Volume 10, Number 5—May 2004
Dispatch
Infection Control and SARS Transmission among Healthcare Workers, Taiwan
Yee-Chun Chen*, Pei-Jer Chen*, Shan-Chwen Chang*, Chiang-Lian Kao*, Shiou-Hwa Wang*, Li-Hua Wang*, Pan-Chyr Yang*
, and the SARS Research Group of National Taiwan University College of Medicine and National Taiwan University Hospital
, and the SARS Research Group of National Taiwan University College of Medicine and National Taiwan University Hospital
Table
Personal protection before and after recognizing severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and implementing specific infection-control measures at the National Taiwan University Hospital
| Exposure type |
|||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| In the same rooma | Direct contact | Exposure to respiratory droplets and secretions | |||||||
| Protective measures |
Before (n = 73) |
After (n = 155) |
p value |
Before (n = 46) |
After (n = 132) |
p value |
Before (n = 37) |
After (n = 92) |
p value |
| Masks |
<0.001 |
<0.001 |
<0.001 |
||||||
| None |
36 |
0 |
20 |
0 |
17 |
0 |
|||
| Surgical mask, N-95 or P-100 respirator |
37 |
155 |
26 |
132 |
20 |
92 |
|||
| Gloves |
<0.001 |
<0.001 |
<0.001 |
||||||
| None |
57 |
7 |
28 |
4 |
17 |
2 |
|||
| One- or two-layer |
16 |
148 |
18 |
128 |
20 |
90 |
|||
| Eye protection |
<0.001 |
<0.001 |
<0.001 |
||||||
| No |
73 |
117 |
46 |
99 |
37 |
66 |
|||
| Glasses, goggles, or face shields |
0 |
38 |
0 |
33 |
0 |
26 |
|||
| Gowns |
<0.001 |
<0.001 |
<0.001 |
||||||
| None |
66 |
6 |
38 |
6 |
30 |
3 |
|||
| One- or two-layer | 7 | 149 | 8 | 126 | 7 | 89 | |||
aFive healthcare workers stayed in the same room with SARS patients before and after implementation of specific infection-control measures. Among 223 healthcare workers, 178 had direct contract to SARS patients or their environment, and 129 had exposure to respiratory droplets and secretion.
1Ding-Shinn Chen, Yuan-Teh Lee, Che-Ming Teng, Pan-Chyr Yang, Hong-Nerng Ho, Pei-Jer Chen, Ming-Fu Chang, Jin-Town Wang, Shan-Chwen Chang, Chuan-Liang Kao, Wei-Kung Wang, Cheng-Hsiang Hsiao, and Po-Ren Hsueh
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