{"title":"The Possible Factors Correlated with The Higher Risk of Getting Infected by COVID-19 in Emergency Medical Technicians; A Case-Control Study.","authors":"Mostafa Sadeghi, Peyman Saberian, Parisa Hasani-Sharamin, Fatemeh Dadashi, Sepideh Babaniamansour, Ehsan Aliniagerdroudbari","doi":"10.30476/BEAT.2021.89713","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>To assess the possible factors associated with increasing risk of COVID-19 among EMTs.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This study was a case-control study conducted in Tehran, Iran. Case group was consisted of confirmed COVID-19 EMTs based on the results of reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and/or lung computed tomography scan. Healthy EMTs were randomly selected as control group. Patients were asked to fill out a checklist including demographic data, data related to the work situation (such as number of missions and type of mask and cloth) and PPE precautions.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Sixty-eight patients and 148 healthy persons took part in this study as case and control group, respectively. Having two EMTs involved directly in taking care of patients (<i>p</i><0.001) and working with a confirmed case teammate (<i>p</i><0.001), considering the precautions such as seal check after wearing the mask (<i>p</i>=0.015), covering the hair with a medical hat (<i>p</i><0.001), not using personal items despite protective clothing (<i>p</i><0.001), and avoiding contact with the outer surface of clothing while removing (<i>p</i><0.001) had significant difference in two groups.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>We found that the type and method of use of PPE were correlated with the increasing risk of COVID-19 in EMTs. Also, we found that when two EMTs were involved directly in taking care of the patients, and those who worked with a confirmed case teammate, more frequently affected.</p>","PeriodicalId":9333,"journal":{"name":"Bulletin of emergency and trauma","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2021-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8195834/pdf/","citationCount":"5","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Bulletin of emergency and trauma","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.30476/BEAT.2021.89713","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"","JCRName":"","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 5
Abstract
Objective: To assess the possible factors associated with increasing risk of COVID-19 among EMTs.
Methods: This study was a case-control study conducted in Tehran, Iran. Case group was consisted of confirmed COVID-19 EMTs based on the results of reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and/or lung computed tomography scan. Healthy EMTs were randomly selected as control group. Patients were asked to fill out a checklist including demographic data, data related to the work situation (such as number of missions and type of mask and cloth) and PPE precautions.
Results: Sixty-eight patients and 148 healthy persons took part in this study as case and control group, respectively. Having two EMTs involved directly in taking care of patients (p<0.001) and working with a confirmed case teammate (p<0.001), considering the precautions such as seal check after wearing the mask (p=0.015), covering the hair with a medical hat (p<0.001), not using personal items despite protective clothing (p<0.001), and avoiding contact with the outer surface of clothing while removing (p<0.001) had significant difference in two groups.
Conclusion: We found that the type and method of use of PPE were correlated with the increasing risk of COVID-19 in EMTs. Also, we found that when two EMTs were involved directly in taking care of the patients, and those who worked with a confirmed case teammate, more frequently affected.
期刊介绍:
BEAT: Bulletin of Emergency And Trauma is an international, peer-reviewed, quarterly journal coping with original research contributing to the field of emergency medicine and trauma. BEAT is the official journal of the Trauma Research Center (TRC) of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (SUMS), Hungarian Trauma Society (HTS) and Lusitanian Association for Trauma and Emergency Surgery (ALTEC/LATES) aiming to be a publication of international repute that serves as a medium for dissemination and exchange of scientific knowledge in the emergency medicine and trauma. The aim of BEAT is to publish original research focusing on practicing and training of emergency medicine and trauma to publish peer-reviewed articles of current international interest in the form of original articles, brief communications, reviews, case reports, clinical images, and letters.