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Carazo S, Villeneuve J, Laliberté D, Longtin Y, Talbot D, Martin R, Denis G, Ducharme F, Paquet-Bolduc B, Anctil G, Hegg-Deloye S, De Serres G. Risk and protective factors for severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection among healthcare workers: A test-negative case-control study in Québec, Canada. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2023; 44:1121-1130. [PMID: 36082690 PMCID: PMC9530374 DOI: 10.1017/ice.2022.231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2022] [Revised: 08/23/2022] [Accepted: 08/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES In Québec, Canada, we evaluated the risk of severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection associated with (1) the demographic and employment characteristics among healthcare workers (HCWs) and (2) the workplace and household exposures and the infection prevention and control (IPC) measures among patient-facing HCWs. DESIGN Test-negative case-control study. SETTING Provincial health system. PARTICIPANTS HCWs with PCR-confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) diagnosed between November 15, 2020, and May 29, 2021 (ie, cases), were compared to HCWs with compatible symptoms who tested negative during the same period (ie, controls). METHODS Adjusted odds ratios (aORs) of infection were estimated using regression logistic models evaluating demographic and employment characteristics (all 4,919 cases and 4,803 controls) or household and workplace exposures and IPC measures (2,046 patient-facing cases and 1,362 controls). RESULTS COVID-19 risk was associated with working as housekeeping staff (aOR, 3.6), as a patient-support assistant (aOR, 1.9), and as nursing staff (aOR, 1.4), compared to administrative staff. Other risk factors included being unexperienced (aOR, 1.5) and working in private seniors' homes (aOR, 2.1) or long-term care facilities (aOR, 1.5), compared to acute-care hospitals. Among patient-facing HCWs, exposure to a household contact was reported by 9% of cases and was associated with the highest risk of infection (aOR, 7.8). Most infections were likely attributable to more frequent exposure to infected patients (aOR, 2.7) and coworkers (aOR, 2.2). Wearing an N95 respirator during contacts with COVID-19 patients (aOR, 0.7) and vaccination (aOR, 0.2) were the measures associated with risk reduction. CONCLUSION In the context of the everchanging SARS-CoV-2 virus with increasing transmissibility, measures to ensure HCW protection, including vaccination and respiratory protection, and patient safety will require ongoing evaluation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Carazo
- Institut national de santé Publique du Québec, Québec, Québec, Canada
| | - Jasmin Villeneuve
- Institut national de santé Publique du Québec, Québec, Québec, Canada
| | - Denis Laliberté
- Direction de la santé publique de la Capitale-Nationale, CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale, Québec, Québec, Canada
- Faculty of Medicine, Laval University, Québec, Québec, Canada
| | - Yves Longtin
- Infection Prevention and Control Unit, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Québec, Canada
- McGill University Faculty of Medicine, Montreal, Québec, Canada
| | - Denis Talbot
- Faculty of Medicine, Laval University, Québec, Québec, Canada
- Centre de recherche du CHU de Québec—Université Laval, Québec, Québec, Canada
| | - Richard Martin
- Institut national de santé Publique du Québec, Québec, Québec, Canada
| | - Geoffroy Denis
- McGill University Faculty of Medicine, Montreal, Québec, Canada
- CIUSSS Centre Sud de Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada
| | - Francine Ducharme
- Faculté des sciences infirmières, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada
- Centre de recherche de l’Institut de gériatrie de Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada
| | - Bianka Paquet-Bolduc
- Infection Prevention and Control Unit, Institut Universitaire en cardiologie et pneumologie de Québec, Québec, Québec, Canada
| | - Geneviève Anctil
- Institut national de santé Publique du Québec, Québec, Québec, Canada
| | | | - Gaston De Serres
- Institut national de santé Publique du Québec, Québec, Québec, Canada
- Faculty of Medicine, Laval University, Québec, Québec, Canada
- Centre de recherche du CHU de Québec—Université Laval, Québec, Québec, Canada
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Chou R, Dana T. Major Update: Masks for Prevention of SARS-CoV-2 in Health Care and Community Settings-Final Update of a Living, Rapid Review. Ann Intern Med 2023; 176:827-835. [PMID: 37186920 PMCID: PMC10234287 DOI: 10.7326/m23-0570] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/17/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Optimal use of masks for preventing COVID-19 is unclear. PURPOSE To update an evidence synthesis on N95, surgical, and cloth mask effectiveness in community and health care settings for preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection. DATA SOURCES MEDLINE, EMBASE, medRxiv (3 June 2022 to 2 January 2023), and reference lists. STUDY SELECTION Randomized trials of interventions to increase mask use and risk for SARS-CoV-2 infection and observational studies of mask use that controlled for potential confounders. DATA EXTRACTION Two investigators