Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37010998›Full record

ArticleAmerican journal of infection control2023

Environmental contamination and evaluation of healthcare-associated SARS-CoV-2 transmission risk in temporary isolation wards during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Liang En Wee, Shalvi Arora, Karrie Kwan-Ki Ko, Edwin Philip Conceicao, Kristen K Coleman, Kwee Yuen Tan, Hatijah Binti Tohid, Qinnan Liu, Grace Li Teng Tung, Shawn Wee Jin See and 3 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in American journal of infection control, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. 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

13 authors.

Liang En WeeDepartment of Infectious Diseases, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore. Electronic address: ian.wee.l.e@singhealth.com.sg.
Shalvi AroraDepartment of Infection Prevention and Epidemiology, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore.
Karrie Kwan-Ki KoDepartment of Molecular Pathology, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore; Department of Microbiology, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore; Genome Institute of Singapore, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore.
Edwin Philip ConceicaoDepartment of Infection Prevention and Epidemiology, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore.
Kristen K ColemanSchool of Public Health, University of Maryland, USA.
Kwee Yuen TanDepartment of Infection Prevention and Epidemiology, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore.
Hatijah Binti TohidDepartment of Infection Prevention and Epidemiology, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore.
Qinnan LiuDepartment of Infection Prevention and Epidemiology, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore.
Grace Li Teng TungDepartment of Medicine, National University Hospital, Singapore.
Shawn Wee Jin SeeDepartment of Infection Prevention and Epidemiology, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore.
Chayaporn SuphavilaiGenome Institute of Singapore, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore.
Moi Lin LingDepartment of Infection Prevention and Epidemiology, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore.
Indumathi VenkatachalamDepartment of Infectious Diseases, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore; Department of Infection Prevention and Epidemiology, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundTemporary isolation wards have been introduced to meet demands for airborne-infection-isolation-rooms (AIIRs) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Environmental sampling and outbreak investigation was conducted in temporary isolation wards converted from general wards and/or prefabricated containers, in order to evaluate the ability of such temporary isolation wards to safely manage COVID-19 cases over a period of sustained use.

methodsEnvironmental sampling for SARS-CoV-2 RNA was conducted in temporary isolation ward rooms constructed from pre-fabricated containers (N = 20) or converted from normal-pressure general wards (N = 47). Whole genome sequencing (WGS) was utilized to ascertain health care-associated transmission when clusters were reported amongst HCWs working in isolation areas from July 2020 to December 2021.

resultsA total of 355 environmental swabs were collected; 22.4% (15/67) of patients had at least one positive environmental sample. Patients housed in temporary isolation ward rooms constructed from pre-fabricated containers (adjusted-odds-ratio, aOR = 10.46, 95% CI = 3.89-58.91, P = .008) had greater odds of detectable environmental contamination, with positive environmental samples obtained from the toilet area (60.0%, 12/20) and patient equipment, including electronic devices used for patient communication (8/20, 40.0%). A single HCW cluster was reported amongst staff working in the temporary isolation ward constructed from pre-fabricated containers; however, health care-associated transmission was deemed unlikely based on WGS and/or epidemiological investigations.

conclusionEnvironmental contamination with SARS-CoV-2 RNA was observed in temporary isolation wards, particularly from the toilet area and smartphones used for patient communication. However, despite intensive surveillance, no healthcare-associated transmission was detected in temporary isolation wards over 18 months of prolonged usage, demonstrating their capacity for sustained use during succeeding pandemic waves.

Indexed as

COVID-19HospitalsHumansPandemicsRNA, ViralSARS-CoV-2RNA, ViralCOVID-19Environmental contaminationFomitesHealth care-associatedHospitalsSARS-CoV-2

Identifiers

PMID37010998
PMCPMC9613445

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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.