Pneumonia in healthcare workers during a COVID-19 outbreak at a cardiovascular hospitals

Objectives: During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, healthcare workers (HCWs) have been at high risk of infection. This study investigated clinical and treatment characteristics of infected HCWs at a cardiovascular hospital. Methods: This retrospective study was conducted at a tertiary cardiovascular hospital and included HCWs with confirmed COVID-19. Subjects completed a questionnaire on health status, symptoms, admission to hospital and treatment. Vaccination status against tuberculosis, hepatitis B and seasonal influenza was assessed. Pneumonia was defined as ground glass opacifications (GGOs) and consolidations on computed tomography (CT). Results: This study included 107 HCWs with confirmed COVID-19, representing 15% of all HCWs (n = 726) at the study hospital. Most of the confirmed cases worked in the cardiac surgery department, the anaesthesiology and intensive care medicine department, and the postoperative ward [74/107 (69%)]. A substantial number of infected HCWs were asymptomatic [31 (28.9%)], and 38 (35.5%) were admitted to hospital. The mean +/- standard deviation length of hospital stay was 8.1 +/- 5.6 days. Seventy-five of 107 (70.1%) confirmed cases had been vaccinated against seasonal influenza. Pneumonia with GGOs and consolidations on CT occurred in 25 of 107 (23.4%) HCWs, with 14 (13.1%) cases of bilateral involvement. On multivariate logistic regression analysis including characteristics known to be associated with poorer outcomes in COVID-19 (i.e. obesity, diabetes mellitus, coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular disease, current smoking, heart failure, seasonal influenza immunization), only seasonal influenza immunization remained an independent predictor of the occurrence of bilateral pneumonia (odds ratio 0.207, 95% confidence interval 0.050-0.847; P = 0.029). Conclusions: The association found between seasonal influenza immunization and less-aggressive COVID-19 pneumonia may support the implementation of preventive measures to reduce the global burden of COVID-19. (c) 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of International Society for Infectious Diseases. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Automated summary

A study on infected healthcare workers at a cardiovascular hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic found that seasonal influenza immunization may be associated with less-severe pneumonia, supporting the implementation of preventive measures to reduce the global burden of COVID-19.