The Possible Factors Correlated with The Higher Risk of Getting Infected by COVID-19 in Emergency Medical Technicians; A Case-Control Study

Mostafa Sadeghi; Peyman Saberian; Parisa Hasani-Sharamin; Fatemeh Dadashi; Sepideh Babaniamansour; Ehsan Aliniagerdroudbari

doi:10.30476/BEAT.2021.89713

The Possible Factors Correlated with The Higher Risk of Getting Infected by COVID-19 in Emergency Medical Technicians; A Case-Control Study

Bull Emerg Trauma. 2021 Apr;9(2):67-72. doi: 10.30476/BEAT.2021.89713.

Authors

Mostafa Sadeghi^{1

2}, Peyman Saberian^{1

3}, Parisa Hasani-Sharamin⁴, Fatemeh Dadashi⁴, Sepideh Babaniamansour⁵, Ehsan Aliniagerdroudbari⁶

Affiliations

¹ Prehospital and Hospital Emergency Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
² Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Shariati Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
³ Department of Anesthesiology, Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
⁴ Tehran Emergency Medical Service Center, Tehran, Iran.
⁵ School of Medicine, Islamic Azad University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
⁶ School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

Objective: To assess the possible factors associated with increasing risk of COVID-19 among EMTs.

Methods: This study was a case-control study conducted in Tehran, Iran. Case group was consisted of confirmed COVID-19 EMTs based on the results of reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and/or lung computed tomography scan. Healthy EMTs were randomly selected as control group. Patients were asked to fill out a checklist including demographic data, data related to the work situation (such as number of missions and type of mask and cloth) and PPE precautions.

Results: Sixty-eight patients and 148 healthy persons took part in this study as case and control group, respectively. Having two EMTs involved directly in taking care of patients (p<0.001) and working with a confirmed case teammate (p<0.001), considering the precautions such as seal check after wearing the mask (p=0.015), covering the hair with a medical hat (p<0.001), not using personal items despite protective clothing (p<0.001), and avoiding contact with the outer surface of clothing while removing (p<0.001) had significant difference in two groups.

Conclusion: We found that the type and method of use of PPE were correlated with the increasing risk of COVID-19 in EMTs. Also, we found that when two EMTs were involved directly in taking care of the patients, and those who worked with a confirmed case teammate, more frequently affected.

Keywords: COVID-19; Emergency medical technician; Personal protective equipment.