Pre-Operative COVID Testing Expands to All Pre-Surgical and Endoscopy Patients

Pre-Operative COVID Testing Expands to All Pre-Surgical and Endoscopy Patients
12.22.2021

As the regional COVID positivity rate continues to remain high, effective Monday, Jan. 3, all pre-surgical and endoscopy patients will follow the established Pre-Procedure/Pre-Surgical COVID-19 Workflow for PCR specimen collection 3 days prior to their procedure.

Please note:

  • This process can begin immediately however, we anticipate there will be surgical patients who now meet the pre-procedural testing criteria but will not have their test complete prior to their day of surgery. Please DO NOT order same-day testing for these patients.
  • Please avoid same-day COVID testing unless it’s absolutely necessary, including pre-procedure testing.
  • A reminder that our pre-procedural testing process includes sending the pre-procedural patient for a laboratory PCR test. Home and pharmacy rapid antigen tests will not be accepted as part of the pre-procedural process.

As a reminder, pre-procedural PCR COVID-19 specimen collection should occur 3 days prior to the scheduled procedure (for example, for a procedure occurring on Thursday, the patient should have their COVID-19 specimen collected on Monday). Please refer to the COVID-19 Specimen Collection Window and Dates Job Aid to determine the day that a patient needs to have their specimen collected.

In summary, the pre-procedural testing process should be utilized for all of the following:

  • All procedures occurring in the operating room
  • All endoscopy procedures
  • All procedures that require general anesthesia
  • OB patients (active labor, C-section, induction)
  • Patients admitted to either inpatient or observation status
  • All procedures considered aerosol-generating procedure (AGP)
    • Ear, Nose, and Throat procedures
    • Laryngoscopy
    • EGD
    • ERCP
    • TEE
    • Bronchoscopy
  • Provider discretion (e.g., patient recently exposed to COVID-19)

In addition:

  • Patients need to self-quarantine between the time of the test and the day of procedure.
  • The ordering provider is responsible for sharing results with the patient, and any POSITIVE test results with the health department of the patient’s residence.