The risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection among healthcare workers

Abstract

Objective: We aimed to describe the risks of health care workers (HCWs) getting COVID-19, and analyze the transmission routes and dynamics of the infection. Methods: This is a prospective observational study. We screened 624 HCWs from April 1 to May 15, 2020, in a hospital with 300 hospital beds, in Istanbul, Turkey. All the HCWs working at high-risk areas (COVID wards, emergency departments, and intensive care units) were routinely screened every four weeks. The HCWs were grouped as high, moderate, low and none according to their risk of infection. Results: Out of 1300 total HCWs, 42 (3.2%) were diagnosed as COVID-19, 39 (3%) were confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. Among 42 symptomatic cases, 26 (62%) HCWs were hospitalized, mainly because of isolation needs, 62% received hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) alone, 11.5% HCQ + azithromycin, and 11.5% favipiravir only. All survived. We detected nine asymptomatic cases out of 550 HCWs (1.6%) in our screening for antibody levels. In none of the nine asymptomatic HCWs, SARS-CoV-2 RNA was not detected by PCR. In multivariate analysis for detecting the risk factors of the SARS-CoV-2 infection, working in high-risk areas (OR:5.2, CI:1.99-13.6, p=0.001), and not to use proper personal protective equipment (PPE) (OR:5.9, CI:1.66-21.2, p=0.006) increased the risk of infection. Conclusion: Routine screening of asymptomatic HCWs with antibody tests might be useful, but its effectiveness was limited. The HCWs working in high-risk areas had significantly higher risk. The strict use of appropriate PPE was effective in prevention.