Risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission to medical staff and patients from an exposure to a COVID-19-positive ophthalmologist
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Risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission to medical staff and patients from an exposure to a COVID-19-positive ophthalmologist Ori Saban 1 & Jaime Levy 1 & Itay Chowers 1 Received: 7 May 2020 / Revised: 7 May 2020 / Accepted: 5 June 2020 # Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Purpose To evaluate the risk of transmission of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) after exposure to a COVID-19+ physician in a retina clinic. Methods A retrospective observational study. Records of 142 patients and 11 staff members from a single retina clinic that were exposed to a COVID-19+ ophthalmologist were reviewed. All 153 individuals were placed in quarantine for 14 days. They were contacted after the quarantine period to inquire about symptoms consistent with COVID-19, and the results of diagnostic test for SARS-CoV-2 when performed. Results All patients (n = 142) were contacted successfully. The mean age was 72.8 ± 13.6 years; 54.2% (n = 77) were females. Twenty-three patients (16.2%) were exposed during an ophthalmic exam, 111 (78.2%) during intraocular injection, 4 (2.8%) underwent exam and injection, 3 (2.1%) underwent surgery, and one patient (0.7%) had laser photocoagulation. Half of the patients (50%; n = 71) were in contact with the COVID-19+ physician while he was symptomatic. Forty-four patients (31%) wore a mask on the day of their visit. 11.3% (n = 16) of the patients, and all involved staff had been tested for the virus and all were negative. One patient (0.7%) reported transient cough and sore throat, and the remaining 141 (99.3%) patients and 11 (100%) staff did not develop symptoms. Conclusions Low risk for SARS-CoV-2 transmission in the ophthalmic setting was observed when universal safety measures such as social distancing, meticulous hand hygiene, enlarged breath shields, and mask wear during procedures were taken. Keywords SARS-CoV-2 . COVID-19 . Transmission . Retina clinic
Introduction The global pandemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes COVID-19, has rapidly emerged throughout the world with millions of confirmed cases worldwide as of April, 2020, and a mortality rate that falls roughly within 0.5–12% based on reports by the World Health Organization [1].
Jaime Levy and Itay Chowers contributed equally to this work. This article is part of the Topical Collection on Perspectives on COVID19 * Itay Chowers [email protected] 1
Department of Ophthalmology, Hadassah Medical Center and the Hebrew University - Hadassah School of Medicine, PO Box 12000, 91120 Jerusalem, Israel
Health care environments are a potential important source of virus transmission and medical personnel are at significant risk of infection, morbidity, and mortality [2–4]. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the incubation period of COVID-19 is within 2 to 14 days [5], although the incubation period could last rarely up to 24 days [6]. SARS-CoV-2 can be transmitted by symptomatic individuals, yet,
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