Determination of risk factors playing a role in the transmission of COVID-19 in healthcare professionals

Yıl 2022, Cilt: 5 Sayı: 6, 1725 - 1731, 25.10.2022

Tuba Kuruoğlu , Aynur Atilla , Şeyma Betül Kayhan , Fatih Temoçin , Esra Tanyel

https://doi.org/10.32322/jhsm.1180325

Öz

Introduction: Healthcare workers and professionals have the highest risk of transmission of novel coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). The risks faced by healthcare professionals can vary according to their working conditions, knowledge, attitudes and behaviours. This study aimed to identify risk factors contributing to transmission among frontline healthcare providers in the pandemic period.
Material and Method: The healthcare workers working at the school of medicine hospital and referred to the COVID-19 clinics by the filiation team following risky exposure between March 15, 2020 and December 31, 2020 were included in the study. sociodemographic features, use of protective equipment, unprotected contact data, and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) Real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test results recorded on the contact healthcare follow-up form of the participants were taken from the hospital records and analyzed retrospectively.
Results: Of the healthcare workers included in the study, 790 (58%) were female, and 571 (42%) were male, with a mean age of 33,6±8,3 years. SARS-CoV2 PCR positivity was detected in 94 (6%) participants. According to the multivariate model results, the male gender was found as a risk factor in terms of transmission which increased the risk 1.633-fold [%95 Cl; (1,048-2,544), p=0,030], working in a laboratory unit increased the risk 2.89-fold [%95 Cl; (1,322-6,316), p=0,008], and contacting out of the hospital increased the risk 7.154-fold [%95 Cl; (4,085-12,529), p <0,001], and all these were determined as independent risk factors.
Conclusion: We think that indoor units such as laboratories that do not have direct contact the patient, which seems to be risk-free in terms of transmission, contribute to the cross-contamination of COVID-19 among healthcare workers.

Anahtar Kelimeler

COVID-19, healthcare worker, personal protective equipment, contact, risk factors

Kaynakça

• Prevention, identification and management of health worker infection in the context of COVID-19 [Internet]. World Health Organization. [cited 2020 Oct 30]. Available from: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/10665-336265
• COVID-19 Pandemisi İki Aylık Değerlendirme Raporu [Internet]. Türk Tabipler Birliği COVID-19 Danışma ve İzleme Kurulu. [cited 2020 Aug 19]. Available from: https://www.ttb.org.tr/userfiles/files/covid19-rapor.pdf
• Gómez-Ochoa SA, Franco OH, Rojas LZ, et al. COVID-19 in health-care workers: a living systematic review and meta-analysis of prevalence, risk factors, clinical characteristics, and outcomes. Am J Epidemiol 2021; 190: 161-75.
• Shreffler J, Petrey J, Huecker M. The Impact of COVID-19 on Healthcare Worker Wellness: A Scoping Review. West J Emerg Med 2020; 21: 1059-66.
• Sahu AK, Amrithanand V, Mathew R, Aggarwal P, Nayer J, Bhoi S. COVID-19 in health care workers-A systematic review and meta-analysis. Am J Emerg Med 2020; 38: 1727-31.
• Gholami M, Fawad I, Shadan S, et al. COVID-19 and healthcare workers: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Int J Infect Dis 2021; 104: 335-46.
• Ha JF. The COVID‐19 pandemic, personal protective equipment and respirator: A narrative review. Int J Clin Pract 2020; 74: e13578.
• Li DT, Samaranayake LP, Leung YY, Neelakantan P. Facial protection in the era of COVID‐19: A narrative review. Oral Dis 2021; 27: 665-73.
• WHO COVID-19 Case definition [Internet]. World Health Organization. [cited 2020 Aug 8]. Available from: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-2019-nCoV Surveillance_Case_Definition-2020.1
• Temaslı Takibi, Salgın Yönetimi, Evde Hasta İzlemi ve Filyasyon [Internet]. T.C. Sağlık Bakanlığı COVID-19 Bilgilendirme Platformu. [cited 2020 Mar 11]. Available from: https://covid19.saglik.gov.tr/TR-66339/temasli-takibi-salgin-yonetimi-evde-hasta-izlemi-ve-filyasyon.html
• Wei JT, Liu ZD, Fan ZW, Zhao L, Cao WC. Epidemiology of and risk factors for COVID-19 infection among health care workers: a multi-centre comparative study. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2020; 17: 7149.
• Zheng C, Hafezi-Bakhtiari N, Cooper V, et al. Characteristics and transmission dynamics of COVID-19 in healthcare workers at a London teaching hospital. J Hosp Infect 2020; 106: 325-9.
• Galán MI, Velasco M, Casas ML, et al. Hospital-Wide SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in health care workers in a Spanish teaching hospital. Enferm Infecc Microbiol Clin 2020; 40: 302-309.
• Madran B, Keske S, Beşli Y, Bozkurt İ, Ergönül Ö. The risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection among healthcare workers. Infect Dis Clin Microbiol 2020; 2: 54-60.
• Erol Ç, Yanık-Yalçın T, Sarı N, Azap Ö, Arslan H. Predictors of COVID-19 among Healthcare Workers who were Exposed to COVID-19. Infect Dis Clin Microbiol 2021; 3: 87-96.
• Acharya Y, Pant S, Gyanwali P, et al. Gender disaggregation in COVID-19 and increased male susceptibility. J Nepal Health Res Counc 2020; 18: 345-50.
• Bwire GM. Coronavirus: Why Men are More Vulnerable to Covid-19 Than Women? SN Compr Clin Med 2020: 1-3.
• Kim H, Hegde S, LaFiura C, et al. Access to personal protective equipment in exposed healthcare workers and COVID-19 illness, severity, symptoms and duration: a population-based case-control study in six countries. BMJ Global Health 2021; 6: e004611.
• Lammers MJ, Lea J, Westerberg BD. Guidance for otolaryngology health care workers performing aerosol generating medical procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic. J Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2020; 49: 1-8.
• Bartoszko JJ, Farooqi MAM, Alhazzani W, Loeb M. Medical masks vs N95 respirators for preventing COVID‐19 in healthcare workers: A systematic review and meta‐analysis of randomized trials. Influenza Other Respir Viruses 2020; 14: 365-73.
• Contejean A, Leporrier J, Canouï E, et al. Transmission routes of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 among healthcare workers of a French university hospital in Paris, France. Open Forum Infect Dis 2021; 8: ofab054.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Last accessed date: 2021 August 20. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/infectioncontrol/pdf/guidelines/environmental-guidelines-P.pdf
• Azuma K, Yanagi U, Kagi N, Kim H, Ogata M, Hayashi M. Environmental factors involved in SARS-CoV-2 transmission: effect and role of indoor environmental quality in the strategy for COVID-19 infection control. Environ Health Prev Med 2020; 25: 1-16.
• Çelebi G, Pişkin N, Bekleviç AÇ, et al. Specific risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 transmission among health care workers in a university hospital. Am J Infect Control 2020; 48: 1225-30.
• Varona JF, Madurga R, Peñalver F, et al. Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in over 6000 healthcare workers in Spain. Int J Epidemiol 2021; 50: 400-9.
• Canova V, Lederer Schläpfer H, Piso RJ, et al. Transmission risk of SARS-CoV-2 to healthcare workers-observational results of a primary care hospital contact tracing. Swiss Med Wkly 2020; 150: w20257
• Bandyopadhyay S, Baticulon RE, Kadhum M, et al. Infection and mortality of healthcare workers worldwide from COVID-19: a systematic review. BMJ Glob Health 2020; 5: e003097.