COVID-19 contagious health care personnel 5-day early return-to-work program.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 contagious health care personnel (HCP) who are self-isolating for a 10-day period increases burden to workforce shortages. Implementation of a 5-day early return-to-work (RTW) program may reduce self-isolation periods, without increasing transmission risk, during the COVID-19 pandemic. DESIGN AND METHODS: This observational cohort quality improvement study included newly diagnosed COVID-19 HCP at a multifacility health care system. The program allowed HCP to return to work 6 days after date of a positive test result if they were not immunocompromised, had mild and improving symptoms, and self-reported a SARS-CoV-2 antigen negative test on day 5. RESULTS: Between January 4 and April 3, 2022, 1,023 HCP self-enrolled and 344 (33.6%) self-reported negative test results. Among these, 161 (46.8%) self-reported negative test results on day 5 and were eligible for early RTW on day 6. A total of 714 days were saved from missed work in self-isolation. The number of tests purchased, dispensed, and reported per day of HCP time saved was 4.4. No transmission events were observed originating from HCP who participated in early RTW. CONCLUSION: Implementing a 5-day early RTW program that includes HCP self-reporting SARS-CoV-2 antigen test results can increase staffing availability, while maintaining a low risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission.

Healthcare personnel early return-to-work program after higher-risk SARS-CoV-2 exposure: A learning health system quality improvement project.

BACKGROUND: Incidence of health care personnel (HCP) with a higher-risk SARS-CoV-2 exposure and subsequent 14-day quarantine period adds substantial burden on the workforce. Implementation of an early return-to-work (RTW) program may reduce quarantine periods for asymptomatic HCP and reduce workforce shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: This observational quality improvement study included asymptomatic HCP of a multi-facility health care system with higher-risk workplace or non-household community SARS-CoV-2 exposure ≤4 days. The program allowed HCP to return to work 8 days after exposure if they remained asymptomatic through day 7 with day 5-7 SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid amplification test result negative. RESULTS: Between January 4 and June 25, 2021, 384 HCP were enrolled, 333 (86.7%) remained asymptomatic and of these, 323 (97%) tested negative and were early RTW eligible. Mean days in quarantine was 8.16 (SD 2.40). Median day of early RTW was 8 (range 6-9, IQR 8-8). Mean days saved from missed work was 1.84 (SD 0.52). A total of 297 (92%) HCP did RTW ≤10 days from exposure and days saved from missed work was 546.48. CONCLUSIONS: Implementing an HCP early RTW program is a clinical approach for COVID-19 workplace safety that can increase staffing availability, while maintaining a low risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission.

PICU-Based Rehabilitation and Outcomes Assessment: A Survey of Pediatric Critical Care Physicians.

OBJECTIVES: Characterize current practices for PICU-based rehabilitation, and physician perceptions and attitudes, barriers, resources, and outcome assessment in contemporary PICU settings. DESIGN: International, self-administered, quantitative, cross-sectional survey. SETTING: Online survey distributed from March 2017 to April 2017. PATIENTS OR SUBJECTS: Pediatric critical care physicians who subscribed to email distribution lists of the Pediatric Acute Lung Injury and Sepsis Investigators, the Pediatric Neurocritical Care Research Group, or the Prevalence of Acute Critical Neurological Disease in Children: A Global Epidemiological Assessment study group, and visitors to the World Federation of Pediatric Intensive and Critical Care Societies website. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Of the 170 subjects who began the survey, 148 completed it. Of those who completed the optional respondent information, most reported working in an academic medical setting and were located in the United States. The main findings were 1) a large majority of PICU physicians reported working in institutions with no guidelines for PICU-based rehabilitation, but expressed interest in developing and implementing such guidelines; 2) despite this lack of guidelines, an overwhelming majority of respondents reported that their current practices would involve consultation of multiple rehabilitation services for each case example provided; 3) PICU physicians believed that additional research evidence is needed to determine efficacy and optimal implementation of PICU-based rehabilitation; 4) PICU physicians reported significant barriers to implementation of PICU-based rehabilitation across centers; and 5) low routine assessment of long-term functional outcomes of PICU patients, although some centers have developed multidisciplinary follow-up programs. CONCLUSIONS: Physicians lack PICU-based rehabilitation guidelines despite great interest and current practices involving a high degree of PICU-based rehabilitation consultation. Data are needed to identify best practices and necessary resources in the delivery of ICU-based multidisciplinary rehabilitation and long-term functional outcomes assessment to optimize recovery of children and families affected by critical illness.

Early Protocolized Versus Usual Care Rehabilitation for Pediatric Neurocritical Care Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

OBJECTIVE: s: Few feasibility, safety, and efficacy data exist regarding ICU-based rehabilitative services for children. We hypothesized that early protocolized assessment and therapy would be feasible and safe versus usual care in pediatric neurocritical care patients. DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial. SETTING: Three tertiary care PICUs in the United States. PATIENTS: Fifty-eight children between the ages of 3-17 years with new traumatic or nontraumatic brain insult and expected ICU admission greater than 48 hours. INTERVENTIONS: Early protocolized (consultation of physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech and language therapy within 72 hr ICU admission, n = 26) or usual care (consultation per treating team, n = 32). MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Primary outcomes were consultation timing, treatment type, and frequency of deferrals and safety events. Secondary outcomes included patient and family functional and quality of life outcomes at 6 months. Comparing early protocolized (n = 26) and usual care groups (n = 32), physical therapy was consulted during the hospital admission in 26 of 26 versus 28 of 32 subjects (p = 0.062) on day 2.4 ± 0.8 versus 7.7 ± 4.8 (p = 0.001); occupational therapy in 26 of 26 versus 23 of 32 (p = 0.003), on day 2.3 ± 0.6 versus 6.9 ± 4.8 (p = 0.001); and speech and language therapy in 26 of 26 versus 17 of 32 (p = 0.011) on day 2.3 ± 0.7 versus 13.0 ± 10.8 (p = 0.026). More children in the early protocolized group had consults and treatments occur in the ICU versus ward for all three services (all p < 0.001). Eleven sessions were discontinued early: nine during physical therapy and two during occupational therapy, none impacting patient outcome. There were no group differences in functional or quality of life outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: A protocol for early personalized rehabilitation by physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech and language therapy in pediatric neurocritical care patients could be safely implemented and led to more ICU-based treatment sessions, accelerating the temporal profile and changing composition of interventions versus usual care, but not altering the total dose of rehabilitation.