Wednesday 30 / April / 2025
Muscat: A patient in an open High Dependency Units (HDU) unit had transmitted COVID-19 infection to over 40 healthcare workers (HCWs) and patients before the results of his PCR test came out in one of the Sultanate of Oman's hospitals.
The incident happened on 2 July 2020, and an epidemiological investigation was conducted when the patient was diagnosed with COVID-19 infection. The patient had stayed in an open HDU cubicle at the Royal Hospital with four other patients for 48 to 72 hours, including 48 hours of NIV, before COVID-19 diagnosis and implementation of contact and airborne isolation precautions.
The details of the incident were published in Oman Medical Journal, in a study titled "Risk of COVID-19 Infection in Healthcare Workers Exposed During Use of Non-invasive Ventilation in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Oman".
The study said: "A total of 22 HCWs were assigned to the HDU but were unaware of the index case COVID-19 status at the time of contact and, as a result, were only wearing surgical masks as per hospital policy. All exposed cases were screened and positive cases were thoroughly investigated to determine demographic data, occupation, acquisition risk, and clinical outcomes."
The researchers added: "We describe the hospital-based transmission of covid19 related to non-invasive ventilation (NIV) in one of the main tertiary care hospitals in Oman. NIV poses a significant risk for COVID-19 transmission within hospital settings if appropriate infection control measures are not taken. "
Therefore, all exposed patients and HCWs from Royal Hospital were screened, quarantined, and underwent telephone interviews to stratify their risk factors, clinical symptoms, and exposure risk assessment. The results showed that a total of 46 health care workers and patients tested positive for COVID-19 after exposure to an index case who received 48 hours in hospital before being diagnosed with COVID-19 infection.
"Over half of the exposed 26 were nurses, 12 were patients, and 7 were doctors. None of the HCWs required hospitalisation. Sore throat, fever, and myalgia were the most common symptoms," the study result shows.
The study concluded: "Healthcare workers (HCWs), especially those working on the front line, are considered to be at high risk of nosocomial acquisition of (COVID-19). Little is known about the effectiveness of the recommended protective methods as few reports have described spread of the disease in hospital settings among this high-risk population. "
