Accidentes biológicos entre sanitarios durante la pandemia por sars cov 2: 2019 2021

Abstract

Objective: to describe the tendency of biological exposures among healthcare professionals during the years 2019-2021. Method: a retrospective descriptive epidemiological study with 400 biological accidents among the staff of the Clínico-Malvarrosa Health Department (Valencia) from 2019 to 2021. The information was collected by the Occupational Risk Prevention Service through the REBA and EOLAS databases. The type of variables collected were: type of accident, setting where it occurred, characteristics of the worker involved, safety measures applied, and serological parameters of source and worker. Results: the distribution of accidents per year was n= 132 in 2019 (33%), n= 121 in 2020 (30.25%) and n= 147 in 2021 (36.75%). The professionals who experienced more accidents in all years were nurses, specifically those with <5 years of experience, 25-to-34-year old, and under temporary contract. The services that reported more accidents were Primary Care and Surgery in all these years, particularly the morning shifts. Over 20% of the staff were not wearing gloves at the time of the accident in any of these three years. There was an increase in the use of face masks from 24% in 2019 to 100% in 2021, as well as an increase in facial protection measures from 0% to 7%. Of these accidents, 96% could be recorded without seroconversion cases among workers exposed in any of these years. Conclusions: apparently, the COVID-19 pandemic has not altered the tendency towards accidental biological exposures among healthcare workers. The most significant fluctuations could be due to the reduction in surgical activity during 2020.