Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35189996›Full record

ArticleInfection control and hospital epidemiology2023

Investigation of a cluster of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections in a hospital administration building.

Lucas D Jones, Ernest R Chan, Jennifer L Cadnum, Sarah N Redmond, Maria E Navas, Trina F Zabarsky, Elizabeth C Eckstein, Jeffrey D Kovach, Marlin Linger, Peter A Zimmerman and 1 more

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Infection control and hospital epidemiology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.2field-weighted citation impact, top 21% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 8 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Non-pharmaceutical interventions for COVID-19: a systematic review on environmental control measures.Philosophical transactions. Series A, Mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences · 2023
    Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors at 6 institutions in 1 country.

Lucas D Jones *Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio.ORCID 0000-0002-0350-6694
Ernest R Chan *Cleveland Institute for Computational Biology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio.
Jennifer L Cadnum *Research Service, Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio.
Sarah N RedmondDepartment of Medicine, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio.
Maria E NavasPathology and Laboratory Medicine Service, Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio.ORCID 0000-0002-1367-478X
Trina F ZabarskyInfection Control Department, Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio.ORCID 0000-0003-4224-8189
Elizabeth C EcksteinInfection Control Department, Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio.ORCID 0000-0002-3671-7295
Jeffrey D KovachDepartment of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio.ORCID 0000-0001-9051-7676
Marlin LingerThe Center for Global Health & Diseases, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio.
Peter A ZimmermanThe Center for Global Health & Diseases, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio.ORCID 0000-0002-5349-4513
Curtis J DonskeyGeriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center, Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio.
Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center · USCase Western Reserve University · USCenter for Global Health · USGeriatric Research Education and Clinical Center · USUniversity Hospitals of Cleveland · USUniversity School · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo investigate a cluster of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections in employees working on 1 floor of a hospital administration building.

methodsContact tracing was performed to identify potential exposures and all employees were tested for SARS-CoV-2. Whole-genome sequencing was performed to determine the relatedness of SARS-CoV-2 samples from infected personnel and from control cases in the healthcare system with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) during the same period. Carbon dioxide levels were measured during a workday to assess adequacy of ventilation; readings >800 parts per million (ppm) were considered an indication of suboptimal ventilation. To assess the potential for airborne transmission, DNA-barcoded aerosols were released, and real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to quantify particles recovered from air samples in multiple locations.

resultsBetween December 22, 2020, and January 8, 2021, 17 coworkers tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, including 13 symptomatic and 4 asymptomatic individuals. Of the 5 cluster SARS-CoV-2 samples sequenced, 3 were genetically related, but these employees denied higher-risk contacts with one another. None of the sequences from the cluster were genetically related to the 17 control sequences of SARS-CoV-2. Carbon dioxide levels increased during a workday but never exceeded 800 ppm. DNA-barcoded aerosol particles were dispersed from the sites of release to locations throughout the floor; 20% of air samples had >1 log

conclusionsIn a hospital administration building outbreak, sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 confirmed transmission among coworkers. Transmission occurred despite the absence of higher-risk exposures and in a setting with adequate ventilation based on monitoring of carbon dioxide levels.

Indexed as

COVID-19Hospital AdministrationCarbon DioxideHumansRespiratory Aerosols and DropletsSARS-CoV-2Carbon Dioxide

Identifiers

PMID35189996
PMCPMC9929709
OpenAlexW4213074794

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.