COVID-19 Seroprevalence in Emergency Department Healthcare Professionals Study (COV-ED): A Cross-sectional study

ABSTRACT

Objective

Emergency department (ED) healthcare professionals (HCP) are at the frontline of evaluation and management of patients with acute, and often undifferentiated, illness. During the initial phase of the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak, there were concerns that ED HCPs may have been at increased risk of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 due to difficulty in early identification and isolation of patients. This study assessed the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies among ED HCPs including attending physicians, residents, advanced practice providers, and nurses without prior confirmed history of COVID-19 infection at a quaternary academic medical center.

Methods

This study was a prospective, cross-sectional study. An ED healthcare professional was deemed eligible if they had worked at least four shifts in the adult ED from April 1, 2020, through May 31, 2020, were asymptomatic on the day of blood draw, and were not known to have had prior documented COVID-19 infection. The study period was December 17, 2020, to January 27, 2021. Eligible participants completed a questionnaire and had a blood sample drawn. Samples were run on the Roche Cobas Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody assay.

Results

A total of 103 healthcare professionals (16 attending physicians, 4 emergency residents, 16 advanced practice professionals, and 67 full-time emergency nurses) completed the survey and had their blood drawn. While 17 healthcare professionals reported suspecting they had a prior undiagnosed COVID-19 infection, only three (1 attending physician, 1 advanced practice provider, 1 nurse) of the 103 (2.9%, exact 95% Confidence Interval [0.6%, 8.3%]) were seropositive for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies.

Conclusion

At this quaternary academic medical center among those who volunteered to take an antibody test, there was a low seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies among ED clinicians who were asymptomatic at the time of blood draw and not known to have had prior COVID-19 infection. Despite many unknowns early in the pandemic, the rate of asymptomatic infections appears to be low.