COVID-19 and healthcare workers: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Highlights • The mean age of 119,883 healthcare workers identified in this study was 38.37 years (95% CI, 36.72 – 40.03) and males comprised 21.4% (95% CI, 12.4 – 34.2) of the population. • The most prevalent symptoms were fever 27.5% (95% CI, 17.6-40.3) and cough 26.1% (95% CI, 18.1-36) • The prevalence of hospitalization of healthcare workers infected with COVID-19 was 15.1% (95% CI, 5.6-35) and mortality of (95% CI, 0.5-3.9). • Comparisons of healthcare workers with and without infection showed an increased relative risk for COVID-19 related to PPE, workplace setting, profession, exposure, contacts, and testing-related factors.
Background The COVID-19 pandemic has focused attention on the challenges and risks faced by frontline healthcare workers (HCW). Our aim is to describe the clinical outcomes and risk factors for SARS- CoV-2 infection in HCW. Methods Three databases were surveyed identifying 328 articles. Of these, 225 articles did not meet inclusion criteria; 97 full-text article were reviewed. Finally, after further revision, 30 articles were included in the systematic review and 28 used for meta-analysis. Results A total of 28 studies were identified involving 119,883 patients. The mean age of the patients was 38.37 years (95% CI, 36.72 – 40.03) and males comprised 21.4% (95% CI, 12.4 – 34.2) of the population of health workers. The prevalence of HCW who tested positive for COVID-19 is 51.7% (95% CI, 34.7-68.2). The total prevalence of co-morbidities in 7 studies was 18.4% (95% CI, 15.5 – 21.7). The most prevalent symptoms were fever 27.5% (95% CI, 17.6-40.3), cough 26.1% (95% CI, 18.1-36).The prevalence of hospitalization of HCW was 15.1% (95% CI, 5.6-35) in 13 studies and the prevalence of death was 1.5% (95% CI, 0.5-3.9) in 12 studies. Comparisons of HCW with and without infection showed an increased relative risk for COVID-19 related to PPE, workplace setting, profession, exposure, contacts, and testing. Conclusion A significant number of HCW have been reported to be infected with COVID-19 during the first 6 months of the pandemic, with a prevalence of hospitalization of 15.1% and mortality of 1.5%. Further data is needed to track the continued risks in HCW as the pandemic evolves and health systems adapt.