Recommendations for SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 Testing: A Systematic Review to Consolidate Guidance for Policy and Practice

Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Testing used in screening, diagnosis and follow-up of COVID-19 has been a subject of debate. Given the limitation of resources compared to the enormity of the challenge posed by the pandemic, several organizations have developed formal advice about testing for COVID-19. We aimed to collate and delineate current worldwide recommendations about the role and applications of tests to control SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19. METHODS: We performed a systematic review of technical reports, consensus statements, guidelines and documents providing recommendations for COVID-19 testing. We searched electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE and LILACS), guideline repositories, and websites of government agencies, scientific societies and international organizations concerning COVID-19 testing, regularly updating the searches according to a protocol; the last search was performed on May 18 th 2020. Two reviewers applied the eligibility criteria to potentially relevant citations and documents without language or geographic restrictions. We also extracted data in duplicate including assessment of methodological quality using the AGREE-II tool. FINDINGS: Of the 3291 records screened, and 25 relevant documents from around the world were included. A high proportion of the documents scored at the lowest end of the 1-7 scale concerning methods for formulating recommendations (n= 19; 76%), and recording of competing interests of guideline developers (n= 15; 60%). There were a total of 211 recommendations about testing (median eight per document; interquartile range 5-13), with strength reported in only 44 (strong 27 …

Año de publicación:

2020

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Fuente:

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