Epidemiological,clinical and radiological findings in medical staff with COVID-19 in Wuhan, China: a single-centered, retrospective cohort study

Abstract Backgrounds In December 2019, a pneumonia associated with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2) emerged in Wuhan city, China. As of 20 Feb 2020, a total of 2,055 medical staff infected with SARS-Cov-2 in China had been reported. The predominant cause of the infection and the failure of protection among medical staff remains unclear. We sought to explore the epidemiological, clinical characteristics and prognosis of novel coronavirus-infected medical staff.Methods Medical staff who infected with SARS-Cov-2 and admitted to Union Hospital, Wuhan between 16 Jan, 2020 to 25 Feb, 2020 were included retrospectively. Epidemiological, clinical and radiological data were compared by occupation and analyzed with the Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression methods.Results A total of 101 medical staff (32 males and 69 females; median age: 33 years old) were included in this study and 74% were nurses. None had an exposure to Huanan seafood wholesale market or wildlife. A small proportion of the cohort had contact with specimens (3%) as well as patients infected with SARS-Cov-2 in fever clinics (15%) and isolation wards (3%). 80% of medical staff showed abnormal IL-6 levels and 33% had lymphocytopenia. Chest CT mainly manifested as bilateral (62%), septal/subpleural (77%) and ground­glass opacities (48%). The major differences between doctors and nurses manifested in laboratory indicators. As of the last observed date, no patient was transferred to intensive care unit or died, and 98 (97%) had been discharged. Fever (HR=0.57; 95% CI 0.36-0.90) and IL-6 levels greater than >2.9 pg/ml (HR=0.50; 95% CI 0.30-0.86) on admission were unfavorable factors for discharge.Conclusions Our findings suggested that the infection of medical staff mainly occurred at the early stages of SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Wuhan, and only a small proportion of infection had an exact mode. Meanwhile, medical staff infected with COVID-19 have relatively milder symptoms and favorable clinical course than other ordinary patients, which may be partly due to their medical expertise, younger age and less underlying diseases. The potential risk factors of presence of fever and IL-6 levels greater than >2.9 pg/ml could help to identify medical staff with poor prognosis at an early stage.