Healthcare Workers Infection Rate in the Era of Coronavirus Disease 2019 - in Tertiary Teaching Hospital

Authors

  • Mona Mohiedden Department of Clinical and Chemical Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7852-3045
  • Aml M. Said Department of Clinical and Chemical Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
  • Ahmed M. Ali Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
  • Mohammed M. Abdel Razik Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
  • Maha Ali Gad Department of Clinical and Chemical Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7717-6747

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3889/oamjms.2021.6584

Keywords:

Coronavirus disease 2019, Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2, Health-care workers, Hospital acquired infection

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at the frontline defense against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

AIM: The study aimed to describe the characteristics and appraise potential risk factors of COVID-19 transmission among HCWs who tested positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) in one of Cairo University Hospitals.

METHOD: Cross-sectional descriptive analysis of confirmed polymerase chain reaction (PCR) positive versus negative cases for COVID-19.

RESULTS: Through March–June 2020, (145/846; 17%) suspected HCWs were tested for COVID-19 by PCR; out of them (70/145; 48.3%) were confirmed as positive, these positive cases represented (70/846; 8.3%) of all HCWs of the hospital. About 33% of confirmed COVID-19 positive HCWs acquired the infection from the healthcare while only (13/70; 19%) from community settings, and no clear exposure data were identified in (34/70; 48%) of cases. Most of symptomatic cases showed a positive PCR test for SARS-CoV-2 versus asymptomatic cases, p < 0.001. There was no statistical significance regarding gender, age, presence of comorbidity, workload or the type of acquisition.

CONCLUSION: HCWs are at an increased risk of COVID-19 infection at the workplace. Strict implementation of infection control measures is of crucial role in preventing transmission of COVID-19 infection in health-care settings.

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Published

2021-08-21

How to Cite

1.
Mohiedden M, Said AM, Ali AM, Abdel Razik MM, Gad MA. Healthcare Workers Infection Rate in the Era of Coronavirus Disease 2019 - in Tertiary Teaching Hospital. Open Access Maced J Med Sci [Internet]. 2021 Aug. 21 [cited 2024 Mar. 29];9(A):651-8. Available from: https://oamjms.eu/index.php/mjms/article/view/6584