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Artigo Acesso aberto Produção Nacional Revisado por pares
BIBTEX RIS

Impact of COVID-19 RT-PCR testing of asymptomatic health care workers on absenteeism and hospital transmission during the pandemic

2022; Elsevier BV; Volume: 51; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.ajic.2022.10.014

ISSN

1527-3296

Autores

Elisa Teixeira Mendes, Danilo Glauco Pereira Villagelin Neto, Giulia Magalhães Ferreira, Ian Nunes Valença, Maria Patelli Juliani Souza Lima, Maria Fernanda Marciano Barros de Freitas, Maria Rita Donalísio, Márcio Cristiano de Melo, Carolina S. Lázari, Jacqueline Goes, Ingra Morales, Ana Carolina Gomes Jardim, Pamela Andrade dos Santos, Lucas Augusto Moysés Franco, Ester Cerdeiro Sabino, Sílvia Figueiredo Costa,

Tópico(s)

SARS-CoV-2 detection and testing

Resumo

Reducing the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic patients is critical in controlling the circulation of the virus.This study evaluated the prevalence of Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) positivity in serial tests in 429 asymptomatic health care workers (HCW) and its impact on absenteeism. HCW from a COVID-19 reference hospital were tested, screened, and placed on leave. A time-series segmented regression of weekly absenteeism rates was used, and cases of infection among hospitalized patients were analyzed. Viral gene sequencing and phylogenetic analysis were performed on samples from HCW who had a positive result.A significant decrease in absenteeism was detected 3-4 weeks after the intervention at a time of increased transmission within the city. The prevalence of RT-PCR positivity among asymptomatic professionals was 17.3%. Phylogenetic analyses (59 samples) detected nine clusters, two of them strongly suggestive of intrahospital transmission with strains (75% B.1.1.28) circulating in the region during this period.Testing and placing asymptomatic professionals on leave contributed to control strategy for COVID-19 transmission in the hospital environment, and in reducing positivity and absenteeism, which directly influences the quality of care and exposes professionals to an extra load of stress.

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