Physical health complaints among healthcare workers engaged in the care of critically ill COVID-19 patients: A single tertiary-care center prospective study from Japan

BACKGROUND: Healthcare workers (HCWs) who manage patients with the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are at an increased risk and fear of contracting the infection themselves. Hospitals must reduce both the physical and mental burden of HCWs on the front lines and ensure their safety. No prospective study has focused on the physical health complaints among HCWs engaged in the care of critically ill COVID-19 patients. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of various physical symptoms experienced by HCWs following their exposure to COVID-19 patients and investigate the association between occupation and the manifestation of physical symptoms among HCWs at a tertiary hospital in Japan during the current ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: A twice-weekly questionnaire targeting HCWs who care for COVID-19 patients was performed at Osaka City University Hospital from April 30 to May 31, 2020. The demographic characteristics of the participants, frequency of exposure to at-risk care, and physical complaints were evaluated. RESULTS: Seventy-six HCWs participated in this study, of whom 24 (31.6%) were doctors, 43 (56.6%) were nurses, and 9 (11.8%) were technicians. The frequency of experiencing any physical symptom was 25.0% among HCWs. Exposure to at-risk care was significantly higher among nurses than among doctors (p < 0.001). Notably, the frequency of physical symptoms among the nurses was very high at 39.5% and obviously higher than that of physical symptoms among the doctors (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that hospital occupational health care must be provided to HCWs who are engaged in the care of COVID-19 patients and are thus highly exposed to at-risk care.