Clinical Presentation, Management and In-Hospital Outcome of Healthcare Personnel With COVID-19 Disease

Abstract

Objective Healthcare personnel (HCP) are undoubtedly one of the major frontline fighters in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that many HCP have become infected by COVID-19 globally. The infection of HCP has received great attention in social media and is frequently reported from different parts of the world. However, there are few scientific reports addressing this aspect of the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to evaluate the characteristics of clinical presentation, treatment, and outcome of COVID-19 infection among the HCP of our setting. Methods This cross-sectional study was performed in the National Heart Foundation Hospital & Research Institute of Bangladesh from April 29 to July 20, 2020. HCP employed in this hospital who experienced fever or respiratory symptoms or came in close contact with COVID-19 patients at home or their workplace were included in this study. The presence of COVID-19 disease was confirmed by real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction on nasopharyngeal samples. A total of 394 HCP were sampled and 139 had a positive corona test. Structured interviews were conducted to document symptoms for all HCP with confirmed COVID-19. Data analysis was performed in July 2020. Results Out of 1,409 HCP, 139 subjects tested positive for COVID-19. Among the HCP, infection rate was 9.86%. The mean age of the study population was 34.08±11.11 years (range: 20-69 yrs), of whom 82 (59%) were female. Most of this cohort were nurses (56 [40.3%]) and physicians (25 [18%]), and the remaining 58 (41.7%) were other staff. The mean duration of onset of symptoms to test was 2.89±2.07 days. The most common symptoms were fever (84.2%), fatigue (56.1%), cough (54%), body ache (39.6%), headache, and anosmia (38.8%). Most subjects had mild disease (125 [93%]), three (2.1%) of the HCP had moderate disease and one (0.7%) had severe disease. Ten of the HCP (7.2%) were asymptomatic. Most of them were treated either by ivermectin plus azithromycin or ivermectin plus doxycycline. Only 20 (14.4%) of the HCP were hospitalized, while others were treated either in home isolation (59.7%) or in institutional isolation (25.9%). Recovery was almost uneventful except one healthcare worker who died. Conclusion Most HCP had mild symptoms and a few of them were asymptomatic also. HCP with mild COVID-19 symptoms may be treated in home or institutional isolation. As they are a vulnerable group for infection, providing adequate protection to HCP is absolutely mandatory to safeguard them from this pandemic.

COVID-19 in Hong Kong – Public health, food safety, and animal vectors perspectives

“… Early quarantine and limitation of hospital visitation is useful but psychosocial supports of elderly people important. Hospital outbreaks ( Wang et al, 2020 ; The Lancet, 2020 ; Malik et al, 2020 ) No healthcare related transmission until June 2020. One healthcare worker infected during transport of a patient despite personal protective equipment.…”

Update Alert 6: Epidemiology of and Risk Factors for Coronavirus Infection in Health Care Workers

“…The wide ranges in estimates were likely related to differences in settings, exposures, community transmission rates, symptom status, use of infection control measures, and other factors. Rates of SARS-CoV-2 infection based on polymerase chain reaction positivity, reported in 4 new studies, ranged from 0% to 9.9% ( 3 , 4 , 9 , 10 ). Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 seropositivity, reported in 5 new studies, ranged from 3.2% to 13.2% ( 4–6 , 8 , 10 ).…”

“…For this update, 8 cross-sectional studies ( 3–10 ) were added. Two studies were done in Asia ( 7 , 9 ), 5 were done in Europe ( 4–6 , 8 , 10 ), and 1 was done in Oman ( 3 ).…”

“…Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 seropositivity, reported in 5 new studies, ranged from 3.2% to 13.2% ( 4–6 , 8 , 10 ). Among HCWs with SARS-CoV-2 infection, 3 studies reported hospitalization rates of 0% to 14.4% ( 3 , 9 , 10 ), and 2 studies reported that 0.7% and 10.2% had severe disease ( 7 , 9 ). In 2 studies, mortality among HCWs with SARS-CoV-2 infection was 0% and 0.7% ( 7 , 9 ).…”

“…Among HCWs with SARS-CoV-2 infection, 3 studies reported hospitalization rates of 0% to 14.4% ( 3 , 9 , 10 ), and 2 studies reported that 0.7% and 10.2% had severe disease ( 7 , 9 ). In 2 studies, mortality among HCWs with SARS-CoV-2 infection was 0% and 0.7% ( 7 , 9 ). Limitations of the studies included failure to adequately report demographic characteristics of HCWs, small sample sizes, unclear participation rates, and lack of information on clinical outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infections.…”