Analysis of infection status and infection risk factors of caregivers of COVID-19 patients

Background: Omicron infection often occurs in a family cluster, therefore, infection among caregivers of patients with COVID-19 is an important health concern. To explore the spread and risk factors of infection among caregivers of patients with COVID-19 and provide a theoretical basis for the scientific prevention and control of susceptible infections. Methods: : We recruited 66 caregivers of patients with COVID-19 who were admitted to the medicine department of Jilin Provincial Hospital of Hepatobiliary Diseases supported by the First Hospital of Jilin University, between April 9, 2022 and April 30, 2022. We analyzed the impact of age, sex, vaccination history, positive conversion time, and some basic disease on the occurrence of infection among caregivers. Results: : At one week after discharge of the admitted COVID-19 patients, 54 of the enrolled caregivers (including 22 males and 32 females) turned positive, while the remaining 12 did not. Among the patients with positive conversion, 79.63% had underlying diseases, 83.33% had positive conversion within 3 days after admission, and 46.30% had received the last vaccination more than 200 days. The positive conversion time, was significantly longer in women than in men. Additionally, the positive conversion time in those with underlying disease was longer than in those without. Conclusion: An understanding of the prevalence and risk factors for secondary infection among caregivers of COVID-19 patients would be useful in developing strategies for the prevention of infection in the of COVID-19-susceptible population and help improve the monitoring of various susceptible factors.