Abstract

Objective: To investigate the factors related to HCW exposition and infection by coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19).

Methods: The study was reported according to PRISMA Statement guidelines. The work protocol was registered on International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews – PROSPERO (CRD42020200236) and eligibility criteria were defined in relation to PICOS. PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science and SCOPUS were systematically searched, considering related key MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) terms. We considered case reports, case series and clinical researches published in peer-reviewed journals, that have addressed epidemiological and protective features of HCW and its association with COVID-19 exposure and infection. The selected studies brought information about HCW that were exposed and/or infected by COVID-19. We evaluated the exposition and infection data related to occupational characteristics and protective measures adopted by HCW.

Results: Eighteen studies reported the characteristics in 10,103 HCW exposed or infected by COVID-19; associations of male (n = 1,448; 30.5%); exposed HCW (n = 746; 7.38%) and infected professionals (n = 523; 5.17%); of 274 professionals positive for the COVID-19, 132 (48.17%) were nurses, 87 (31.75%) were doctors, 33 (12.05%) were dentists and 22 (8.04%) were HCW from other occupations; 2,288 of them (67.59%) reported wearing face-shield, 2.287 (67.56%) face mask, 2.089 (61.71%) protective clothes, 77 (2.27%) gloves and 24 (0.71%) shoe cover; of 196 HCW, 123 (62.75%) reported hand washing as a preventive measure.

Conclusions: Health care professionals, especially those with direct contact with infected patients, leading to greater exposition, should take extra precautions to avoid COVID-19 contamination during the current pandemic.

Keywords: Covid-19; SARSCoV-2; Health Care Worker; Transmission; Exposure

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Citation

Citation: Silvia Helena de Carvalho Sales-Peres., et al. “Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) and the Critical Role of Healthcare Professionals: A Systematic Review”.Acta Scientific Medical Sciences 5.2 (2021): 14-23.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2021 Silvia Helena de Carvalho Sales-Peres., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.