Clinical Characteristics and Risk Factors for COVID-19 among Health Care Workers in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Authors

  • Nada A. Bokhary, SBP, ABP, SF-PID, CIC
  • Ahlam Alamri MSN,BSN,MB
  • Abdullatif Almarashi, MPH
  • Noor Alharbi, BSC
  • Taher Bin-Sadek, ABCM, CIC
  • Ali Dammas, BSc HSHM, High Dip. Radiology
  • Khlied Hamed Alharbi,SBIM, FRCP

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47672/ajhmn.696

Keywords:

COVID-19, East Jeddah Hospital, Health care workers, Saudi Arabia, Personal protective equipment's

Abstract

Objectives: The study explores the main health care workers (HCWs) clinical characteristics and related behaviors with procedures that impose risk of acquiring COVID.19 infection.

Method: This was a cross-sectional study conducted at East Jeddah Hospital. 100 Health Care worker participants who were detected as COVID-19 cases from March to July 2020 was obtained from the infection control department, and these HCWs were asked to fill out a questionnaire designed for this study. Data was analyzed using SPSS, and categorical data presented as counts and proportions.

Results: Among the100 HCWs who contracted COVID-19, there was a marked predominance of females (69.0%) over males (31.0%). When dealing with COVID-19 cases, 93.1% of HCWs reported wearing a surgical mask and 61% an N95 mask, while only 69-80% reported wearing gloves, a disposable gown and eye protection. The procedures found to increase the risk of infection were taking nasopharyngeal swabs (23.0%), inserting nasogastric tubes (22.0%), ventilation (17.0%), and tracheal intubation (14.0%).

Conclusion: This study confirms that noncompliance with the use of PPE as well as performing a specific procedure and working in close contact (<1.5 meters) for longer than 20 minutes increased the risk of infection. No minimal protective measures against SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Recommendation: Analysis of the data obtained in this study demonstrates the significant of using personal protective equipment's effectively among health care workers and its vital role in reducing rate of infection transmission. However, further cohort study required in the same field to obtain a comprehensive outcomes.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Nada A. Bokhary, SBP, ABP, SF-PID, CIC

East Jeddah Hopsital, Saudi MOH

Ahlam Alamri MSN,BSN,MB

East Jeddah Hopsital, Saudi MOH 

Abdullatif Almarashi, MPH

Abdullatif Almarashi, MPH

Jeddah Health Affairs,  Saudi MOH 

Noor Alharbi, BSC

King Saudi University 

Taher Bin-Sadek, ABCM, CIC

Jeddah Health Affairs, Saudi MOH

 

Ali Dammas, BSc HSHM, High Dip. Radiology

Jeddah Health Affairs, Saudi MOH 

Khlied Hamed Alharbi,SBIM, FRCP

East Jeddah Hopsital, Saudi MOH  

References

Chan JFW, Yuan S, Kok KH, To KKW, Chu H, Yang J, et al. A familial cluster of pneumonia associated with the 2019 novel coronavirus indicating person-to-person transmission: A study of a family cluster. Lancet. 2020;395(10223):514-23.

Zou L, Ruan F, Huang M, Liang L, Huang H, Hong Z, et al. SARS-CoV-2 viral load in upper respiratory specimens of infected patients. N Engl J Med. 2020;382:1177-79.

World Health Organization. Transmission of COVID-19 by asymptomatic cases. 2020;2(July):2020.

Zhan M, Qin Y, Xue X, Zhu S. Death from COVID-19 of 23 health care workers in China. N Engl J Med. 2020;283:2267-68.

Liu M, Cheng SZ, Xu KW, Yang Y, Zhu QT, Zhang H, et al. Use of personal protective equipment against coronavirus disease 2019 by healthcare professionals in Wuhan, China: Cross-sectional study. BMJ. 2020;369:6-11.

Wang J, Zhou M, Liu F. Reasons for healthcare workers becoming infected with novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in China. J Hosp Infect. 2020;105(1):100-1.

Wang D, Hu B, Hu C, Zhu F, Liu X, Zhang J, et al. Clinical characteristics of 138 hospitalized patients with 2019 novel coronavirus-infected pneumonia in Wuhan, China. JAMA. 2020;323(11):1061-69.

Alsofayan YM, Althunayyan SM, Khan AA, Hakawi AM, Assiri AM. Clinical characteristics of COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia: A national retrospective study. J Infect Public Health. 2020;13(7):920-25.

World Health Organization. COVID-19 weekly epidemiological update. 2020;(November):1;4. Available from: https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/situation-reports/20201012-weekly-epi-update-9.pdf

Wu C, Chen X, Cai Y, Xia J, Zhou X, Xu S, et al. Risk factors associated with acute respiratory distress syndrome and death in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 pneumonia in Wuhan, China. JAMA Intern Med. 2020;1-10.

Zhou F, Yu T, Du R, Fan G, Liu Y, Liu Z, et al. Clinical course and risk factors for mortality of adult inpatients with COVID-19 in Wuhan, China: A retrospective cohort study. Lancet. 2020;395(10229):1054-62.

Goyal P, Choi JJ, Pinheiro LC, Schenck EJ, Chen R, Jabri A, et al. Clinical characteristics of COVID-19 in New York City. N Engl J Med. 2020;382:237-74.

Seto WH, Tsang D, Yung RWH, Ching TY, Ng TK, Ho M, et al. Effectiveness of precautions against droplets and contact in prevention of nosocomial transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Lancet. 2003;361(9368):1519-20.

Ran L, Chen X, Wang Y, Wu W, Zhang L, Tan X. Risk factors of healthcare workers with coronavirus disease 2019: A retrospective cohort study in a designated hospital of Wuhan in China. Clin Infect Dis. 2020;71(16):2218-21.

Rabbani U, Al Saigul AM. Knowledge, attitude and practices of health care workers about coronavirus disease 2019 in Saudi Arabia. J Epidemiol Glob Health. 2020; doi: 10.2991/jegh.k.200819.002

Temsah MH, Alhuzaimi AN, Alamro N, Alrabiaah A, Al-Sohime F, Alhasan K, et al. Knowledge, attitudes, and practices of healthcare workers during the early COVID-19 pandemic in a main, academic tertiary care centre in Saudi Arabia. Epidemiol Infect. 2020; doi: 10.1017/S0950268820001958.

Downloads

Published

2021-04-12

How to Cite

Bokhary , N., Alamri, A., Almarashi, A., Alharbi, N. ., Bin-Sadek, A. ., Dammas, A., & Alharbi, K. (2021). Clinical Characteristics and Risk Factors for COVID-19 among Health Care Workers in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study . American Journal of Health, Medicine and Nursing Practice, 6(2), 17–25. https://doi.org/10.47672/ajhmn.696

Issue

Section

Articles