sequentially abstracted study data and rated quality. DATA SYNTHESIS Three randomized trials and 21 observational studies were included. In community settings, mask use may be associated with a small reduced risk for SARS-CoV-2 infection versus no mask use, on the basis of 2 randomized trials and 7 observational studies. In routine patient care settings, surgical masks and N95 respirators may be associated with similar risk for SARS-CoV-2 infection, on the basis of 1 new randomized trial with some imprecision and 4 observational studies. Evidence from observational studies was insufficient to evaluate other mask comparisons due to methodological limitations and inconsistency. LIMITATION Few randomized trials, studies had methodological limitations and some imprecision, suboptimal adherence and pragmatic aspects of randomized trials potentially attenuated benefits, very limited evidence on harms, uncertain applicability to Omicron variant predominant era, meta-analysis not done due to heterogeneity, unable to formally assess for publication bias, and restricted to English-language articles. CONCLUSION Updated evidence suggests that masks may be associated with a small reduction in risk for SARS-CoV-2 infection in community settings. Surgical masks and N95 respirators may be associated with similar infection risk in routine patient care settings, but a beneficial effect of N95 respirators cannot be ruled out. PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE None.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roger Chou
- Pacific Northwest Evidence-based Practice Center and the Department of Medical Informatics and Clinical Epidemiology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon (R.C., T.D.)
| | - Tracy Dana
- Pacific Northwest Evidence-based Practice Center and the Department of Medical Informatics and Clinical Epidemiology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon (R.C., T.D.)
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Loeb M, Bartholomew A, Hashmi M, Tarhuni W, Hassany M, Youngster I, Somayaji R, Larios O, Kim J, Missaghi B, Vayalumkal JV, Mertz D, Chagla Z, Cividino M, Ali K, Mansour S, Castellucci LA, Frenette C, Parkes L, Downing M, Muller M, Glavin V, Newton J, Hookoom R, Leis JA, Kinross J, Smith S, Borhan S, Singh P, Pullenayegum E, Conly J. Medical Masks Versus N95 Respirators for Preventing COVID-19 Among Health Care Workers : A Randomized Trial. Ann Intern Med 2022; 175:1629-1638. [PMID: 36442064 PMCID: PMC9707441 DOI: 10.7326/m22-1966] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND It is uncertain if medical masks offer similar protection against COVID-19 compared with N95 respirators. OBJECTIVE To determine whether medical masks are noninferior to N95 respirators to prevent COVID-19 in health care workers providing routine care. DESIGN Multicenter, randomized, noninferiority trial. (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04296643). SETTING 29 health care facilities in Canada, Israel, Pakistan, and Egypt from 4 May 2020 to 29 March 2022. PARTICIPANTS 1009 health care workers who provided direct care to patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19. INTERVENTION Use of medical masks versus fit-tested N95 respirators for 10 weeks, plus universal masking, which was the policy implemented at each site. MEASUREMENTS The primary outcome was confirmed COVID-19 on reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test. RESULTS In the intention-to-treat analysis, RT-PCR-confirmed COVID-19 occurred in 52 of 497 (10.46%) participants in the medical mask group versus 47 of 507 (9.27%) in the N95 respirator group (hazard ratio [HR], 1.14 [95% CI, 0.77 to 1.69]). An unplanned subgroup analysis by country found that in the medical mask group versus the N95 respirator group RT-PCR-confirmed COVID-19 occurred in 8 of 131 (6.11%) versus 3 of 135 (2.22%) in Canada (HR, 2.83 [CI, 0.75 to 10.72]), 6 of 17 (35.29%) versus 4 of 17 (23.53%) in Israel (HR, 1.54 [CI, 0.43 to 5.49]), 3 of 92 (3.26%) versus 2 of 94 (2.13%) in Pakistan (HR, 1.50 [CI, 0.25 to 8.98]), and 35 of 257 (13.62%) versus 38 of 261 (14.56%) in Egypt (HR, 0.95 [CI, 0.60 to 1.50]). There were 47 (10.8%) adverse events related to the intervention reported in the medical mask group and 59 (13.6%) in the N95 respirator group. LIMITATION Potential acquisition of SARS-CoV-2 through household and community exposure, heterogeneity between countries, uncertainty in the estimates of effect, differences in self-reported adherence, differences in baseline antibodies, and between-country differences in circulating variants and vaccination. CONCLUSION Among health care workers who provided routine care to patients with COVID-19, the overall estimates rule out a doubling in hazard of RT-PCR-confirmed COVID-19 for medical masks when compared with HRs of RT-PCR-confirmed COVID-19 for N95 respirators. The subgroup results varied by country, and the overall estimates may not be applicable to individual countries because of treatment effect heterogeneity. PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE Canadian Institutes of Health Research, World Health Organization, and Juravinski Research Institute.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark Loeb
- Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine and Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada (M.L.)
