Clinical characteristics and in-hospital outcome of medical staff infected with COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Objectives: To analyze the clinical characteristics and in-hospital outcomes among coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) positive medical staff compared with those of public. Methods: A total of 108 COVID-19-positive medical staff patients were included in the study from March 23, 2020 to June 15, 2020. Patients were analyzed for demographic data, clinical presentations, and in-hospital outcomes and compared against 661 COVID-19-infected patients of non-medical personnel. Results: Mean age of medical staff patients was 44.05±13.9 years, most of whom were women (63.9%). The infected medical staff members consisted of 63 nurses (58.3%), 37 physicians (34.3%), 5 technicians (4.6%), and 3 pharmacists (2.8%). Smoking (60.2%) was the most frequent, followed by diabetes mellitus (37%). Of 108 COVID-19 infected medical staff, 18 (16.6%) were isolated in the intensive care unit (ICU), of which 14 (77.8%) were male, 16 (88.9%) were smokers, and 16 (88.9%) presented with pneumonia. Fatality ratio among medical staff patients was 4.6%. Male gender with odds ratios (OR) of 7.771 and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of 0.837-72.195 and a history of chronic kidney disease of (OR=10.778, 95% CI: 1.503-77.287) were predictors of death among the medical staff group. Conclusion: The incidence of COVID-19 infection among medical staff is quite high, but the occurrence of extreme illness and death is significantly low compared with the general community. Training should be implemented for all hospital staff on infection prevention techniques. Reliable and quick access for testing medical personnel is essential to maintain health, safety, and availability of health care workers during this pandemic.

SARS-CoV-2 antibody prevalence among healthcare workers: A cross-sectional study at a quaternary healthcare center in Saudi Arabia

“…Seropositivity was significantly higher among non-Saudi HCWs. This finding matches with our report on the prevalence of COVID-19 among HCWs at our institution where most of the patients were non-Saudi [12] , [13] . Similarly, in their study of blood donors in Saudi Arabia, Banjar et al reported that non-citizens were 13.6 times more likely to be positive for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies than citizens.…”

Characteristics of healthcare workers with COVID-19: A retrospective descriptive study in a quaternary care center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

“…The clinical prognosis of the study subjects showed that only 1.1% required ICU admission and the overall death rate was 0.03% compared to 99.7% recovery rate, with no significant difference among the three risk groups. This finding was supported by Samah et al as well as by Kim et al who found that the occurrence of extreme illnesses and deaths related to COVID-19 in HCWs was significantly lower than the general community [ 15 , 16 ].…”

Demography and COVID-19 Symptoms of South African Oral Health Workers in an Academic Hospital

“…The vast majority of those infected were in the 31 -50 year age bracket (80%), with females constituting (63%) of infected staff, which corresponds with the gender (females 60%) and age (32 year mean age) related findings of other studies 44,45 , however, this finding might be related to the staff composition at the WOHC which is mostly female. The high number of staff who reported no existing comorbidities (69%) is similar to a study comparing HCWs and non-HCWs in terms of severity of disease which reported HCWs to be more healthy and less likely to be hospitalised and had less severe symptoms 46,47 .…”