Table 6 Summary of results
Clinical status | Base case result | Uncertainty |
|---|---|---|
Early clinical period, days 1–7 | Only PCR, dominant | PCR testing is 74% likely to save QALYs but only 26% likely to save costs due to variations in test sensitivities |
Early clinical period, days 8–14 | Only PCR, $34,000/QALY gained | PCR-only is 34% likely to be dominant over Ag testing, if transmissible infection persists into second week post-symptom onset. As this duration decreases, cost-effectiveness of PCR testing also decreases, but remains below $180,000/QALY gained with 50% likelihood |
Late clinical period | No test, dominant | No other testing strategy is cost-effective. The magnitude of ICERs depend on QALYs lost per infection and transmission rate of SARS-CoV-2 |
Asymptomatic | Only Ag, dominant | 25% likelihood of being cost-effective (rather than dominant), depending on prevalence of transmissible infection among asymptomatic HCWs and medical costs |