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AbstractObjectives: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.

AbstractObjectives:In this study, we aimed to (1) estimate the severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection rate and the secondary attack rate among healthcare workers (HCWs) in Québec, the most affected province of Canada during the first wave; (2) describe the evolution of work-related exposures and infection prevention and control (IPC) practices in infected HCWs; and (3) compare the exposures and practices between acute-care hospitals (ACHs) and long-term care facilities (LTCFs).Design:Survey of cases.Participants:The study included Québec HCWs from private and public institutions with laboratory-confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) diagnosed between March 1 and June 14, 2020. HCWs aged ≥18 years who worked during the exposure period and survived their illness were eligible for the survey.Methods:After obtaining consent, 4,542 HCWs completed a standardized questionnaire. COVID-19 rates and proportions of exposures and practices were estimated and compared between ACHs and LTCFs.Results:HCWs represented 13,726 (25%) of 54,005 reported COVID-19 cases in Québec and had an 11-times greater rate of COVID-19 than non-HCWs. Their secondary household attack rate was 30%. Most affected occupations were healthcare support workers, nurses and nurse assistants working in LTCFs (45%) and ACHs (30%). Compared to ACHs, HCWs in LTCFs had less training, higher staff mobility between working sites, similar PPE use, and better self-reported compliance with at-work physical distancing. Suboptimal IPC practices declined over time but were still present at the end of the first wave.Conclusion:Québec HCWs and their families were severely affected during the first wave of COVID-19. Insufficient pandemic preparedness and suboptimal IPC practices likely contributed to high transmission in both LTCFs and ACHs.

AbstractWe performed viral culture of respiratory specimens in 118 severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)–infected healthcare workers (HCWs), ∼2 weeks after symptom onset. Only 1 HCW (0.8%) had a positive culture. No factors for prolonged viral shedding were identified. Infectivity is resolved in nearly all HCWs ∼2 weeks after symptom onset.

AbstractObjective:Surveillance of dialysis-related bloodstream infections (DRBSIs) has been mandatory in Québec since April 2011. The aim of this study was to describe the epidemiology of DRBSIs in Québec.Methods:Cohort study of prevalent patients undergoing chronic dialysis in the 36 facilities that participated without interruption in the provincial surveillance, between April 2011 and March 2017. Two indicators were analyzed: proportion of patient months dialyzed using a fistula (a patient month is a 28-day cycle during which an individual patient received dialysis) and incidence rate of DRBSI. Binomial and Poisson regression with generalized estimating equations were used to describe the evolution of indicators over time and to quantify the association between facilities’ proportion of fistulas and their incidence rate.Results:Globally, 42.6% of all patient months were dialyzed using a fistula, but there was a statistically significant decrease over time (46.2% in 2011–2012 to 39.3% in 2016–2017). Despite this decline in the use of fistulas, rates of DRBSIs have also decreased, going from 0.38 DRBSIs per 100 patient months in 2011–2012 to 0.23 DRBSIs per 100 patient months in 2016–2017. No association was found between facility use of fistulas and the rate of DRBSI. At the individual level, however, the DRBSI rate was 4.12 times higher for patients using a catheter.Conclusions:In Québec, the rate of DRBSIs has decreased over a 6-year period despite an increasing proportion of patients dialyzed by catheter.

AbstractObjective:BACTOT, Quebec’s healthcare-associated bloodstream infection (HABSI) surveillance program has been operating since 2007. In this study, we evaluated the changes in HABSI rates across 10 years of BACTOT surveillance under a Bayesian framework.Design:A retrospective, cohort study of eligible hospitals having participated in BACTOT for at least 3 years, regardless of their entry date. Multilevel Poisson regressions were fitted independently for cases of HABSI, catheter-associated bloodstream infections (CA-BSIs), non–catheter-associated primary BSIs (NCA-BSIs), and BSIs secondary to urinary tract infections (BSI-UTIs) as the outcome and log of patient days as the offset. The log of the mean Poisson rate was decomposed as the sum of a surveillance year effect, period effect, and hospital effect. The main estimate of interest was the cohort-level rate in years 2–10 of surveillance relative to year 1.Results:Overall, 17,479 cases and 33,029,870 patient days were recorded for the cohort of 77 hospitals. The pooled 10-year HABSI rate was 5.20 per 10,000 patient days (95% CI, 5.12–5.28). For HABSI, CA-BSI, and BSI-UTI, there was no difference between the estimated posterior rates of years 2–10 compared to year 1. The posterior means of the NCA-BSI rate ratios increased from the seventh year until the tenth year, when the rate was 29% (95% confidence interval, 1%–89%) higher than the first year rate.Conclusions:HABSI rates and those of the most frequent subtypes remained stable over the surveillance period. To achieve reductions in incidence, we recommend that more effort be expended in active interventions against HABSI alongside surveillance.

AbstractObjectiveHealthcare-associated bloodstream infections (HABSI) are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. In Québec, Canada, HABSI arising from acute-care hospitals have been monitored since April 2007 through the Surveillance des bactériémies nosocomiales panhospitalières(BACTOT) program, but this is the first detailed description of HABSI epidemiology.MethodsThis retrospective, descriptive study was conducted using BACTOT surveillance data from hospitals that participated continuously between April 1, 2007, and March 31, 2017. HABSI cases and rates were stratified by hospital type and/or infection source. Temporal trends of rates were analyzed by fitting generalized estimating equation Poisson models, and they were stratified by infection source.ResultsFor 40 hospitals, 13,024 HABSI cases and 23,313,959 patient days were recorded, for an overall rate of 5.59 per 10,000 patient days (95% CI, 5.54–5.63). The most common infection sources were catheter-associated BSIs (23.0%), BSIs secondary to a urinary focus (21.5%), and non–catheter-associated primary BSIs (18.1%). Teaching hospitals and nonteaching hospitals with ICUs often had rates higher than nonteaching hospitals without ICUs. Annual HABSI rates did not exhibit statistically significant changes from year to year. Non–catheter-associated primary BSIs were the only HABSI type that exhibited a sustained change across the 10 years, increasing from 0.69 per 10,000 patient days (95% CI, 0.59–0.80) in 2007–2008 to 1.42 per 10,000 patient days (95% CI, 1.27–1.58) in 2016–2017.ConclusionsDespite ongoing surveillance, overall HABSI rates have not decreased. The effect of BACTOT participation should be more closely investigated, and targeted interventions along alternative surveillance modalities should be considered, prioritizing high-burden and potentially preventable BSI types.