Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh 11461, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Endocrinology and Diabetes, Prince Sultan Military Medical City, Riyadh 12233, Saudi Arabia.
Med Sci (Basel). 2021 Jun 30;9(3):49. doi: 10.3390/medsci9030049.
To determine the frequency, mode of transmission, and outcome of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) among healthcare workers (HCWs) in a tertiary care cardiac center in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). This is a retrospective study of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infected HCWs and was conducted from 2 March to 31 December 2020. Data related to the presence of COVID-19 symptoms, mode of transmission, hospitalization, and mortality were collected from the patients' medical records. Of the 4462 patients tested for COVID-19 by real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), 203 (4.5%) HCWs were positive; of these, 125 (61.6%) were males, and the most common age group was <40 years. The most commonly encountered health professionals were nurses (74, 36.4%), followed by therapists/technicians (48, 23.6%), housekeepers (25, 12.3%), and physicians (21, 10.4%). The majority (184, 90.6%) of the HCWs contracted COVID-19 in the community, and only 19 (9.4%) were healthcare-associated infections. Of the infected HCWs, 169 (83.3%) had mild symptoms and were managed in home isolation. The most common symptoms were fever (128, 63.1%), body ache (124, 61.8%), headache (113, 55.7%), dry cough (123, 60.6%), sore throat (97, 47.8%), body weakness (97, 47.8%), and fatigue (94, 46.3%). Comparing males and females, there was a significantly higher number of female nurses; in contrast, there was a higher number of male physicians, housekeepers, therapists/technicians, and other specialty HCWs. A significantly lower number of nurses, therapists/technicians were infected in the ≥40 years age group compared to <40 years. Furthermore, a significantly higher difference was observed among non-Saudi nurses compared to Saudi nurses. No mortality was documented among the included HCWs. In the largest tertiary cardiac center in KSA, most HCWs who contracted COVID-19 developed mild symptoms; nurses and those aged <40 years were most commonly infected, and most infections were acquired in the community. HCWs' adherence to mitigation measures outside of the workplace is vital to curb the current pandemic and decrease nosocomial transmission risk.
在沙特阿拉伯王国（KSA）的一家三级心脏中心，确定 2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）在医护人员（HCWs）中的发生频率、传播方式和结局。这是一项对严重急性呼吸系统综合征冠状病毒 2（SARS-CoV-2）感染的 HCWs 的回顾性研究，于 2020 年 3 月 2 日至 12 月 31 日进行。从患者病历中收集了与 COVID-19 症状、传播方式、住院和死亡率相关的数据。在通过实时逆转录聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）检测的 4462 例 COVID-19 患者中，有 203 例（4.5%）HCWs 呈阳性；其中，125 例（61.6%）为男性，最常见的年龄组为<40 岁。最常见的卫生专业人员是护士（74 人，36.4%），其次是治疗师/技师（48 人，23.6%）、管家（25 人，12.3%）和医生（21 人，10.4%）。大多数（184 人，90.6%）HCWs 在社区中感染了 COVID-19，只有 19 人（9.4%）是医源性感染。感染的 HCWs 中，169 人（83.3%）症状轻微，在家中隔离治疗。最常见的症状是发烧（128 人，63.1%）、身体疼痛（124 人，61.8%）、头痛（113 人，55.7%）、干咳（123 人，60.6%）、喉咙痛（97 人，47.8%）、身体虚弱（97 人，47.8%）和疲劳（94 人，46.3%）。将男性和女性进行比较，女性护士的数量明显更多；相比之下，男性医生、管家、治疗师/技师和其他专业 HCWs 的数量更多。≥40 岁年龄组感染的护士、治疗师/技师数量明显少于<40 岁年龄组。此外，非沙特护士与沙特护士相比，感染人数差异显著更大。在所包括的 HCWs 中没有记录到死亡。在 KSA 最大的三级心脏中心，大多数感染 COVID-19 的 HCWs 出现轻度症状；护士和<40 岁的人最常被感染，大多数感染发生在社区。HCWs 在工作场所之外遵守缓解措施对于遏制当前大流行和降低医院内传播风险至关重要。
