Balaska Sofia, Parasidou Eleftheria, Takardaki Anna, Koutra Paraskevoula, Chrysafi Dimitra, Tychala Areti, Metallidis Simeon, Meletis Georgios, Skoura Lemonia
Department of Microbiology, AHEPA University Hospital, Medical School Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54636 Thessaloniki, Greece.
First Department of Internal Medicine, Infectious Diseases Division, AHEPA University Hospital, Medical School Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54636 Thessaloniki, Greece.
Life (Basel). 2022 Dec 2;12(12):2011. doi: 10.3390/life12122011.
Health care workers are at increased risk of acquiring SARS-CoV-2 infection due to different exposures in the community and in hospital settings. Interventions implemented to avoid nosocomial outbreaks include preventive testing strategies. In this report, we present results from the mass screening program applied in our hospital to all professionals, irrespective of symptoms or risk of exposure. We processed saliva specimens with real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. The total number of samples received was 43,726. Positive results were 672 and average positivity rate was 1.21%. The average positivity rate was similar to the positivity rate in the community in Greece and EU. More specifically, 80.5% of the positive participants care for patients in their daily activities, 31% experienced no symptoms before receiving the positive result, 46.1% reported a close contact with a patient or infected coworkers and 32.8% reported a close contact with infected family members. We believe that the identification of asymptomatic carriers has proved the effectiveness of the screening program by preventing the putative nosocomial spread of the virus and the depletion of workforce. In conclusion, in times of high incidence in the community, the periodic testing of health care personnel is wise and relevant for implementation costs.
由于在社区和医院环境中存在不同的暴露风险，医护人员感染新冠病毒的风险增加。为避免医院内爆发而采取的干预措施包括预防性检测策略。在本报告中，我们展示了在我院对所有专业人员实施的大规模筛查计划的结果，无论其有无症状或暴露风险。我们使用实时逆转录聚合酶链反应对唾液标本进行检测。共收到43726份样本，阳性结果为672例，平均阳性率为1.21%。该平均阳性率与希腊及欧盟社区的阳性率相似。具体而言，80.5%的阳性参与者在日常活动中照顾患者，31%在得到阳性结果之前没有症状，46.1%报告与患者或感染的同事有密切接触，32.8%报告与感染的家庭成员有密切接触。我们认为，无症状携带者的识别已证明筛查计划的有效性，它防止了病毒可能的医院内传播以及劳动力的损耗。总之，在社区发病率较高的时期，对医护人员进行定期检测是明智的，且在实施成本方面具有相关性。
