Syndromic Surveillance (Speaker Notes)
Slide 1: Title, name of student
Slide 2: Impact on patient care delivery
Early detection, investigation, and real-time monitoring of changes in syndrome trends helps confirm a bioterrorism or natural disease outbreak leading to a rapid response earlier in its course (Katz et al., 2011; Kman & Bachmann, 2012)
This is because syndromic surveillance uses pre-diagnostic information such as patient complaints in the ED, school absences or the sales of over-the-counter medications (Katz et al., 2011; Kman & Bachmann, 2012). Algorithms generate alerts if the number, locations, and patterns in the information show a significant probability of an outbreak (ISDS, 2011; McGonigle & Mastrian, 2014). This prompts an investigation even before clinical or laboratory confirmed cases are reported. Continued monitoring results in the timely confirmation of an outbreak and communication of this fact to stakeholders (ISDS, 2011). The response consists of: Alerting responders, hospitals, and other stakeholders; distributing vaccines and/or medications; ensuring the availability of mass medical care; implementing appropriate isolation, social distancing, and/or quarantine measures; ensuring veterinary medical support or vector management as necessary; ensuring food and water safety; mitigating other hazards (ISDS, 2011; Kman & Bachmann, 2012)
Hospitals can take proactive measures based on the route of transmission of the infectious agent even before the large influx of infected patients. Such measures include infection control protocols and modification of the physical environment to allow for isolation and quarantine.
Slide 3: Impact on patient care delivery
Syndromic surveillance creates situational awareness of the characteristics of the outbreak such as which populations and how many are affected as well as trends of spread in the community resulting in a targeted response (Andersson et al., 2013; ISDS, 2011; Katz et al., 2011).For instance, in cases of new strains of influenza, vaccinations are expected to be largely ineffective leading to a steep rise in the incidence of symptomatic illness and hospitalizations especially among high-risk populations such as the elderly. This situation warrants the acquisition, distribution, and use of antivirals to shorten the course or illness and reduce the mortality rate (Schuchat, 2015).
Another example is when there is a concentration of GI symptoms, absences from work, and over-the-counter purchases of antidiarrheal medications in a specific area in a county, it can signal a waterborne or foodborne outbreak. State and local public health agencies and the CDC Outbreak Response and Prevention Branch will then ensure the adequacy of human and material resources needed to control the outbreak and prevent new cases from occurring (CDC, 2015).In the hospital, adjustments are made in the allocation of staff, equipment, supplies, and resources ensuring that public health responses and hospital responses meet the increase in demand generated by an outbreak (ISDS, 2011). Situational awareness also encompasses the magnitude and severity of the outbreak (ISDS, 2011). This permits prioritization in the allocation of adequate resources to populations, geographical locations or facilities that need them the most (Andersson …
