Ellsworth, C; Young, C. What is the definition of an outbreak versus a cluster for COVID-19 in different clinical and community settings in Canada, the US, and the UK? 2020 Jul 10; Document no.: EOC071001-01 ESR. In: COVID-19 Rapid Evidence Reviews [Internet]. SK: SK COVID Evidence Support Team, c2020. 9 p. (CEST evidence search report)
· The terms cluster and outbreak both describe the occurrence of new disease cases within a particular location and time period. The number of cases within a cluster are not necessarily greater than what is expected, however in an outbreak the number of cases does exceed the usual norm.
· In an outbreak the cases are confirmed to be epidemiologically linked while in a cluster an epidemiological connection is only suspected.
· Not all clusters are outbreaks, however each cluster needs to be investigated
· Understanding how to characterize COVID-19 cases based on a suspected or proven epidemiological link can better guide prevention of disease spreading
Radu, L; Badea, A; Groot, G; Ellsworth, C; Young, C. What is the definition of an outbreak versus a cluster for COVID-19 in different clinical and community settings in Canada, the US, and the UK? 2020 Jul 27; Document no.: EOC071001 RR. In: COVID-19 Rapid Evidence Reviews [Internet]. SK: SK COVID Evidence Support Team, c2020. 11 p. (CEST rapid review report)
Miller, L; Young, C. What is the epidemiology of variants and what are the implications for healthcare? 2021 Feb 22; Document no.: EOC022201-01 ESR. In: COVID-19 Rapid Evidence Reviews [Internet]. SK: SK COVID Evidence Support Team, c2020. 28 p. (CEST evidence search report)
Fox, L; Young, C. What is the evidence on timing and outcomes of elective surgery after a COVID infection? 2022 May 20, Document no.: EOC220504 ESR. In: COVID-19 Rapid Evidence Reviews [Internet]. SK: SK COVID Evidence Support Team, c2022. 34 p. (CEST evidence search report).
Badea, A; Groot, G; Reeder, B; Fox, L; Young, C. What is the evidence on timing and outcomes of elective surgery after a COVID infection? 2022 May 27, Document no.: EOC220504 RR. In: COVID-19 Rapid Evidence Reviews [Internet]. SK: SK COVID Evidence Support Team, c2022. (CEST table).
Significant evidence base demonstrates an increased risk of perioperative mortality in COVID positive surgical patients
Based on previous knowledge of preoperative pulmonary infections, as well as early clinical data, most professional associations recommend a deferral of at least 7 weeks from symptom onset or positive test to elective surgery
New evidence in light of the existing surgical backlogs indicates that those with asymptomatic or mild infections can proceed to minor, low-risk elective surgeries 4 weeks after symptom onset or positive test
Guidelines and frameworks indicate that timelines are only recommendations and individuals need to be assessed objectively for preoperative fitness, that the risks and benefits of both surgery and delay be discussed, and that shared decision making used between multidisciplinary care teams and patients
Badea, A; Groot, G; Reeder, B; Fox, L; Young, C. What is the evidence on timing and outcomes of elective surgery after a COVID infection? 2022 May 27, Document no.: EOC220504 RR. In: COVID-19 Rapid Evidence Reviews [Internet]. SK: SK COVID Evidence Support Team, c2022. 11 p. (CEST rapid review report).
Dalidowicz, M; Miller, L. What is the evidence to support the reprocessing and re-use of N95 respirators by healthcare workers? 2020 Nov 6; Document no.: PPE110201-01 ESR. In: COVID-19 Rapid Evidence Reviews [Internet]. SK: SK COVID Evidence Support Team, c2020. 28 p. (CEST evidence search report)
Badea, A; Groot, G; Dalidowicz, M; Miller, L. What is the evidence to support the reprocessing and re-use of N95 respirators by healthcare workers? 2020 Nov 20; Document no.: PPE110201 RR. In: COVID-19 Rapid Evidence Reviews [Internet]. SK: SK COVID Evidence Support Team, c2020. 19 p. (CEST rapid review report)
Dalidowicz, M; Mueller, M. What is the sensitivity and specificity of screening checklists and temperature checks for detecting the presence of COVID-19 in individuals? 2020 Apr 27; Document no.: PH042401-01 ESR. In: COVID-19 Rapid Evidence Reviews [Internet]. SK: SK COVID Evidence Support Team, c2020. 12 p. (CEST evidence search report)
Screening tools commonly include fever, respiratory symptoms (cough, shortness of breath), and epidemiological risk factors.
· The sensitivity and specificity of screening questionnaires depends considerably on the items used in the questionnaire. The limited published literature demonstrates great variability in the performance of different screening tools: sensitivity ranges from 0 – 48.6 – 84.3 – 100%; specificity ranges from 64.8 – 71.3 – 89.6 – 96%).
· The standard WHO symptom checklist performs poorly, with a sensitivity of 48.6%, and specificity of 89.6%. As such, half of individuals who have SARS-CoV-2 present at the time of testing will be missed by the symptom questionnaire (being either asymptomatic or presymptomatic). Depending on the population being screened the prevalence of the virus may vary widely. Given the sensitivity and specificity of the WHO symptom checklist in a population with prevalence ranging from 0.1% to 1% to 10% the positive predictive value (PPV) will be poor, range from 0.4% to 4.8% to 35%, respectively. Furthermore, the performance characteristics of the screening questionnaire may be poorer than reported if used in a setting or time of year when other respiratory viruses with similar symptoms are circulating.
Fick, F; Neudorf, C; Reeder, B; Dalidowicz, M; Mueller, M. What is the sensitivity and specificity of screening checklists and temperature checks for detecting the presence of COVID-19 in individuals? 2020 Apr 28; Document no.: PH042401 RR. In:
COVID-19 Rapid Evidence Reviews [Internet]. SK: SK COVID Evidence Support Team, c2020. 20 p. (CEST rapid review report)
