Volume 11, Number 4—April 2005
Dispatch
Patient Contact Recall after SARS Exposure
Popy Dimoulas*, Karen A. Green*, Altynay Shigayeva*, Michael Aquino*, Allison McGeer*
, Damon C. Scales*, and Toronto SARS Hospital Investigation Team
, Damon C. Scales*, and Toronto SARS Hospital Investigation Team
Table 1
Characteristics of healthcare workers and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) index patient contact
| Characteristics* | No. (%) of healthcare workers (N = 27) |
|---|---|
| Demographic characteristics | |
| Age group (y) | |
| 20–29 | 7 (26) |
| 30–39 | 9 (33) |
| 40–49 | 8 (30) |
| ≥50 | 3 (11) |
| Sex: female | 18 (67) |
| Occupation | |
| Nurse | 10 (37) |
| Respiratory therapist | 8 (30) |
| Other† | 9 (33) |
| No. with laboratory-confirmed SARS |
3 (11) |
| Contact characteristics | |
| Cumulative time spent in patient’s room‡ | |
| <10 min | 9 (35) |
| 11–30 min | 8 (31) |
| 31 min–4 h | 6 (23) |
| >4 h | 3 (11) |
| Touched patient | 16 (59) |
| Face <3 feet of patient | 18 (67) |
| Contact with mucous membranes or respiratory secretions | 7 (26) |
| Patient coughing or spitting while healthcare worker was present | 11 (41) |
| Performed or assisted with intubation | 2 (7) |
*Characteristics ascertained from initial interview.
†Other occupation categories include service assistants, residents, 1 physician, and 1 pharmacist.
‡Based on 26 healthcare worker responses.
1B. Henry (Toronto Public Health), S. Paton (Health Canada), T. Stewart (Mount Sinai Hospital), D. Zoutman (Kingston General Hospital), J.M. Raboud and U.R. Saskin (Mount Sinai Hospital), M. Loeb (Hamilton Health Sciences Center), A.E. Simor and M. Vearncombe (Sunnybrook and Women’s College Hospital), C. MacDonald (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), E. Bontovics (Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care)
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