The burden of nosocomial covid-19: results from the Wales multi-centre retrospective observational study of 2518 hospitalised adults
Authors: Ponsford Mark J , Jefferies Rhys , Davies Chris , Farewell Daniel , Humphreys Ian R. , Jolles Stephen , Fairbairn Sara , Lewis Keir , Menzies Daniel , Benjamin Amit , Thaivalappil Favas , Williams Christopher , Barry Simon 
Published: January 2021

Objectives

To define the burden of nosocomial (hospital-acquired) novel pandemic coronavirus (covid-19) infection among adults hospitalised across Wales.

Design

Retrospective observational study of adult patients with polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection between 1st March – 1st July 2020 with a recorded hospital admission within the subsequent 31 days. Outcomes were collected up to 20th November using a standardised online data collection tool.

Setting

Service evaluation performed across 18 secondary or tertiary care hospitals.

Participants

4112 admissions with a positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR result between 1st March to 1st July 2020 were screened. Anonymised data from 2518 participants were returned, representing over 60% of adults hospitalised across the nation of Wales.

Main outcome measures

The prevalence and outcomes (death, discharge) for nosocomial covid-19, assessed across of a range of possible case definitions.

Results

Inpatient mortality rates for nosocomial covid-19 ranged from 38% to 42% and remained consistently higher than participants with community-acquired infection (31% to 35%) across a range of case definitions. Participants with nosocomial-acquired infection were an older, frailer, and multi-morbid population than those with community-acquired infection. Based on the Public Health Wales case definition, 50% of participants had been admitted for 30 days prior to diagnostic testing.

Conclusions

This represents the largest assessment of clinical outcomes for patients with nosocomial covid-19 in the UK to date. These findings suggest that inpatient mortality rates from nosocomial-infection are likely higher than previously reported, emphasizing the importance of infection control measures, and supports prioritisation of vaccination for covid-19 negative admissions and trials of post-exposure prophylaxis in inpatient cohorts.

Trial registration

This project was approved and sponsored by the Welsh Government, as part of a national audit and quality improvement scheme for patients hospitalised covid-19 across Wales.

Key Messages

What is already known on this topic

We searched PubMed and ISI Web of Science up until 31-December-2020 for studies reporting on patient outcomes following hospital-acquired infection due to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). We identified a range of case-definitions for hospital-acquired infection, based on timing of diagnostic testing 5 to 15 days following admission. The largest and only multi-centre study concluded individuals with nosocomial infection are at a lower risk of death from SARS-CoV-2 than those infected in the community, however, was performed early in the pandemic and utilised a conservative definition of nosocomial infection.

What this study adds

Our multi-centre observational study represents the largest assessment of clinical outcomes for patients with nosocomial covid-19 in the UK to date, and suggests the burden of nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 infection has been underestimated. Nosocomial-infection occurred in older, frailer, and multi-morbid individuals, and was consistently associated with greater inpatient mortality than amongst those who were infected in the community across a spectrum of case-definitions. Our findings support implementation of enhanced infection control measures to reduce this burden during future waves, especially given the recent emergence of novel viral variants with enhanced transmissibility. Furthermore, roughly half of the patients meeting the Public Health Wales definition of definite nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 infection had been admitted for 30 days prior to diagnosis, highlighting a potential window of opportunity for inpatient pre-exposure and/or post-exposure prophylaxis.