Brief Report
COVID-19 clusters in a teaching hospital during the second wave of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in France: A descriptive study and lessons learned for waves to come

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2022.06.018Get rights and content

Highlights

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    In-hospital coronavirus disease 2019 clusters onset were correlated to coronavirus disease 2019 community incidence.

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    Preventive measures were not fully applicable due to several specific determinants.

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    These determinants were patient—(eg, dementia), and ward-associated factors (eg, shared rooms).

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    Adapting hospital environment and care organization is needed to avoid cluster onset.

A total of 92 coronavirus disease 2019 clusters involving 1,156 individuals (729 patients and 427 healthcare workers) occurred in Lyon University Hospital between September 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021, mostly on medical and geriatric wards. The number of clusters was closely correlated to the trend in coronavirus disease 2019 community incidence over time; in-hospital clusters did not persist when community incidence decreased. Recommended preventive measures were not fully applicable due to specific ward-associated determinants and patient characteristics.

Key Words

SARS-CoV-2
COVID-19
Healthcare-associated infection
Cluster
Community incidence

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Funding: This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Conflicts of interest: All authors report no conflicts of interest relevant to this article.

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© 2022 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.