1. Infection and mortality of healthcare workers worldwide from COVID-19: a systematic review
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Emery Manirambona, Faith C. Muchemwa, Ronnie E. Baticulon, Zara Markovic-Obiago, Kirandeep Saini, Salvador Sun Ruzats, Mariam Gaddah, Zoe Li, Grace Paida Gwini, Roba Khundkar, Rafael Pinedo-Villanueva, Hibatullah Abuelgasim, Robin Brown, Sonam Kelzang, Aiman Tariq, Noel Peter, Mohammad Rabiul Karim Khan Papon, Yethrib Mohamed, Tazin Ahsan, Yara Badereddin, Rumi Kissyova, Sai Arathi Parepalli, Mario Moran-Romero, Archith Kamath, Arielis Solano, Omaima Ali, Anant Jani, Najlaa Abu Jamie, Alexandra Knighton, Elliott H Taylor, Abdullah Saleh, Sophie Roche, Henna Reddy, Nkosikhona Moyo, Murtaza Kadhum, Daniel Ojuka, Asif Machhada, Grace Brown, Raghav Sudarshan, Leenah Abuelgasim, Eduardo Robles-Pérez, Alicia Sigler, Riley A Dean, Khalil Khalidy, Aditi Aggarwal, Osaid Alser, David Y. Kim, Lydia Benazaize, Sara Iharchane, Andile Maqhawe Dube, Muath Alser, Mina Ibrahim, Somy Charuvila, Spyros Kolovos, Rashidah Gwokyala, Dorothy Bbaale, Isabel Tol, Duha Jasim, Heba Alghoul, Samuel Scott, Soham Bandyopadhyay, Sofia Gandino, Mary Kumarendran, and Amanda A. Gosman
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8.1 Organisation and delivery of services ,030501 epidemiology ,Global Health ,0302 clinical medicine ,Health care ,Pandemic ,030212 general & internal medicine ,infections ,Aetiology ,disorders ,Original Research ,injuries ,education.field_of_study ,lcsh:R5-920 ,Health Policy ,public health ,Health Services ,Checklist ,Infectious Diseases ,0305 other medical science ,Infection ,lcsh:Medicine (General) ,Health and social care services research ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Telemedicine ,Health Personnel ,Population ,Specialty ,review ,diseases ,lcsh:Infectious and parasitic diseases ,03 medical and health sciences ,Clinical Research ,medicine ,Humans ,lcsh:RC109-216 ,education ,Pandemics ,business.industry ,SARS-CoV-2 ,Public health ,Prevention ,Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health ,COVID-19 ,Mental health ,Good Health and Well Being ,Family medicine ,business ,2.4 Surveillance and distribution - Abstract
ObjectivesTo estimate COVID-19 infections and deaths in healthcare workers (HCWs) from a global perspective during the early phases of the pandemic.DesignSystematic review.MethodsTwo parallel searches of academic bibliographic databases and grey literature were undertaken until 8 May 2020. Governments were also contacted for further information where possible. There were no restrictions on language, information sources used, publication status and types of sources of evidence. The AACODS checklist or the National Institutes of Health study quality assessment tools were used to appraise each source of evidence.Outcome measuresPublication characteristics, country-specific data points, COVID-19-specific data, demographics of affected HCWs and public health measures employed.ResultsA total of 152 888 infections and 1413 deaths were reported. Infections were mainly in women (71.6%, n=14 058) and nurses (38.6%, n=10 706), but deaths were mainly in men (70.8%, n=550) and doctors (51.4%, n=525). Limited data suggested that general practitioners and mental health nurses were the highest risk specialities for deaths. There were 37.2 deaths reported per 100 infections for HCWs aged over 70 years. Europe had the highest absolute numbers of reported infections (119 628) and deaths (712), but the Eastern Mediterranean region had the highest number of reported deaths per 100 infections (5.7).ConclusionsCOVID-19 infections and deaths among HCWs follow that of the general population around the world. The reasons for gender and specialty differences require further exploration, as do the low rates reported in Africa and India. Although physicians working in certain specialities may be considered high risk due to exposure to oronasal secretions, the risk to other specialities must not be underestimated. Elderly HCWs may require assigning to less risky settings such as telemedicine or administrative positions. Our pragmatic approach provides general trends, and highlights the need for universal guidelines for testing and reporting of infections in HCWs.
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- 2020
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