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Abstract
BACKGROUND The year 2020 was marked by the new coronavirus pandemic, resulting in millions of cases and deaths, placing healthcare workers at high risk of infection. AIMS The aim of this study was to describe the role of an occupational health service during coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic in an oncologic hospital and characterize the most likely sources of viral infection. METHODS The information of all healthcare workers with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection from 11 March to 15 December 2020 was collected through an epidemiological survey conducted during contact tracing. The data extracted included gender, age, comorbidities, occupational group, source of infection, clinical presentation, duration of the disease, need for hospitalization and persistent or late symptoms after disease or upon returning to work. RESULTS Out of a total of 2300 workers, 157 were infected, consisting of nurses (36%), nurse assistants (33%) and diagnostic and therapeutic professionals (10%). Physicians and administrative staff accounted for 8% each. The most frequently reported source of infection was occupational (43%), owing to worker-to-worker transmission (45%) and patient-to-worker transmission (36%). The most frequent moments of infection perceived corresponded to the removal of protective equipment during meals and moments of rest in the staff and changing rooms. CONCLUSIONS The study revealed that occupational transmission from patients and colleagues might be an important source of SARS-CoV-2 infection in healthcare workers. Spread between colleagues accounted for 45% of the occupational source infections reported. Implementing physical distancing measures and limiting the number of people in changing and rest rooms could significantly reduce infection and related absenteeism.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Ochoa-Leite
- IPO Porto-Instituto Português de Oncologia do Porto Francisco Gentil, Porto, Portugal.,FMUP-Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - J Bento
- IPO Porto-Instituto Português de Oncologia do Porto Francisco Gentil, Porto, Portugal
| | - D R Rocha
- IPO Porto-Instituto Português de Oncologia do Porto Francisco Gentil, Porto, Portugal
| | - I Vasques
- IPO Porto-Instituto Português de Oncologia do Porto Francisco Gentil, Porto, Portugal
| | - R Cunha
- IPO Porto-Instituto Português de Oncologia do Porto Francisco Gentil, Porto, Portugal
| | - Á Oliveira
- IPO Porto-Instituto Português de Oncologia do Porto Francisco Gentil, Porto, Portugal
| | - L Rocha
- IPO Porto-Instituto Português de Oncologia do Porto Francisco Gentil, Porto, Portugal
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Bento J, Silva R, Espadinha A, Banha F, Silva D, Lobato I, Videira A, Antunes M, Chinita P. PD-0311: Reproducibility of bladder volume in prostate RapidArc radiotherapy treatment. Radiother Oncol 2014. [DOI: 10.1016/s0167-8140(15)30416-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Cipriano J, Carvalho A, Fernandes C, Gaspar MJ, Pires J, Bento J, Roxo L, Louzada J, Lima-Brito J. Evaluation of genetic diversity of Portuguese Pinus sylvestris L. populations based on molecular data and inferences about the future use of this germplasm. J Genet 2013; 92:e41-8. [PMID: 23981929 DOI: 10.1007/s12041-013-0241-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- J Cipriano
- Institute for Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Centre of Genomics and Biotechnology (IBB/CGB), University of Tras-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD), P.O. Box 1013, 5001-801 Vila Real, Portugal.
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Bento J, Martins B, Teles P, Neves M, Colarinha P, Alves F, Teixeira N, Vaz P, Zankl M. Performance assessment and uncertainty evaluation of a portable NaI-based detection system used for thyroid monitoring. Radiat Prot Dosimetry 2012; 151:252-261. [PMID: 22345216 DOI: 10.1093/rpd/ncs011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
This work aims at assessing the performance of a portable detection system, equipped with an NaI(Tl) scintillation detector for in vivo thyroid monitoring, which was properly calibrated using an anthropomorphic neck phantom. The anthropomorphic physical phantoms commonly used for the efficiency calibration of in vivo counters often present certain limitations regarding the geometry and the activity distribution. Therefore, the feasibility of these detection systems for in vivo monitoring should be assessed whenever possible. To accomplish this assessment, patients to whom (99m)Tc and (123)I marked radiopharmaceuticals have been administered in the framework of nuclear medicine diagnostic procedures were monitored. As the biokinetic models of the administered radiopharmaceuticals are known, the time-dependent activity functions in the critical organs after administration are easily quantified. The measured activities in the thyroid using the NaI(Tl) scintillation detector were compared with the estimated activities using the biokinetic models, in order to reach conclusion about the applicability of the portable scintillation counter for in vivo thyroid monitoring. The state-of-the-art Monte Carlo computer program PENELOPE and two voxel phantoms (male and female) were used to evaluate the overall uncertainties influencing the thyroid monitoring. A computational parametric study was performed to quantify the influence of several parameters in the activity quantification (neck-detector distance, thyroid shape, thyroid size and overlying tissue thickness), which allowed one to gain insight and to better understand the discrepancies between the calculated and measured activities.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Bento
- Instituto Tecnológico e Nuclear, Sacavém, Portugal.
