NKCH Medical Staff, Employees Enroll in Antibody Testing, Research Study

After more than 2,230 North Kansas City Hospital medical staff and employees took part in voluntary COVID-19 antibody testing June 1-12, more than 790 participants enrolled in an NKCH research study.

“Our administrators were on board to open testing the minute it became available, and through the study we sought to determine the types of exposures people may have had and compare exposure data with our lab results,” said Mary C. O’Connor, MD, medical director of the epidemiology and infectious disease control program at NKCH and an infectious disease specialist with Metro Infectious Disease Consultants.

Research

Dr. O’Connor developed the research study with her fellow infectious disease specialist at Metro Infectious Disease Consultants and assistant medical director of the epidemiology and infectious disease control program at NKCH R. Beth Henry, MD, and NKCH Infection Prevention and Control Department staff. Questions covered work roles, possible exposures, experience with personal protective equipment, and behaviors in and out of the hospital.

“Our objective is to learn how we are doing at protecting our personnel while providing good patient care,” Dr. O’Connor said. “We also are hopeful this information will give us a better understanding of the validity of the antibody testing.”

Accuracy

Dr. O’Connor pointed to the University of Washington’s findings regarding the test’s accuracy on a large number of patients. Researchers found its SARS-CoV-2 IgG lab-based serology blood test had 99.9% specificity and 100% sensitivity for detecting the IgG antibody in patients 17 days or more after symptoms began. The research was published in the May 7, 2020, issue of the Journal of Clinical Microbiology.

“Based upon published data, we feel our test results are accurate,” Dr. O’Connor noted. “It’s a good test, and we feel our personal protective equipment and other measures have been effective, but it’s vital we not let our guard down.”

Mary C. O’Connor, MD

Dr. O’Connor earned her medical degree from the Medical College of Wisconsin, where she completed her internal medicine residency. She was an infectious disease fellow at the University of Kansas.