Burden, risk assessment, surveillance and management of SARS-CoV-2 infection in health workers: a scoping review
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SCOPING REVIEW
Open Access
Burden, risk assessment, surveillance and management of SARS-CoV-2 infection in health workers: a scoping review Federica Calò, Antonio Russo, Clarissa Camaioni, Stefania De Pascalis and Nicola Coppola*
Abstract Background: Health workers (HWs) are at increased risk for severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARSCoV-2) infection and a possible source of nosocomial transmission clusters. Despite the increased risk, the best surveillance strategy and management of exposed HWs are not yet well known. The aim of this review was to summarize and critically analyze the existing evidence related to this topic in order to support public health strategies aimed at protecting HWs in the hospital setting. Main text: A comprehensive computerized literature research from 1 January 2020 up to 22 May 2020 was made to identify studies analyzing the burden of infection, risk assessment, surveillance and management of HWs exposed to SARS-CoV-2. Among 1623 citation identified using MEDLINE, Embase, Google Scholar and manual search, we included 43 studies, 14 webpages and 5 ongoing trials. Health workers have a high risk of acquiring infection while caring for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. In particular, some types exposures and their duration, as well as the inadequate or non-use of personal protective equipment (PPE) are associated with increased infection risk. Strict infection prevention and control procedures (IPC), adequate training programs on the appropriate use of PPE and close monitoring of HWs with symptom surveillance and testing are essential to significantly reduce the risk. At the moment there is not enough evidence to provide precise indications regarding pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP). Conclusions: During the spread of COVID-19 outbreak, numerous published papers investigated the epidemiology, risk assessment and prevention and control of SARS-CoV-2. However, more high-quality studies are needed to provide valid recommendations for better management and for the clinical and microbiological surveillance of healthcare personnel. Keywords: Healthcare worker, Health worker, Risk assessment, Surveillance, Management, COVID-19
Background The severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), has rapidly worldwide, so on 3 June 2020 approximately 6 348 900 cases of COVID-19 were reported worldwide, with about 380 810 deaths [1]. * Correspondence: [email protected] Department of Mental Health and Public Medicine – Infectious Diseases Unit, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, L. Armanni 5, 80131 Naples, Italy
Current evidence suggests that SARS-CoV-2 is transmitted from person to person through close contact and droplets. People most at risk of acquiring the disease are those who are in contact with or care for patients with COVID-19. This inevitably places health workers (HWs) at a high risk of infection [2–4], citing them as a possible source of no
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