COVID-19 outbreaks in hospital workers during the first COVID-19 wave.
Occup Med (Lond)
; 72(2): 110-117, 2022 02 22.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-34919710
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Health care workers (HCWs) are on the frontline, playing a crucial role in the prevention of infection and treatment of patients.AIMS:
This study was aimed to evaluate the prevalence of hospital-acquired coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection at work and related factors at the University Hospital of Trieste workers exposed to COVID-19 patients.METHODS:
From March 1 to May 31, of 4216 employees, 963 were in contact with COVID-19 patients or colleagues and were followed up. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in nasopharyngeal swabs was determined every 3 days, by RT-PCR.RESULTS:
During the follow-up period, 193 workers were positive for COVID-19 (5%), and 165 of these (86%) were symptomatic. We identified five major cluster outbreaks of COVID-19 infection in Trieste Hospitals, four of which occurred before the implementation of universal masking for HCWs and patients (1-14 March 2020). COVID-19 infection was significantly higher in high-risk ward workers (Infectious Diseases, and Geriatric and Emergency Medicine, odds ratio [OR] 13.4; 95% confidence interval [CI] 5.8-31), in subjects with symptoms (OR 5.4; 95% CI 2.9-10) and in those with contacts with COVID-19 patients and colleagues (OR 2.23; 95% CI 1.01-4.9).CONCLUSIONS:
Hospital workers were commonly infected due to contact with COVID-19 patients and colleagues, mainly in the first 15 days of the pandemic, before the implementation of universal mask wearing of HCWs and patients. Repetitive testing and follow-up permitted the identification of COVID-19 cases before symptom onset, obtaining better infection prevention and control.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
COVID-19
Type of study:
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limits:
Aged
/
Humans
Language:
En
Journal:
Occup Med (Lond)
Journal subject:
MEDICINA OCUPACIONAL
Year:
2022
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Italia