Venugopal Usha, Jilani Nargis, Rabah Sami, Shariff Masood A, Jawed Muzamil, Mendez Batres Astrid, Abubacker Muhamed, Menon Sharika, Pillai Anjana, Shabarek Nehad, Kasubhai Moiz, Dimitrov Vihren, Menon Vidya
Department of Medicine, NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln, 234 East 149th Street, Bronx, New York, 10451, USA.
Department of Medicine, NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln, 234 East 149th Street, Bronx, New York, 10451, USA.
Int J Infect Dis. 2021 Jan;102:63-69. doi: 10.1016/j.ijid.2020.10.036. Epub 2020 Oct 16.
New York City (NYC) has endured the greatest burden of COVID-19 infections in the US. Health inequities in South Bronx predisposed this community to a large number of infectious cases, hospitalizations, and mortality. Health care workers (HCWs) are at a high risk of exposure to the infection. This study aims to assess seroprevalence and the associated characteristics of consenting HCWs from an NYC public hospital.
This cross-sectional study includes serum samples for qualitative SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing with nasopharyngeal swabs for SARS-CoV-2; PCR and completion of an online survey capturing demographics, COVID-19 symptoms during the preceding months on duty, details of healthcare and community exposure, and travel history were collected from consenting participants in May 2020. Participants' risk of exposure to COVID-19 infection in the hospital and in the community was defined based on CDC guidelines. Travel history to high-risk areas was also considered an additional risk. The Odds Ratio with bivariable and multivariable logistic regression was used to assess characteristics associated with seroprevalence.
A total of 500 HCW were tested, 137 (27%) tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 antibody. Symptomatic participants had a 75% rate of seroconversion compared to those without symptoms. Subjects with anosmia and ageusia had increased odds of seroconversion in comparison to those without these symptoms. Community exposure was 34% among those who had positive antibodies.
Seroprevalence among HCWs was high compared to the community at the epicenter of the pandemic. Further studies to evaluate sustained adaptive immunity in this high-risk group will guide our response to a future surge.
纽约市承受了美国新冠病毒感染的最大负担。南布朗克斯区的健康不平等使该社区出现了大量感染病例、住院病例和死亡病例。医护人员面临着很高的感染风险。本研究旨在评估纽约市一家公立医院中自愿参与的医护人员的血清阳性率及其相关特征。
这项横断面研究包括用于新冠病毒定性抗体检测的血清样本以及用于新冠病毒检测的鼻咽拭子；2020年5月从自愿参与的研究对象中收集了PCR检测结果，并完成了一项在线调查，内容包括人口统计学信息、前几个月值班期间的新冠症状、医疗和社区接触细节以及旅行史。根据美国疾病控制与预防中心（CDC）的指南确定研究对象在医院和社区感染新冠病毒的风险。前往高风险地区的旅行史也被视为额外风险。采用双变量和多变量逻辑回归的比值比来评估与血清阳性率相关的特征。
总共检测了500名医护人员，其中137人（27%）新冠病毒抗体检测呈阳性。有症状的研究对象血清转化率为75%，而无症状者的血清转化率较低。与没有嗅觉减退和味觉减退症状的研究对象相比，出现这些症状的研究对象血清转化的几率更高。抗体呈阳性的研究对象中，社区接触感染率为34%。
与疫情中心的社区相比，医护人员中的血清阳性率较高。进一步评估这一高风险群体持续适应性免疫的研究将指导我们应对未来的疫情高峰
