Health-care workers in gastrointestinal endoscopy are at higher risk for SARS-CoV-2 infection compared to other aerosol-generating disciplines

Abstract

Objective: Healthcare workers (HCW) are at high risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection due to exposure to potentially infectious material, especially during aerosol-generating procedures (AGP). We aimed to investigate the prevalence of infection among HCW in medical disciplines with AGP. Design: A nationwide questionnaire-based study in in- and outpatient settings was conducted between 12/16/2020 and 01/24/2021. Data on SARS-CoV-2 infections among HCW and potential risk factors were investigated. Results: 2,070 healthcare facilities with 25,113 employees were included in the study. Despite a higher rate of pre-interventional testing, clinics treated three times more confirmed SARS-CoV-2 cases than private practices (28.8% vs. 88.4%, p<0.001). Overall infection rate among HCW accounted for 4.7%. Multivariate analysis revealed that ZIP-regions having comparably higher incidences were significantly associated with increased risk of infection. Furthermore, clinical setting and the GIE specialty have more than double the risk of infection (OR 2.63; 95% CI 2.501-2.817, p<0.01 and OR 2.35; 95% CI 2.245-2.498, p<0.01). The number of procedures performed per day was also significantly associated with an increased risk of infection (OR 1.01; 95% CI 1.007-1.014), p<0.01). No treatment of confirmed SARS-CoV-2 cases was tending to lower the risk of infection (OR 0.72; 95% CI 0.507-1.025, p=0.068). Conclusion: HCW in GIE seem to be at higher risk of infection than those in other AGP, especially in the clinical setting. Regions having comparably higher incidences as well as the number of procedures performed per day were also significantly associated with increased risk of infection.

SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination Rate and SARS-CoV-2 Infection of Health Care Workers in Aerosol-Generating Medical Disciplines

“…As it is a continuation of the CoREM-NUM study, the objective focuses on risk assessment of aerosol-generating procedures in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Details and results on the first part of the CoREM-NUM study were reported in previous publications [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ].…”

One Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Dental Medical Facilities in Germany: A Questionnaire-Based Analysis

“…SARS-CoV-2 infections among HCWs occurred more often in large practices than in small practices. In both small and large practices, the rate of SARS-CoV-2-positive HCWs was significantly higher than in dental clinics [ 16 ]. Possibly, insufficient pre-interventional testing in practices could have been responsible for this.…”

COVID-19 und Endoskopieeinheiten

“…Die hier vorgestellten Daten zeigen, dass hierfür jedoch kein Grund besteht: Gegenüber der im gleichen Zeitraum zur Studie angegebenen Infektionsprävalenzrate von 2,6 % in der Gesamtbevölkerung (RKI am 24.01.2021) und einer anzunehmenden Dunkelziffer (von 5,2–7,8 %) sind die berichteten Infektionsraten in deutschen Kliniken und Praxen nicht signifikant höher. Allerdings bilden gastroenterologische Endoskopien an deutschen Kliniken die Ausnahme, denn nach den Augsburger Daten [ 18 , 19 ] lag die Infektionsrate für Personal in gastroenterologischen Kliniken mit 9,9 % signifikant höher als in den anderen untersuchten Einrichtungen des Gesundheitswesens. Daher erscheint es für die nahe Zukunft wichtig, weiterhin möglichst einheitliche, medizinisch effektive Infektionsschutzmaßnahmen besonders in den deutschen Endoskopieeinrichtungen in Kliniken durchzuführen (2- oder 3‑G, ggf.…”