Retrospective study on the effectiveness of a prevention strategy in a dental hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic

Ling Zhang; Yuedan Xu; Xinyang Jin; Zhiwei Shi; Mengting Wu; Ning Xu; Xuefen Yu; Shuli Deng; Kai Zhang; Liefen Zhang; Matthias Hannig; Qianming Chen; Baiping Fu

doi:10.1007/s00784-021-03886-9

Retrospective study on the effectiveness of a prevention strategy in a dental hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic

Clin Oral Investig. 2021 Oct;25(10):5815-5822. doi: 10.1007/s00784-021-03886-9. Epub 2021 Mar 18.

Authors

Ling Zhang^#¹, Yuedan Xu^#¹, Xinyang Jin¹, Zhiwei Shi¹, Mengting Wu¹, Ning Xu², Xuefen Yu³, Shuli Deng^{1

4}, Kai Zhang⁵, Liefen Zhang², Matthias Hannig⁶, Qianming Chen^{1

2}, Baiping Fu^{7

8

9}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Prosthodontics, The Affiliated Hospital of Stomatology, School of Stomatology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine and Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedical Research of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang, 310006, Hangzhou, China.
² Department of Medical Administration, The Affiliated Hospital of Stomatology, School of Stomatology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Yan'an Road 395, Zhejiang, 310006, Hangzhou, China.
³ Department of Control and Prevention of Nosocomial Infection, The Affiliated Hospital of Stomatology, School of Stomatology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Yan'an Road 395, Zhejiang, 310006, Hangzhou, China. yuxf@zju.edu.cn.
⁴ Department of Conservative and Operative Dentistry, The Affiliated Hospital of Stomatology, School of Stomatology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Yan'an Road 395, Zhejiang, 310006, Hangzhou, China.
⁵ Department of Dental Emergency, The Affiliated Hospital of Stomatology, School of Stomatology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Yan'an Road 395, Zhejiang, 310006, Hangzhou, China.
⁶ Clinic of Operative Dentistry, Periodontology and Preventive Dentistry, Saarland University, Homburg, Saarland, Germany.
⁷ Department of Prosthodontics, The Affiliated Hospital of Stomatology, School of Stomatology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine and Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedical Research of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang, 310006, Hangzhou, China. fbp@zju.edu.cn.
⁸ Department of Medical Administration, The Affiliated Hospital of Stomatology, School of Stomatology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Yan'an Road 395, Zhejiang, 310006, Hangzhou, China. fbp@zju.edu.cn.
⁹ Department of Control and Prevention of Nosocomial Infection, The Affiliated Hospital of Stomatology, School of Stomatology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Yan'an Road 395, Zhejiang, 310006, Hangzhou, China. fbp@zju.edu.cn.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of a prevention strategy against the spread of SARS-CoV-2 infection among dental hospital staff over a 3-month period.

Materials and methods: The effectiveness of the prevention strategy, which adopted healthcare staff protective measures, including patient triage and correct usage of personal preventive equipment, was evaluated by SARS-CoV-2 detection and serological testing. Patients who visited the Affiliated Stomatology Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China, between January 31 and March 1 (lockdown period) and March 2 and April 27 (reopening period) in 2020 and in the same period in 2019 were included in the study. Patients' diagnosis, age, gender, and several undergoing aerosol-generating procedures during the study period were collected from the hospital's database. Corresponding data were compared year-on-year (2020-on-2019). A total of 757 hospital staff underwent SARS-CoV-2 detection and serological testing on April 28-29, 2020.

Results: During the lockdown and reopening period in 2020, the number of hospital visits was dramatically decreased to about 6% and 58%, respectively, compared with the same period in 2019. However, emergency visits were increased 16- and 6.4-fold. A total of at least 6654 patients (13.58%) underwent aerosol-generating procedures during the study period in the year 2020. All hospital staff were negative according to SARS-CoV-2 detection and serological testing (IgG, IgM) data.

Conclusion: During the study period in 2020, the total number of hospital visits dramatically reduced but emergency visits significantly increased. The prevention strategy implemented successfully prevented SARS-CoV-2 infection spread among healthcare workers in a dental hospital.

Clinical relevance: The prevention strategy indicated patient triage and how to adopt preventive measures for controlling SARS-CoV-2 spread among healthcare workers. These data can be used as a reference for other sectors suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: Aerosols; COVID-19; Dental healthcare; Prevention strategy; SARS-CoV-2.

MeSH terms

COVID-19*
Communicable Disease Control
Hospitals
Humans
Pandemics*
Retrospective Studies
SARS-CoV-2