Transmission of SARS to healthcare workers. The experience of a Hong Kong ICU

Autor: Patricia Leung, Florence H. Y. Yap, James L. Derrick, Margaret Ip, Charles D. Gomersall, Oi Man Ho, Gavin M. Joynt
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2006
Předmět:
Zdroj: Intensive Care Medicine
ISSN: 1432-1238
0342-4642
Popis: Objective To describe the extent and temporal pattern of transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) to intensive care unit staff. Design Retrospective observational cohort study. Setting University hospital intensive care unit, caring solely for patients with SARS or suspected to have SARS. Participants Thirty-five doctors and 152 nurses and healthcare assistants who worked in the ICU during the SARS epidemic. Interventions: Infection control measures designed to prevent transmission of disease to staff were implemented. Measurements and results Sixty-seven patients with SARS were admitted to the intensive care unit. Four nurses and one healthcare assistant contracted SARS, with three of these developing symptoms within 10 days of admission of the first patient with SARS. Doctors were exposed to patients with SARS for a median (IQR) of 284 (97–376) h, while nurses and healthcare assistants were exposed for a median (IQR) of 119 (57–166) h. The ICU did not meet international standards for physical space or ventilation. Conclusions In an ICU in which infection control procedures are rigorously applied, the risk to staff of contracting SARS from patients is low, despite long staff exposure times and a sub-standard physical environment. Electronic supplementary material The electronic reference of this article is http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00134-006-0081-1 The online full-text version of this article includes electronic supplementary material. This material is available to authorised users and can be accessed by means of the ESM button beneath the abstract or in the structured full-text article. To cite or link to this article you can use the above reference.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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