COVID-19 as a nosocomial infection

Abstract

The emergence of a new coronavirus infection has become a serious test for healthcare systems in all countries of the world. The purpose of the study was to assess the morbidity of COVID-19 as a nosocomial infection among patients of medical organizations in the Voronezh region during the second year of the pandemic (from December 2020 to January 2022). The material of the study were the data of the reporting form No. 2 of Rosstat «Information on infectious and parasitic diseases»; Rosstat data for the Voronezh region on population; emergency notifications (form No. 058/u). The criterion for inclusion of patients in the study was an established diagnosis of «U 07.1 COVID-19 laboratory confirmed». Statistical processing of the data was carried out using the Microsoft Excel program; Student’s t-test, Spearman coefficient were used to test statistical hypotheses; the significance level (p) was less than 0.05. During the analyzed period, two pronounced increases in the in-hospital incidence of COVID-19 were noted among patients in the Voronezh region; only the second period coincided with the dynamics and trend of the incidence of COVID-19 in the total adult population of the Voronezh region and reflected the beginning of adequate official registration of a new infection in the region. The risk group for nosocomial COVID-19 during the analyzed period were patients hospitalized in the cardiology and neurovascular departments of medical organizations in the Voronezh region; they also led the nosological structure of patients with nosocomial COVID-19. The majority of patients suffered a nosocomial coronavirus infection in a moderate form — 78.02 % (p <0.0001), 15.46 % — in a mild form and 6.52 % — in a severe form. No significant differences were found in the structure of the severity of the infection either among different groups of patients or among different medical organizations. The severity of COVID-19 increases significantly with increasing age of the patient (r=0.38, p<0.001). A retrospective analysis of COVID-19 as a nosocomial infection allows us to optimize anti-epidemic measures to limit the spread of infection and ensure a higher level of infectious safety for patients and medical personnel.