| | - Amy Bartholomew
- Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada (A.B., J.N., P.S.)
| | | | - Wadea Tarhuni
- University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and Canadian Cardiac Research Centre, Windsor, Ontario, Canada (W.T.)
| | - Mohamed Hassany
- National Hepatology and Tropical Medicine Research Institute, Cairo, Egypt (M.Hassany)
| | - Ilan Youngster
- Shamir Medical Center, Tzrifin, and Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel (I.Y.)
| | - Ranjani Somayaji
- Department of Medicine, University of Calgary and Alberta Health Services, Calgary, Alberta, Canada (R.S., O.L., J.Kim, B.M., J.C.)
| | - Oscar Larios
- Department of Medicine, University of Calgary and Alberta Health Services, Calgary, Alberta, Canada (R.S., O.L., J.Kim, B.M., J.C.)
| | - Joseph Kim
- Department of Medicine, University of Calgary and Alberta Health Services, Calgary, Alberta, Canada (R.S., O.L., J.Kim, B.M., J.C.)
| | - Bayan Missaghi
- Department of Medicine, University of Calgary and Alberta Health Services, Calgary, Alberta, Canada (R.S., O.L., J.Kim, B.M., J.C.)
| | - Joseph V Vayalumkal
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Calgary and Alberta Health Services, Calgary, Alberta, Canada (J.V.V.)
| | - Dominik Mertz
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada (D.M., R.H.)
| | - Zain Chagla
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, and St. Joseph's Healthcare, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada (Z.C.)
| | | | - Karim Ali
- Niagara Health System, Niagara, Ontario, Canada (K.A.)
| | | | - Lana A Castellucci
- Department of Medicine, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (L.A.C.)
| | - Charles Frenette
- McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada (C.F.)
| | | | - Mark Downing
- Unity Health-St. Joseph's, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (M.D.)
| | - Matthew Muller
- Unity Health-St. Michael's, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (M.M.)
| | - Verne Glavin
- Brantford Community Health System, Brantford, Ontario, Canada (V.G.)
| | - Jennifer Newton
- Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada (A.B., J.N., P.S.)
| | - Ravi Hookoom
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada (D.M., R.H.)
| | - Jerome A Leis
- Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (J.A.L.)
| | | | - Stephanie Smith
- University of Alberta Hospital, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (S.S.)
| | - Sayem Borhan
- Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada (S.B.)
| | - Pardeep Singh
- Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada (A.B., J.N., P.S.)
| | | | - John Conly
- Department of Medicine, University of Calgary and Alberta Health Services, Calgary, Alberta, Canada (R.S., O.L., J.Kim, B.M., J.C.)
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Prevention of SARS-CoV-2 and respiratory viral infections in healthcare settings: current and emerging concepts. Curr Opin Infect Dis 2022; 35:353-362. [PMID: 35849526 DOI: 10.1097/qco.0000000000000839] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW COVID-19 has catalyzed a wealth of new data on the science of respiratory pathogen transmission and revealed opportunities to enhance infection prevention practices in healthcare settings. RECENT FINDINGS New data refute the traditional division between droplet vs airborne transmission and clarify the central role of aerosols in spreading all respiratory viruses, including Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), even in the absence of so-called 'aerosol-generating procedures' (AGPs). Indeed, most AGPs generate fewer aerosols than talking, labored breathing, or coughing. Risk factors for transmission include high viral loads, symptoms, proximity, prolonged exposure, lack of masking, and poor ventilation. Testing all patients on admission and thereafter can identify early occult infections and prevent hospital-based clusters. Additional prevention strategies include universal masking, encouraging universal vaccination, preferential use of N95 respirators when community rates are high, improving native ventilation, utilizing portable high-efficiency particulate air filters when ventilation is limited, and minimizing room sharing when possible. SUMMARY Multifaceted infection prevention programs that include universal testing, masking, vaccination, and enhanced ventilation can minimize nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 infections in patients and workplace infections in healthcare personnel. Extending these insights to other respiratory viruses may further increase the safety of healthcare and ready hospitals for novel respiratory viruses that may emerge in the future.
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