1. Low Incidence and Mortality by SARS-CoV-2 Infection Among Healthcare Workers in a Health National Center in Mexico: Successful Establishment of an Occupational Medicine Program.
- Author
-
Salazar MÁ, Chavez-Galan L, Castorena-Maldonado A, Mateo-Alonso M, Diaz-Vazquez NO, Vega-Martínez AM, Martínez-Orozco JA, Becerril-Vargas E, Sosa-Gómez FM, Patiño-Gallegos H, Alonso-Martínez D, López-Segundo E, Vidal F, Velasco-González LJ, Pérez-Pulido S, Santillán-Doherty P, Regalado-Pineda J, Salas-Hernández J, and Buendía-Roldán I
- Subjects
- Health Personnel, Humans, Incidence, Infectious Disease Transmission, Patient-to-Professional prevention & control, Mexico epidemiology, SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, Occupational Medicine
- Abstract
Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Healthcare workers (HCWs) constitute a population which is significantly affected by SARS-CoV-2 infection worldwide. In Mexico, the Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Respiratorias (INER) is the principal national reference of respiratory diseases. Aim: To evaluate the efficiency of the INER-POL-TRAB-COVID19 program to mitigate the SARS-CoV-2 infection risk among the INER-healthcare workers (INER-HCW). Methods: Currently, the INER has 250 beds and 200 respiratory ventilators to support COVID-19 patients in critical condition. On March 1st, 2020, the INER-POL-TRAB-COVID19 program was launched to mitigate the SARS-CoV-2 infection risk among the INER-HCW. Findings: From March 1st to October 1st, 2020, 71.5% of INER-HCWs were tested for SARS-CoV-2 infection, and 77% of them were frontline workers. Among the tested INER-HCWs, 10.4% were positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Nonetheless, nosocomial infection represented only 3.8% of the cases and the mortality was null. Fifty-three of INER-HCWs positive to SARS-CoV-2 had a negative test 42-56 days post-diagnosis and were returned to service. Finally, although a change in the PPE implemented on May 11th, 2020, the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection was not affected. Conclusion: INER has a lower incidence of HCWs infected with SARS-CoV-2 as compared to the mean of the national report. The implementation of the INER-POL-TRAB-COVID19 program is efficient to decrease the risk of infection among the HCWs. Our findings suggest that the implementation of a similar program at a national level can be helpful to provide a safe environment to HCWs and to prevent the collapse of health institutions., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Salazar, Chavez-Galan, Castorena-Maldonado, Mateo-Alonso, Diaz-Vazquez, Vega-Martínez, Martínez-Orozco, Becerril-Vargas, Sosa-Gómez, Patiño-Gallegos, Alonso-Martínez, López-Segundo, Vidal, Velasco-González, Pérez-Pulido, Santillán-Doherty, Regalado-Pineda, Salas-Hernández and Buendía-Roldán.)
- Published
- 2021
- Full Text
- View/download PDF