[Risk Factors for COVID-19 transmission among healthcare workers]

Frontline healthcare workers are the first line of defense against Covid-19, resulting in a higher risk of infection. The objective of this study was to describe the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 infection and its associated risk factors among professionals working in a healthcare consortium that includes different centers.

This was a retrospective analytical observational study of 2620 healthcare workers; the project period began with the declaration of the state of alarm in Spain (March 15, 2020) and ended on June 21, 2020. We estimated associations between the independent variables sex, age, seniority, professional category and work location and confirmed COVID-19 as the outcome variable. Bivariate study analysis was based on chi-square test and simple logistic regression with calculation of the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95%CI). Multivariate analysis was performed using multiple logistic regression. Statistical significance was set at p ≤0.05.

All frontline healthcare worker categories were at higher risk than non-patient-facing personnel. Nurses had the highest risk [OR, 14.03 (3.19-61.66)]. With respect to work location, and as compared to non-patient-facing personnel, working in the surgical-medical-hospitalization-clinic [OR 13.43 (1.7-106.12)] and socio-health center [OR 17.77 (2.19-144.04) posed the greatest risks.

The greatest risk of acquiring COVID-19 was among patient-facing healthcare professionals working in areas where COVID-19 was detected among patients admitted for other pathologies. This risk was higher than in those areas designated for the care of COVID-19 patients, possibly due to differences in the use of personal protective equipment.