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.
Highlights
The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a current pandemic that emerged in China in late December 2019
One group of workers was trained to have a “shadow” function of supervising the correct use of protective equipment (PPE) before and after the Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Respiratorias (INER)-Healthcare workers (HCWs) could enter the exclusive areas to attend to COVID-19 patients
This study reports the evaluation of the INER-POL-TRAB-COVID19 program from March 1st to October 1st, 2020
Summary
The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a current pandemic that emerged in China in late December 2019. The etiologic agent of COVID-19 is the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) [1]. SARS-CoV-2 infection can pass from a person to another through the inhalation of respiratory droplets from the infected patients, where the virus can stay alive for 3 h [2]. Despite the implementation of such policies, on February 13th, 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that there were 107,838,255 confirmed cases of COVID-19 along with 2,373,398 deaths worldwide [4]. The Mexican epidemiologic data reported 1,992,794 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and 174,207 deaths as on February 15th, 2021 [5]. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In Mexico, the Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Respiratorias (INER) is the principal national reference of respiratory diseases
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have