Rev Esp Quimioter 2022; 35(2):157-164

Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection during the first wave of the pandemic among health and non-health personnel of the General Hospital of Segovia, Castilla y León

CARLOS AVELLANEDA MARTÍNEZ, JULIO CÉSAR SANTOS PASTOR, ISABEL MARÍA MARCOS SÁNCHEZ, AINHOA NARROS GIMÉNEZ, MARÍA GUTIÉRREZ DE ANTÓN, PABLO ALONSO CHACÓN

Published: 17 January 2022

http://www.doi.org/10.37201/req/094.2021

Introduction. Health and non-health workers (H&NH-W) in a hospital are more exposed to SARS-CoV-2 infection than the general population. We studied the prevalence of this infection in these workers of Segovia´s Hospital after the first epidemic wave.
Material and methods. Monocentric, observational, cross-sectional study, carried out between April 29 and May 14, 2020. The infection was diagnosed by capillary immunochromatography test for IgG and / or IgM antibodies, or PCR. Work, health, and exposure variables were studied.
Results. A total of 1,335 H&NH-W participated in the study out of a total of 1,667 (80.1%), 79.3% women, with a mean age of 47.3 years, and 47.1 for men. The prevalence of infected was 21.95%, 24.7% asymptomatic. Age presented a significant OR of 1.02/year. Exposure outside of work increased the prevalence by 16.8%. The continued use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and the administration of nebulizations presented an OR of 0.54 and 0.46 respectively. The symptoms associated with the highest prevalence were anosmia (OR 9.31), ageusia (OR 3.05), and fever (OR 1.94). Today, about 75% of H&NH-W were infected in the first wave.
Conclusions. The prevalence is higher among healthcare workers than the population they serve. Age is associated with a higher prevalence of infection. Almost a quarter of those infected were asymptomatic. The continuous use of PPE was associated with a lower prevalence, for that the administration of nebulisations could be safe. The symptoms with the greatest association were fever, anosmia, and ageusia.

Rev Esp Quimioter 2022; 35(2):157-164 [Texto completo PDF]