Nationwide surveillance system to evaluate hospital-acquired COVID-19 in Brazilian hospitals. (May 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Machado de Miranda Costa, M.; Guedes, A.R.; Nogueira, M.D.S.P.; Oliveira, L.S.C.; de Souza Barros, L.; Goncalves, M.R.S.; Carvalho, A.A.; Amaral de Moura, H.L.C.; Levin, A.S.; Oliveira, M.S.
• Is Part Of: Journal of hospital infection. Volume 123(2022)
• Page Start: 23
• Page End: 26
• Publication Date: 2022-05
• Subjects: COVID-19 -- Cluster -- Nosocomial infection -- Infection control; Cross infection -- Periodicals; Cross infection -- Prevention -- Periodicals; Nosocomial infections -- Periodicals; Nosocomial infections -- Prevention -- Periodicals; Cross Infection -- Periodicals; Cross Infection -- prevention & control -- Periodicals; Infection Control -- Periodicals; Electronic journals; 614.44
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jhin.2022.02.004
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0195-6701

Abstract

Summary: Background: Although the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission within hospitals has been well recognized, there is a paucity of data on its occurrence. Our aim was to report the incidence of hospital-acquired (HA) COVID-19 at Brazilian hospitals. Methods: We investigated the incidence of HA COVID-19 in Brazilian hospitals using data from a national surveillance system, from August 2020 through September 2021. Definitions of HA COVID-19 were: (1) symptom onset >14 days after hospital admission plus a positive SARS-CoV-2 RNA or antigen test; (2) symptom onset on days 8–14 after admission, plus a positive SARS-CoV-2 RNA or antigen test positive, plus documented high-risk exposure. We performed descriptive analyses and reported HA COVID-19 rates using pooled mean and percentile distribution. Results: A total of 48, 634 cases of HA COVID-19 were reported from 1428 hospitals. Incidence ranged from 0.16/1000 patient-days at neonatal intensive care units (ICUs) to 5.8/1000 patient-days at adult ICUs. The highest incidence of HA COVID-19 was during the months March to July 2021, similar to that which was observed for community-acquired COVID-19. Conclusions: This report provides a national view of the burden of HA COVID-19. The highest incidence of HA COVID-19 similar that which was observed for community-acquired COVID-19. We believe that this reflects the difficulty of implementing preventive measures. Further studies evaluating risk factors for the hospital transmission of SARS-Cov-2 should clarify strategies to minimize the risk of HA COVID-19 and may be applicable to other respiratory diseases. Furthermore, the implementation of a national system to evaluate HA COVID-19 has the potential to shine a light on this problem and lead to interventions in each hospital.