely how many people in Los Angeles County contracted COVID-19.
The department "is shifting from a case containment strategy to one of slowing down disease transmission and avoiding excess morbidity and mortality," according to the letter. Clinicians should evaluate symptomatic patients only when "a diagnostic result will change clinical management or inform the public health response."
The guide sets out in writing what has always been a reality in the United States. The paucity of laboratory tests for coronaviruses across the country has meant that many patients suspected of having COVID-19 have not had the diagnosis confirmed by a laboratory.
In addition to the lack of evidence, public health agencies across the country they lack the staff to trace the source of new coronavirus cases, drastically reducing the chances of isolating people who have been exposed and therefore containing the outbreak.
A front-line healthcare provider who was not authorized to speak to the media and requested anonymity told the LA Times that county doctors are interpreting Thursday's letter and other advice from senior county public health officials. from Los Angeles to Tell them that they should only evaluate patients who are going to be hospitalized or have something unique about how they got the virus.
And that do not plan to evaluate patients who have symptoms but are otherwise healthy enough to be sent home to quarantine, which means they may never appear in official counts of people who tested positive.
The letter also says that with the increasing availability of tests in private laboratories, the health department will focus on tests aimed at detecting and preventing outbreaks in hospitals and "joint living environments" such as nursing homes.
