Abstract
Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of a prevention strategy against the spread of SARS-CoV-2 infection among dental hospital staff over a 3-month period.
Materials and methods: The effectiveness of the prevention strategy, which adopted healthcare staff protective measures, including patient triage and correct usage of personal preventive equipment, was evaluated by SARS-CoV-2 detection and serological testing. Patients who visited the Affiliated Stomatology Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China, between January 31 and March 1 (lockdown period) and March 2 and April 27 (reopening period) in 2020 and in the same period in 2019 were included in the study. Patients’ diagnosis, age, gender, and several undergoing aerosol-generating procedures during the study period were collected from the hospital’s database. Corresponding data were compared year-on-year (2020-on-2019). A total of 757 hospital staff underwent SARS-CoV-2 detection and serological testing on April 28-29, 2020.
Results: During the lockdown and reopening period in 2020, the number of hospital visits was dramatically decreased to about 6% and 58%, respectively, compared with the same period in 2019. However, emergency visits were increased 16- and 6.4-fold. A total of at least 6654 patients (13.58%) underwent aerosol-generating procedures during the study period in the year 2020. All hospital staff were negative according to SARS-CoV-2 detection and serological testing (IgG, IgM) data.
Conclusion: During the study period in 2020, the total number of hospital visits dramatically reduced but emergency visits significantly increased. The prevention strategy implemented successfully prevented SARS-CoV-2 infection spread among healthcare workers in a dental hospital.
Clinical relevance: The prevention strategy indicated patient triage and how to adopt preventive measures for controlling SARS-CoV-2 spread among healthcare workers. These data can be used as a reference for other sectors suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Keywords: Aerosols; COVID-19; Dental healthcare; Prevention strategy; SARS-CoV-2.
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Aerosols, Dental healthcare, Prevention strategy, 【초록키워드】 SARS-CoV-2, IgG, IgM, Healthcare workers, lockdown, equipment, SARS-COV-2 infection, COVID-19 pandemic, hospital, Diagnosis, Gender, prevention, aerosol-generating procedure, database, healthcare worker, Aerosols, Spread, Medicine, Hospital staff, China, SARS-CoV-2 detection, Measures, Serological testing, clinical, healthcare, Patient, Effectiveness, age, School, preventive measures, university, Protective, dental, Prevention strategy, preventive measure, aerosol-generating procedures, These data, study period, patient triage, material, Zhejiang, stomatology, significantly increased, collected, evaluate, indicated, evaluated, reduced, can be used, adopted, prevented, 【제목키워드】 hospital, Effectiveness, Prevention strategy,