Transmission of SARS to healthcare workers. The experience of a Hong Kong ICU.

Abstract

To describe the extent and temporal pattern of transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) to intensive care unit staff. Retrospective observational cohort study. University hospital intensive care unit, caring solely for patients with SARS or suspected to have SARS. Thirty-five doctors and 152 nurses and healthcare assistants who worked in the ICU during the SARS epidemic. Infection control measures designed to prevent transmission of disease to staff were implemented. Sixty-seven patients with SARS were admitted to the intensive care unit. Four nurses and one healthcare assistant contracted SARS, with three of these developing symptoms within 10 days of admission of the first patient with SARS. Doctors were exposed to patients with SARS for a median (IQR) of 284 (97-376) h, while nurses and healthcare assistants were exposed for a median (IQR) of 119 (57-166) h. The ICU did not meet international standards for physical space or ventilation. In an ICU in which infection control procedures are rigorously applied, the risk to staff of contracting SARS from patients is low, despite long staff exposure times and a sub-standard physical environment.