• Katrina D'Amore, Anastasia Schulte, and John Kashani.
• St. Joseph's University Medical Center, Paterson, NJ, USA.
• Am J Emerg Med. 2020 Mar 1; 38 (3): 562-565.

BackgroundSignificant morbidity and mortality is attributed to infection with the influenza virus annually and care is often sought in Emergency Departments (ED). The exposure of Emergency Department healthcare personnel and subsequent illness is speculated to be high but has not been quantified.MethodsAll physicians and mid-level providers in a large tertiary care ED who cared for an Influenza-positive patient were identified and surveyed. Information was gathered regarding each provider's report of an Influenza-like illness during the study period as well as laboratory testing results, sick contacts and subsequent missed work. General descriptive information of Influenza-positive patients was extracted through a retrospective chart review.Results1020 Influenza-positive patients were cared for by 106 physicians and advanced practice nurses. Patients testing positive for Influenza-A were more likely to be admitted (p = .003). The majority of patients (83%) were cared for by an attending only. Our provider survey response rate was 87%. 1 in 4 providers reported suffering from an Influenza-like illness during the study period and no providers subsequently missed work days. Only 4 (5%) of those providers sought medical care to receive testing. Overall, 2% of ED providers tested positive for Influenza.ConclusionsAmong Emergency Department providers, transmission of clinically significant Influenza illness was low.Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier Inc.

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