Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35749426›Full record

ArticlePloS one2022

Serology suggests adequate safety measures to protect healthcare workers from COVID-19 in Shiga Prefecture, Japan.

Tokuhiro Chano, Shin-Ya Morita, Tomoyuki Suzuki, Tomoko Yamashita, Hirokazu Fujimura, Tatsushi Yuri, Masakazu Menju, Masaaki Tanaka, Fumihiko Kakuno

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
1.1field-weighted citation impact, top 27% 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, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 8 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  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

9 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Tokuhiro ChanoDepartment of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Shiga University of Medical Science Hospital, Otsu, Shiga, Japan.
Shin-Ya MoritaDepartment of Pharmacy, Shiga University of Medical Science Hospital, Otsu, Shiga, Japan.ORCID 0000-0003-4079-707X
Tomoyuki SuzukiShiga Prefecture Administration, Otsu, Shiga, Japan.
Tomoko YamashitaDepartment of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Shiga University of Medical Science Hospital, Otsu, Shiga, Japan.
Hirokazu FujimuraDepartment of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Shiga University of Medical Science Hospital, Otsu, Shiga, Japan.
Tatsushi YuriDepartment of Pharmacy, Shiga University of Medical Science Hospital, Otsu, Shiga, Japan.
Masakazu MenjuDepartment of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Shiga University of Medical Science Hospital, Otsu, Shiga, Japan.
Masaaki TanakaDepartment of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Shiga University of Medical Science Hospital, Otsu, Shiga, Japan.
Fumihiko KakunoShiga Prefecture Administration, Otsu, Shiga, Japan.
Shiga University of Medical Science Hospital · JPUniversity of Shiga Prefecture · JP

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Healthcare workers (HCWs), especially frontline workers against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), are considered to be risky because of occupational exposure to infected patients. This study evaluated the correlation between seroprevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibodies among HCWs and the implementation of personal protective equipment (PPE) & infection prevention and control (IPC). We recruited 1237 HCWs from nine public COVID-19-designated hospitals in Shiga Prefecture, central Japan, between 15-26 February 2021. All participants answered a self-administered questionnaire and provided blood samples to evaluate SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. A total of 22 cases (1·78%) were seropositive among the 1237 study participants. An unavoidable outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 had occurred at the terminal care unit of one hospital, before identifying and securely isolating this cluster of cases. Excluding with this cluster, 0·68% of HCWs were suspected to have had previous SARS-CoV-2 infections. Binomial logistic regression from individual questionnaires and seropositivity predicted a significant correlation with N95 mask implementation under aerosol conditions (p = 8.63e-06, aOR = 2.47) and work duration in a red zone (p = 2.61e-04, aOR = 1.99). The institutional questionnaire suggested that IPC education was correlated with reduced seropositivity at hospitals. Seroprevalence and questionnaire analyses among HCWs indicated that secure implementation of PPE and re-education of IPC are essential to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection within healthcare facilities. Occupational infections from SARS-CoV-2 in healthcare settings could be prevented by adhering to adequate measures and appropriate use of PPE. With these measures securely implemented, HCWs should not be considered against as significantly risky or dirty by local communities.

Indexed as

COVID-19Health PersonnelHumansInfectious Disease Transmission, Patient-to-ProfessionalJapanSARS-CoV-2Seroepidemiologic Studies

Identifiers

PMID35749426
PMCPMC9231724
OpenAlexW4283387865

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.