De Wilton, A;
Kilich, E;
Chaudhry, Z;
Bell, LCK;
Gahir, J;
Cadman, J;
Lever, RA;
(2020)
Delayed healthcare seeking and prolonged illness in healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: a single-centre observational study.
BMJ Open
, 10
(11)
, Article e040216. 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-040216.
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Abstract
Objectives: To describe a cohort of self-isolating healthcare workers (HCWs) with presumed COVID-19. / Design: A cross-sectional, single-centre study. / Setting: A large, teaching hospital based in Central London with tertiary infection services. / Participants: 236 HCWs completed a survey distributed by internal staff email bulletin. 167 were women and 65 men. / Measures: Information on symptomatology, exposures and health-seeking behaviour were collected from participants by self-report. / Results: The 236 respondents reported illness compatible with COVID-19 and there was an increase in illness reporting during March 2020 Diagnostic swabs were not routinely performed. Cough (n=179, 75.8%), fever (n=138, 58.5%), breathlessness (n=84, 35.6%) were reported. Anosmia was reported in 42.2%. Fever generally settled within 1 week (n=110/138, 88%). Several respondents remained at home and did not seek formal medical attention despite reporting severe breathlessness and measuring hypoxia (n=5/9, 55.6%). 2 patients required hospital admission but recovered following oxygen therapy. 84 respondents (41.2%) required greater than the obligated 7 days off work and 9 required greater than 3 weeks off. / Conclusion: There was a significant increase in staff reporting illness compatible with possible COVID-19 during March 2020. Subsequent serology studies at the same hospital study site have confirmed sero-positivity for COVID-19 up to 45% by the end of April 2020 in frontline HCWs. The study revealed a concerning lack of healthcare seeking in respondents with significant red flag symptoms (severe breathlessness, hypoxia). This study also highlighted anosmia as a key symptom of COVID-19 early in the pandemic, prior to this symptom being more widely recognised as a feature of COVID-19.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Delayed healthcare seeking and prolonged illness in healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: a single-centre observational study |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-040216 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-040216 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited, appropriate credit is given, any changes made indicated, and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences > Div of Infection and Immunity |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10118026 |
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