Accepted for/Published in: JMIRx Med
Date Submitted: Apr 11, 2021
Date Accepted: Nov 6, 2021
Date Submitted to PubMed: Aug 4, 2023
Sick on the Frontlines: COVID-19 Infection and Symptoms among Emergency Medicine Residents and Fellows in Urban an Academic Hospital Setting: A Cross-Sectional Questionnaire Study
ABSTRACT
Background:
COVID-19, an illness caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, affected many aspects of healthcare worldwide in 2020. From March to May of 2020, New York City (NYC) experienced a large surge of cases.
Objective:
The authors aimed to characterize the amount of illness experienced by residents and fellows in 2 NYC hospitals during this time period.
Methods:
This was a cross-sectional observational study. An IRB-exempt survey was distributed to emergency medicine housestaff in May 2020 and submissions were accepted through August 2020.
Results:
64 residents and fellows responded to our survey (a 62% response rate). 42% of responders tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Most residents experienced symptoms that could be consistent with COVID-19 however few received PCR testing. Fevers and/or chills along with loss of smell and/or taste were the most specific symptoms for COVID-19, with p-values <0.05. All 13 housestaff who reported no symptoms during the study period tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies.
Conclusions:
Our study demonstrated that the rate of COVID-19 illness among emergency department housestaff is much higher than previously reported. Further studies are needed to characterize illness among medical staff in emergency departments across the nation. The high infection rate among emergency medicine trainees stresses the importance of supplying adequate PPE for healthcare professionals.
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