• Felipe Pérez-García, Aurora Pérez-Zapata, Naroa Arcos, Manuel De la Mata, María Ortiz, Encarnación Simón, Irene Hervás Fernández, Victoria González Ventosa, Mario Muñoz Monte, Javier González Arroyo, Ramón Pérez-Tanoira, and Juan Cuadros-González.
• Servicio de Microbiología Clínica, Hospital Universitario Príncipe de Asturias, Madrid, Spain.
• Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2021 Jul 1; 42 (7): 803-809.

ObjectiveTo analyze the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in workers of a hospital located in one of the most affected areas in Spain.Design, Settings, And PatientsCross-sectional study performed between March and May 2020 over all workers of a secondary hospital in Madrid, Spain.MethodsWe employed polymerase chain reaction (PCR, for symptomatic individuals) and serology (for both PCR-negative symptomatic workers and asymptomatic workers) as diagnostic tests for severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). We analyzed the prevalence of the virus in healthcare workers (HCWs) and nonhealthcare workers (nHCWs). We also collected information about the use of personal protective equipment (PPEs) and possible contacts prior to infection.ResultsIn total, 2,963 workers were included: 1,092 were symptomatic, and of these, 539 were positive by PCR (49.4% of symptomatic workers). From the remaining symptomatic workers, 197 (35.6%) were positive by serology. Regarding asymptomatic workers, 345 were positive by serology (31.9% of infected workers). In total, 1,081 (36.5%) presented a positive diagnostic test for SARS-CoV-2. Infection rates were different between HCWs (37.4%) and nHCWs (29.8%) (P = .006). In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, the use of PPE (protective: OR, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.44-0.72; P < .001) and previous contact with COVID-19 patients (risk factor: OR, 1.69; 95% CI, 1.28-2.24; P < .001) were independent factors that were associated with SAS-CoV-2 infection.ConclusionsOverall, >36% of our workers became infected with SARS-CoV-2, and the rate of asymptomatic infections accounted for almost 32% of all SARS-CoV-2 infections. We detected differences in the rates of infection between HCWs and nHCWs. The use of PPE and previous contact with COVID-19 patients were associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection.

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