Incidence of New Coronavirus Infection among Emergency Medical Services Workers

Abstract

Summary. Introduction: A biological factor is the leading occupational hazard for healthcare professionals. Identification of risk factors for novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in ambulance employees and substantiation of measures to prevent the spread of this infection is a modern-day challenge. The purpose of our study was to examine COVID-19 incidence rates in emergency medical services (EMS) workers and to identify occupational risk factors for this infection. Materials and methods: We studied COVID-19 cases among Ryazan ambulance employees in terms of their age, sex, position, and specialty taking into account disease severity and duration for the period from May 1, 2020 to September 1, 2020. Results: We established higher relative risk values and incidence rates of the novel coronavirus infection in EMS workers compared to the population of the city of Ryazan (p < 0.05). In May–August 2020, COVID-19 cases among the ambulance employees and the population of Ryazan, as well as the number of EMS-attended patients with acute respiratory infection followed a similar pattern. The number of COVID-19 cases among the staff of resuscitation crews was significantly higher than that in the general practice and other specialized crews (p < 0.05). We estimated a statistically significant high relative risk of a longer and severer course of the disease among physicians compared with paramedics (RR = 1.333; p < 0.05) and among EMS workers aged 61 or older (RR = 1.286; p < 0.05). Conclusions: Emergency medical services workers have a high occupational risk of COVID-19 in the pandemic. Among them, employees aged 31–35 and resuscitation crewmembers face a higher risk of infection. Elderly employees aged 61–64, medical doctors, and general profile EMS workers are most at risk for a more severe and durable disease course.