Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39187755›Full record

ArticleBMC infectious diseases2024

SARS-CoV-2 infections in patients, health care workers and hospital outbreaks during the first 3 waves of the pandemic: a retrospective analysis in a secondary care hospital network in Germany.

Anke Hildebrandt, Kirsten Dolega, Lutz Uflacker, Henrik Rudolf, Sören G Gatermann

Abstract read
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Article in BMC infectious diseases, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Anke HildebrandtDepartment of Internal Medicine I, St. Vincenz-Hospital, Rottstr. 11, Datteln, 45711, Germany. a.hildebrandt@vincenz-datteln.de.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4518-3501
Kirsten DolegaDepartment of Hygiene, St. Vincenz-Hospital, Rottstr. 11, Datteln, 45711, Germany.
Lutz UflackerDepartment of Internal Medicine I, St. Vincenz-Hospital, Rottstr. 11, Datteln, 45711, Germany.
Henrik RudolfInstitute for Biostatistics and Informatics in Medicine and Ageing Research, University Medical Center Rostock, Rostock, Germany.
Sören G GatermannNational Reference Centre for Multidrug-Resistant Gram-Negative Bacteria, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundHospital infections with SARS-CoV-2 continued during the initial waves of the pandemic worldwide. So far, Data on the dynamics of these infections and the economic burden of outbreaks are rare.

methodsWe retrospectively analysed SARS-CoV-2 infections in patients, hospital employees and nosocomial infections resulting in outbreaks in two hospitals of a secondary care hospital network in Germany during the initial 3 pandemic waves (03/2020-06/2021). In addition to hospital infections, we evaluated infection prevention strategies and the economic burden of hospital outbreaks.

resultsA total of 396 patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection were hospitalized in both hospitals. The risk factors for severe disease and death increased with age, male sex and a CRB-65 score > 0. The most frequent symptom was dyspnoea (30.1%). Sixty-five patients died, most of whom were in the 2nd wave. A total of 182 (12.5%) hospital employees were infected, 63 (34.6%) of whom were involved in outbreaks. An occupational risk of infection during outbreaks was particularly common among nurses and HCWs working on regular wards. Eleven hospital outbreaks led to high economic impact on both hospitals through the loss of manpower as result of infected employees, temporary locked wards, blocked beds, a reduced number of total hospitalized patients and increased personnel costs.

conclusionContinuously adaptation of infection prevention strategies is a valuable tool to keep hospitals safe places for patients and employees. We do need more analyses of the different pandemic waves and applied infection prevention strategies to learn from weak points.

trial registrationThis research was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and national standards. The study protocol was approved by the relevant ethics committee of the Chamber of Physicians Westphalia-Lippe and University of Münster (no. 2021-475-f-S). The study was registered on 25th August 2021 at the German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS00025865).

Indexed as

COVID-19Cross InfectionHealth PersonnelSARS-CoV-2AdultAgedAged, 80 and overDisease OutbreaksFemaleGermanyHospitalizationHumansMaleMiddle AgedPandemicsRetrospective StudiesCOVID-19Healthcare workersNosocomial transmissionPatientsSARS-CoV-2

Identifiers

PMID39187755
PMCPMC11346040

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.