Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Nallamilli, Susanna
• Patel, Tejus
• Buazon, April
• Vidler, Jennifer
• Norton, Sam
• Atta, Mustafa
• Galloway, James
• Bowcock, Stella
• Chen, Robert Jeenchen

Titel

High numbers of COVID-19 patients transit through non-COVID wards, and associated healthcare workers have high infection rates: An observational cross-sectional study

Ist Teil von

• PloS one, 2022-10, Vol.17 (10), p.e0275154-e0275154

Ort / Verlag

San Francisco: Public Library of Science

Erscheinungsjahr

2022

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

EZB Free E-Journals

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Infection risk is high in healthcare workers working with COVID-19 patients but the risk in non-COVID clinical environments is less clear. We measured infection rates early in the pandemic by SARS-CoV-2 antibody and/or a positive PCR test in 1118 HCWs within various hospital environments with particular focus on non-COVID clinical areas. Infection risk on non-COVID wards was estimated through the surrogate metric of numbers of patients transferred from a non-COVID to a COVID ward. Staff infection rates increased with likelihood of COVID exposure and suggested high risk in non-COVID clinical areas (non patient-facing 23.2% versus patient-facing in either non-COVID environments 31.5% or COVID wards 44%). High numbers of patients admitted to COVID wards had initially been admitted to designated non-COVID wards (22–48% at peak). Infection risk was high during a pandemic in all clinical environments and non-COVID designation may provide false reassurance. Our findings support the need for common personal protective equipment standards in all clinical areas, irrespective of COVID/non-COVID designation.