• Ann Emerg Med · Jul 2022

    Observational Study

    A Prospective Observational Cohort Comparison of SARS-CoV-2 Seroprevalence Between Paramedics and Matched Blood Donors in Canada During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

    • Brian Grunau, Sheila F O'Brien, Tracy L Kirkham, Jennie Helmer, Paul A Demers, Michael Asamoah-Boaheng, Steven J Drews, Mohammad Ehsanul Karim, Jocelyn A Srigley, Sadaf Sediqi, David O'Neill, Ian R Drennan, and David M Goldfarb.
    • Departments of Emergency Medicine, St. Paul's Hospital and the University of British Columbia, British Columbia, Canada; Centre for Health Evaluation & Outcome Sciences, University of British Columbia, British Columbia, Canada; British Columbia Emergency Health Services, British Columbia, Canada. Electronic address: brian.grunau@ubc.ca.
    • Ann Emerg Med. 2022 Jul 1; 80 (1): 384538-45.

    Study ObjectiveSARS-CoV-2 represents an occupational risk to paramedics, who work in uncontrolled environments. We sought to identify the occupation-specific risk to paramedics by comparing their seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection-specific antibodies to that of blood donors in Canada.MethodsIn this prospective cohort study, we performed serology testing (Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid assay) on samples from paramedics and blood donors (January to July 2021) in Canada. Paramedic samples were compared to blood donor samples through 1:1-matched (based on age, sex, location, date of blood collection, and vaccination status) and raking weighted comparisons. We compared the seroprevalence with a risk difference (and 95% confidence interval [CI]) and performed secondary analyses within subgroups defined by vaccination status.ResultsThe 1:1 match included 1,627 cases per group; in both groups, 723 (44%) were women, with a median age of 38. The raking weighted comparison included 1,713 paramedic samples and 19,515 blood donor samples, with similar characteristics. In the 1:1 match, the seroprevalence was similar (difference 1.2; 95% CI -0.20 to 2.7) between paramedics (5.2%) and blood donors (3.9%). The raking weighted comparison was consistent (difference 0.97; 95% CI -0.10 to 2.0). The unvaccinated paramedic samples, in comparison to the blood donor samples, demonstrated a higher seroprevalence in the 1:1 (difference 5.9; 95% CI 1.8 to 10) and weighted (difference 6.5; 95% CI 1.8 to 10) comparisons. Among vaccinated cases, the between-group seroprevalence was similar.ConclusionOverall, paramedics demonstrated similar evidence of prior SARS-CoV-2 infection to that of blood donors. However, among unvaccinated individuals, evidence of prior infection was higher among paramedics compared to blood donors.Copyright © 2022 American College of Emergency Physicians. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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