Assessment of risk factors for COVID-19 spread by staff in intensive care units of a multidisciplinary hospital

Objective. To evaluate the risk factors for COVID-19 spreading by personnel of resuscitation units of a multifield hospital.

Materials and Methods. The study included epidemiological, statistical, and mathematical research methods with retrospective analysis of COVID-19 morbidity and COVID-19 preventive measures in resuscitation units of a multifield hospital.

Results. The results of the study indicated the highest incidence of COVID-19 among medical personnel in the cardiac surgery and neuroresuscitation units with the highest rates among physicians (66.6 and 45.5 %). The determining risk factors for infection with COVID-19 and other pathogens of acute respiratory diseases among medical personnel were the following: admission of patients in urgent condition to the department without examination results; high load for doctors working with patients, determining the excessive use of personal protective equipment (PPE) by two, four times; violation of rules for PPE removal and utilization conditions, improper storage and contamination of clean PPE, low proportion of PPE use in the interepidemic period; procedures associated with formation of aerosol, airtightness failure during mask ventilation in 24 % of patients that led to leakage of aerosol into the environment, insufficient coverage of medical personnel with preventive vaccination against COVID-19 in some units.

Conclusions. The high incidence of COVID-19 among medical personnel and workload, violations of PPE usage, and procedures with aerosol formation specific for resuscitation units – all these things determine the increased risk of COVID-19 spread by medical staff in resuscitation units.