Analytics-Based Strategies Show Potential for Infectious Disease Testing

Published in the American Association for Clinical Chemistry's The Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine, recent research describes two analytics-based strategies that were effective in helping clinical laboratories test the right patients and save test cartridges, which may also provide a framework for future pandemics.

Although the challenges associated with COVID-19 testing are diminishing, there remain uncertainties regarding what the response to future variants or new public health emergencies may require.

Researchers set out to assess the utility of data analytics in future testing needs. Specifically, the researchers aimed to determine whether using EHR data can positively impact the application of testing resources, ensuring that only appropriate patients are tested.

To do this, they gathered data on 52,215 emergency department (ED) visits, all occurring between Dec. 1, 2021, and Jan. 18, 2022. Researchers noted that on Dec. 22, 2021, they added an EHR order redesign to assist clinicians in adhering to guidelines when ordering tests for COVID-19 and combined tests for COVID-19, influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The researchers examined the effect that the EHR order changes had on testing patterns three weeks before and after the redesign was implemented.

Researchers noted that among patients who were symptomatic and discharged from the ED, combined testing for COVID-19, flu, and RSV decreased by 49 percent from three weeks before to three weeks after the redesign was deployed. Among the same population and over the same period, testing for COVID-19 and flu only increased by 160 percent.

Similarly, among symptomatic patients admitted to the hospital, combined COVID-19, flu, and RSV testing increased by 128 percent.

This data is indicative of the fact that the right patients were tested, the press release notes. Researchers also found that the effort saved about 437 test cartridges weekly.

“A simple EHR order redesign was associated with increased adherence to institutional guidelines for SARS-CoV-2 and influenza testing amidst supply chain limitations necessitating optimal allocation of scarce testing resources,” said Rohit B. Sangal, MD, assistant professor of emergency medicine at the Yale University School of Medicine, in a press release. “With continually shifting resource availability, clinician education is not sufficient. Rather, system-based interventions embedded within existing workflows can better align resources and serve the testing needs of the community.” 

Data analytics is increasingly being used to tackle public health challenges.

For instance, Arizona State University researchers and personnel from Tempe, Arizona, leveraged an opioid use-tracking tool to serve as a warning for public health threats such as COVID-19.

The wastewater-based epidemiology tool allows researchers to track sewer chemicals and viruses. It was initially developed to track opioid use. The wastewater data is combined with other information, such as county and state data on vaccines and test results, to inform municipality-wide public health policies and interventions.

Researchers examined the tool's efficacy in identifying spikes in COVID-19 cases from April 2020 through March 2021. During that period, the tool accurately identified concentrations of gene copies of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater that correlated with the number of positive COVID-19 cases determined through clinical testing in the region.