The following is a summary of “Impact of interventions to reduce nosocomial transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in English NHS Trusts: a computational modeling study,” published in the May 2024 issue of Infectious Disease by Evans et al.
Up to 90,000 hospital patients in England likely acquired SARS-CoV-2 infection during hospitalization before September 2021, with additional suspected cases among healthcare workers.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study to assess the effectiveness of hospital interventions in curbing the spread of SARS-CoV-2 among individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 and healthcare workers.
They utilized an individual-based model to gauge how individual interventions (alone and combined) contributed to the effectiveness of interventions in English hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic. An expert panel guided intervention selection and ensured real-world applicability. Model parameters and uncertainties came from national and local data, literature review, and expert opinions. Among individuals and healthcare workers scenarios were simulated to estimate nosocomial infections without interventions (March 2020 to July 2022), considering various strains and vaccination doses.
The results showed that in a scenario lacking inpatient testing, infection prevention, and control measures, and reductions in occupancy and visitors, the incidence of nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 infections could have doubled during the pandemic, with over 600,000 healthcare workers (HCWs) potentially infected in the initial wave alone. Symptomatic HCW isolation and universal HCW masking proved most effective in preventing infections. Model findings indicate that interventions during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in England collectively prevented an estimated 400,000 (240,000 – 500,000) inpatient infections and 410,000 (370,000 – 450,000) HCW infections.
Investigators concluded that while the effectiveness of individual interventions varied, the combined approach used in English hospitals significantly reduced hospital-acquired transmission of SARS-CoV-2.
Source: bmcinfectdis.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12879-024-09330-z