tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Am J Infect Control
. 2021 Dec 8;S0196-6553(21)00797-5.
doi: 10.1016/j.ajic.2021.11.029. Online ahead of print.
Retrospective evaluation of the symptom-based work restriction strategy of healthcare providers in the first epidemic of COVID-19 at a tertiary care hospital in Tokyo, Japan
Hiroki Shikano[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Yuki Uehara[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Rino Kuboki[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Erika Tashino[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Fumiko Nakahara[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Yumi Matsumoto[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Satomi Kusakabe[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Chizumi Fukazawa[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Takahiro Matsuo[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Nobuyoshi Mori[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Akiko Ayabe[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Torahiko Jinta[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Fumika Taki[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Fumie Sakamoto[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Osamu Takahashi[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Tsuguya Fukui[SUP] 8 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Background: Effectiveness of restricting healthcare providers (HCPs) from working based on the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-like symptoms should be evaluated.
Methods: A total of 495 HCPs in a tertiary care hospital in Tokyo, Japan, participated in this study between June and July in 2020. Analysis of serum anti-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibody to identify infected HCPs, questionnaire surveys, and medical record reviews were conducted to evaluate the appropriateness of symptom-based work restriction for 10 days.
Results: Five participants (1.0%) were identified as infected. Forty-six participants (9.3%) experienced work restriction and all five infected participants (10.8%) restricted working, even though the real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction was positive only in four participants (80.0%). There were no unexpectedly infected participants among those who did not experience work restriction. However, only 46 of 110 HCPs with COVID-19-like symptoms (41.8%) restricted themselves from working.
Discussion: Symptom-based work restriction strategy successfully prevented infected HCPs to work, but showed low specificity to identify truly infected HCPs, and their low adherence to the strategy was revealed.
Conclusions: HCPs with COVID-19-like symptoms should restrict working as the first step of infection prevention, but the strategy to identify truly infected HCPs is necessary.
Keywords: acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; allergic rhinitis; coronavirus disease 2019; healthcare providers; symptom-based work restriction.
. 2021 Dec 8;S0196-6553(21)00797-5.
doi: 10.1016/j.ajic.2021.11.029. Online ahead of print.
Retrospective evaluation of the symptom-based work restriction strategy of healthcare providers in the first epidemic of COVID-19 at a tertiary care hospital in Tokyo, Japan
Hiroki Shikano[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Yuki Uehara[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Rino Kuboki[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Erika Tashino[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Fumiko Nakahara[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Yumi Matsumoto[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Satomi Kusakabe[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Chizumi Fukazawa[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Takahiro Matsuo[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Nobuyoshi Mori[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Akiko Ayabe[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Torahiko Jinta[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Fumika Taki[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Fumie Sakamoto[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Osamu Takahashi[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Tsuguya Fukui[SUP] 8 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 34896200
- DOI: 10.1016/j.ajic.2021.11.029
Abstract
Background: Effectiveness of restricting healthcare providers (HCPs) from working based on the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-like symptoms should be evaluated.
Methods: A total of 495 HCPs in a tertiary care hospital in Tokyo, Japan, participated in this study between June and July in 2020. Analysis of serum anti-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibody to identify infected HCPs, questionnaire surveys, and medical record reviews were conducted to evaluate the appropriateness of symptom-based work restriction for 10 days.
Results: Five participants (1.0%) were identified as infected. Forty-six participants (9.3%) experienced work restriction and all five infected participants (10.8%) restricted working, even though the real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction was positive only in four participants (80.0%). There were no unexpectedly infected participants among those who did not experience work restriction. However, only 46 of 110 HCPs with COVID-19-like symptoms (41.8%) restricted themselves from working.
Discussion: Symptom-based work restriction strategy successfully prevented infected HCPs to work, but showed low specificity to identify truly infected HCPs, and their low adherence to the strategy was revealed.
Conclusions: HCPs with COVID-19-like symptoms should restrict working as the first step of infection prevention, but the strategy to identify truly infected HCPs is necessary.
Keywords: acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; allergic rhinitis; coronavirus disease 2019; healthcare providers; symptom-based work restriction.