SARS-CoV-2-specific antibody detection in healthcare workers in Germany with direct contact to COVID-19 patients

Korth, Johannes; Wilde, Benjamin; Dolff, Sebastian; Anastasiou, Olympia E.; Krawczyk, Adalbert; Jahn, Michael; Cordes, Sebastian; Ross, Birgit; Eßer, Stefan; Lindemann, Monika; Kribben, Andreas; Dittmer, Ulf; Witzke, Oliver; Herrmann, Anke

doi:10.1016/j.jcv.2020.104437

Cited by 337 publications

(433 citation statements)

References 15 publications

(15 reference statements)

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“…It was reported from Germany an overall seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in a tertiary hospital was low, given the standard hygiene measures were taken. 26 Other differentiating features and associations of COVID-19 related headache Headache as the leader of the COVID-19 related neurological symptoms is also the most frequent complaint in outpatient clinics. 27 Thus it is essential to recognize those patients with COVID-19 in the beginning of the visit or even in telemedicine visits.…”

Section: The Course Of Previous Headaches During the Pandemic And Repmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Emergence of a New Form of Headache in COVID-19 Pandemic Era

Uygun¹,

Ertaş²,

Eki̇zoğlu³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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BackgroundHeadache is the most common COVID-19-related neurological symptom. But, diagnostic clues of headache for COVID-19 infection are not well known. MethodsWe developed a detailed web-based questionnaire screening the characteristics and course of headaches besides clinical COVID-19 features. The participants were grouped according to being diagnosed with COVID-19 infection or not, and having previous or new-onset headaches. The COVID-19 related headache features and their associations with other clinical features were investigated. A binary logistic regression model was performed to differentiate the characteristics of headache related to COVID-19. Findings 3458 participants (2341 females;67.7%, 1495 healthcare workers;43.2%) with a mean age of 43.21±11.2 years experiencing headache during pandemic contributed to the survey. Among them, 262 participants had COVID-19 and 126(48.1%) were male. The rate of males in the group without COVID-19 was 31% (991 out of 3196 participants) showing significant gender difference between groups (p<0.000). COVID-19 related headaches were more closely associated with anosmia/ageusia and gastrointestinal complaints (RR=3.7 and RR=1.33, respectively), showed different characteristics like pulsating, pressing, and even stabbing quality. Logistic regression analyses showed that bilateral headache, duration over 72 hours, analgesic resistance and having male gender were significant variables to differentiate COVID-19 positive patients from those without COVID-19 (p<0.000 for all variables). A worsening of previous primary headaches due to the pandemic-related problems was not the rule in majority of patients.Interpretation Bilateral, long-lasting headaches, resistance to analgesics and having male gender were more frequent in people with COVID-19 in conjunction with the anosmia/ageusia and gastrointestinal complaints. These features may be helpful for COVID-19 diagnosis in the clinical evaluation of headache patients during the pandemic.Funding: This study was funded by Scientific Research Projects Coordination Unit of Istanbul University with a project number of GAP-36802.

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Section: The Course Of Previous Headaches During the Pandemic And Repmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Emergence of a New Form of Headache in COVID-19 Pandemic Era

Uygun¹,

Ertaş²,

Eki̇zoğlu³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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“…The established work ow of our hospital ( gure 2) was able to prevent spreading of the virus and thereby protect ED staff and non COVID-19 patients. Voluntary antibody testing of 316 employees of the university hospital during peak of the pandemia in Essen revealed only three AB positive healthcare workers out of 244 exposed high risk workers (1.2%) in ED, COVID-19 wards and COVID-19 ICU as recently published from our institution (25).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 50%

Separating the wheat from the chaff – COVID-19 in a German emergency department: A Case-control study