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Broggio D, Bento J, Caldeira M, Cardenas-Mendez E, Farah J, Fonseca T, Konvalinka C, Liu L, Perez B, Capello K, Cowan P, Cruzate JA, Freire L, Gómez-Ros JM, Gossio S, Heide B, Huikari J, Hunt J, Kinase S, Kramer G, Kurihara O, Kyrieleis A, Lebacq AL, Leone D, Li C, Li J, Mihailescu LC, Moraleda M, Navarro JF, Oliveira C, Puerta N, Reichelt U, Simões C, Sommer D, Takahashi M, Teles P, Vanhavere F, Vrba T, Franck D, Gualdrini G, Lopez MA. Monte Carlo modelling for the in vivo lung monitoring of enriched uranium: Results of an international comparison. RADIAT MEAS 2012. [DOI: 10.1016/j.radmeas.2012.04.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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Bento J, Teles P, Neves M, Santos AI, Cardoso G, Barreto A, Alves F, Guerreiro C, Rodrigues A, Santos JAM, Capelo C, Parafita R, Martins B. Study of nuclear medicine practices in Portugal from an internal dosimetry perspective. Radiat Prot Dosimetry 2012; 149:438-443. [PMID: 21795254 DOI: 10.1093/rpd/ncr319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Nuclear medicine practices involve the handling of a wide range of pharmaceuticals labelled with different radionuclides, for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. This work intends to evaluate the potential risks of internal contamination of nuclear medicine staff in several Portuguese nuclear medicine services and to conclude about the requirement of a routine internal monitoring. A methodology proposed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), providing a set of criteria to determine the need, or not, for an internal monitoring programme, was applied. The evaluation of the risk of internal contaminations in a given set of working conditions is based on the type and amount of radionuclides being handled, as well as the safety conditions with which they are manipulated. The application of the IAEA criteria showed that 73.1% of all the workers included in this study should be integrated in a routine monitoring programme for internal contaminations; more specifically, 100% of workers performing radioimmunoassay techniques should be monitored. This study suggests that a routine monitoring programme for internal exposures should be implemented in Portugal for most nuclear medicine workers.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Bento
- Instituto Tecnológico e Nuclear, Sacavém, Portugal.
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Di Maria S, Barros S, Bento J, Teles P, Figueira C, Pereira M, Vaz P, Paulo G. TLD measurements and Monte Carlo simulations for glandular dose and scatter fraction assessment in mammography: A comparative study. RADIAT MEAS 2011. [DOI: 10.1016/j.radmeas.2011.06.072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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Duarte S, Bento J, Pena A, Lino C, Delerue-Matos C, Oliveira M, Alves M, Pereira J. Influencing factors on bread-derived exposure to ochratoxin A: Type, origin and composition. Food Chem Toxicol 2010; 48:2139-47. [DOI: 10.1016/j.fct.2010.05.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2010] [Revised: 04/28/2010] [Accepted: 05/07/2010] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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Duarte S, Bento J, Pena A, Lino CM, Delerue-Matos C, Oliva-Teles T, Morais S, Correia M, Oliveira MBPP, Alves MR, Pereira JA. Monitoring of ochratoxin A exposure of the Portuguese population through a nationwide urine survey--Winter 2007. Sci Total Environ 2010; 408:1195-1198. [PMID: 20018347 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2009.11.048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2009] [Revised: 11/09/2009] [Accepted: 11/20/2009] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a mycotoxin produced by a variety of fungi, such as Penicillium verrucosum and Aspergillium spp., which has been found to have a wide number of potentially deadly toxic effects, and can enter the human organism through a variety of means. It then finds its way into the bloodstream and, after a lengthy process, is eventually excreted through the urine. It can thus be detected in its original form not only in blood samples but also in this biological medium. As such, and in an attempt to evaluate the exposure of the Portuguese population to this mycotoxin, morning urine samples were collected during the Winter of 2007, from each of five geographically distinct Portuguese locations--Bragança, Porto, Coimbra, Alentejo, and Algarve--and subjected to extraction by immunoaffinity columns and to OTA quantification through liquid chromatography coupled with fluorescence detection. Prevalent incidence was higher than 95% with Coimbra being the exception (incidence of 73.3%). In nearly all locations, the OTA content of most samples was found to be above the limit of quantification (LOQ) of 0.008 ng/ml. Indeed, excluding Coimbra, with an OTA content level of 0.014 ng/ml, all regions featured content values over 0.021 ng/ml.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Duarte
- Group of Health Surveillance, Center of Pharmaceutical Studies, University of Coimbra, Health Sciences Campus, Azinhaga de Santa Comba, 3000-548, Coimbra, Portugal
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Nogueira P, Silva L, Teles P, Bento J, Vaz P. Monte Carlo simulation of the full energy peak efficiency of a WBC. Appl Radiat Isot 2009; 68:184-9. [PMID: 19819154 DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2009.09.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2009] [Accepted: 09/09/2009] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
A whole body counting system is in operation at the Nuclear and Technological Institute, in Portugal. Computational methods were used to determine the detection efficiency; a well-known source of bias in modelling the behaviour of a HPGe detector is the insufficient knowledge regarding the thickness of the lithium dead layer. In order to accurately simulate the detection system and to achieve agreement between the Monte Carlo results and the performed measurements, the value for the dead layer thickness was optimized.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Nogueira
- Instituto Tecnológico e Nuclear Unidade de Protecção e Segurança Radiológica E.N. 10, Apartado 21, 2686-953 Sacavem, Portugal.
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