• Eric Ochoa-Hein, Sandra Rajme-López, Patricia E Leal-Morán, Abril T Vargas-Fernández, María F González-Lara, María F Alberto-Hernández, Daniel E Bustos-Román, Lirio N Valverde-Ramos, Pilar Ramos-Cervantes, Luz E Cervantes-Villar, Violeta Ibarra-González, Alfredo Ponce-de-León, Arturo Galindo-Fraga, David Kershenobich-Stalnikowitz, and José Sifuentes-Osornio.
• Department of Hospital Epidemiology Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán (INCMyNSZ), Mexico City, Mexico.
• Rev Invest Clin. 2021 Mar 3.

BackgroundRisk factors for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) asymptomatic carriage (AC) in healthcare workers (HCWs) have been scarcely characterized.ObjectiveThe objective of the study was to study factors associated with COVID-19 and AC in HCWs of a COVID-19 academic medical center.MethodsThis is a case-control study. Cases were either symptomatic or asymptomatic HCWs with a positive SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test result between March 16 and May 21 of 2020. Adjusted odds ratios (aOR) were calculated by means of multivariable logistic regression. In addition, each subject was followed for 14 days to inform outcomes.ResultsOne hundred thirty of 249 (52.2%) symptomatic HCWs had COVID-19; 10 were hospitalized but none died. Of 987 asymptomatic HCWs,37 (3.7%) were AC; 6 of the remaining 950 asymptomatic HCWs with a negative PCR test result were found to be presymptomatic COVID-19 cases the following 14 days. Nurses were more frequently present in the COVID-19 group (51.5% vs. 37.0%), but multivariable analysis rendered non-significant results. After adjustment for age, comorbidities, and working place, factors found to be associated with AC were: working in wards as a nurse (aOR = 9.19, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.05-80.22, p = 0.045), kitchen personnel (aOR = 4.09, 95% CI = 1.55-10.83, p = 0.005), and being a physician (aOR = 0.12, 95% CI = 0.03-0.54, p = 0.006).ConclusionsHCW category was the predominant factor associated with AC of SARS-CoV-2 in this study.

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