Fistera

Pabst

Härtl

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Background: COVID-19 pandemia is a major challenge to worldwide health care systems. Whereas the majority of disease presents with mild symptoms that can be treated as outpatients, severely ill COVID-19 patients and patients presenting with similar symptoms cross their ways in the Emergency Department. Especially the variety of symptoms is challenging with primary triage. Are there parameters to distinguish between proven COVID-19 and without before? How can a safe and efficient management of these inpatients be achieved?Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of 314 consecutive inpatient patients who presented with possible symptoms of COVID-19 in a German emergency department between March and April 2020 and were tested with a SARS-Cov-2 nasopharyngeal swab. Clinical parameters, Manchester Triage System categories and lab results were compared between patients with positive and negative test results for SARS-Cov-2. Furthermore, we present the existing COVID-19 workflow model of the university hospital in Essen which proved to be efficient during pandemia.Results: 43 of the 314 patients (13.7%) were tested positive for COVID-19 by SARS-Cov-2 nasopharyngeal swab. We did not find any laboratory parameter to distinguish safely between patients with COVID-19 and those with similar symptoms. Dysgeusia was the only clinical symptom that was significantly more frequent among COVID-19 patients. Conclusion: Dysgeusia seems to be a typical symptom for COVID-19, which occurred in 14% of our COVID-19 patients. However, no valid parameters could be found to distinguish clinically between COVID-19 and other diseases with similar symptoms. Therefore, early testing, a strict isolation policy and proper personal protection are crucial to maintain workflow and safety of patients and ED staff for the months to come.Trial registration: URL: https://www.drks.de/drks_web/navigate.do?navigationId=trial.HTML&TRIAL_ID=DRKS00021675

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“…A study of 316 employees in a German tertiary hospital showed that 1.6% were seropositive for antibody against SARS-CoV-2. [21] In Kyoto, seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody among HCW were reported to be as high as 5.4%. [22] An even higher seropositivity rate was observed in an otolaryngology unit in Italy, where 5/58 (8.6%) HCW tested seropositive for IgG.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Numerous studies have stressed the critical importance of strict adherence to IPC measures to prevent patient-to-HCW infections, [21,23,[38][39][40] but few have investigated HCW compliance with IPC measures. Interestingly, Barrett et al did not nd any signi cant association between usage of PPE and COVID-19…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Serology surveillance of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies among asymptomatic healthcare workers in Malaysian healthcare facilities designated for COVID-19 care

Woon

Lee

Chong³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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IntroductionHealthcare workers (HCW) are presumed to be at increased risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection due to occupational exposure to infected patients. We aim to determine the prevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies among asymptomatic HCW.MethodsWe prospectively recruited HCW from the National Public Health Laboratory and two COVID-19 designated public hospitals in Klang Valley, Malaysia between April 13th and May 12th, 2020. Quota sampling was applied to ensure adequate representation of the HCW involved in provision of care for patients directly and indirectly. All participants had worked in the respective healthcare facility for at least 30 days prior study enrollment. HCW who were previously confirmed with COVID-19 infection or listed as “patient under investigation” were excluded. A self-administered questionnaire was used to capture sociodemographic information, history of contact with COVID-19 cases within the past month, clinical signs and symptoms and adherence to universal precautions. Blood samples were taken to test for anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies by surrogate virus neutralization test.ResultsA total of 400 HCW were recruited, comprising 154 (38.5%) nurses, 103 (25.8%) medical doctors, 47 (11.8%) laboratory technologists and others (23.9%). The mean age was 35±7.8 years, with females predominant (74%). A majority (68.9%) reported direct contact with COVID-19 patients, body fluids of COVID-19 patients and/or contaminated objects and surfaces in the past month within their respective workplaces. Nearly all claimed to adhere to personal protection equipment (PPE) guidelines (97%-100% adherence) and hand hygiene practice (91%-96% adherence). None (95% CI: 0, 0.0095) of the participants had anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies detected, despite 135 (33.8%) reporting respiratory symptoms one month prior to study recruitment. One hundred and fifteen (29%) participants claimed to have contact with known COVID-19 persons outside of the workplace.ConclusionOur finding of zero seroprevalence among asymptomatic HCW suggests a low risk of asymptomatic COVID-19 infection in our healthcare setting; which is at expected levels for a country with an incidence of 26 per 100,000. The adequacy of PPE equipment and strict adherence to infection prevention and control measures offers considerable protection during contact with COVID-19 cases and should be ensured to prevent future nosocomial transmission.

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SARS-CoV-2-specific antibody detection in healthcare workers in Germany with direct contact to COVID-19 patients

Cited by 337 publications

References 15 publications

The Emergence of a New Form of Headache in COVID-19 Pandemic Era

The Emergence of a New Form of Headache in COVID-19 Pandemic Era

Separating the wheat from the chaff – COVID-19 in a German emergency department: A Case-control study

Serology surveillance of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies among asymptomatic healthcare workers in Malaysian healthcare facilities designated for COVID-19 care

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