Ross Merkin1, Ariel Kruger2, Gaurav Bhardwaj3, Grace R Kajita4, Lauren Shapiro5, Benjamin T Galen6. 1. Chief Resident, Moses/Weiler Internal Medicine Residency, Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center. 2. Instructor, Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources, Rutgers University. 3. Chief Resident, Wakefield Internal Medicine Residency, Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center. 4. Program Director, Wakefield Internal Medicine Residency, and Assistant Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center. 5. Program Director, Montefiore/Weiler Internal Medicine Residency, and Associate Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center. 6. Associate Program Director, Montefiore/Weiler Internal Medicine Residency, and Associate Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hospital Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Montefiore Medical Center (MMC) is a large tertiary care center in the Bronx, New York City, with 245 internal medicine residents. Beginning on February 29, 2020, residents became ill with COVID-19-like illness (CLI), which required absence from work. There was initially a shortage of personal protective equipment and delays in SARS-CoV-2 testing, which gradually improved during March and April 2020. OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the relationship between CLI-related work absence rates of internal medicine residents and MMC's COVID-19 hospital census over time. METHODS: Data on resident work absence between February 29 and May 22 were reviewed along with MMC's COVID-19 hospital census data. To determine the effect of patient exposure on resident CLI incidence, we compared the mean incidence of CLI per patient exposure days (PED = daily hospital census × days pre- or post-peak) before and after peak COVID-19 hospital census. RESULTS: Forty-two percent (103 of 245) of internal medicine residents were absent from work, resulting in 875 missed workdays. At the peak of resident work absence, 16% (38 of 245) were out sick. Residents were absent for a median of 7 days (IQR 6-9.5 days). Mean resident CLI incidence per PED (CLI/PED) was 13.9-fold lower post-peak compared to pre-peak (P = .003). CONCLUSIONS: At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City, a large portion of internal medicine residents at this single center became ill. However, the incidence of CLI decreased over time, despite ongoing exposure to patients with COVID-19.
BACKGROUND: Montefiore Medical Center (MMC) is a large tertiary care center in the Bronx, New York City, with 245 internal medicine residents. Beginning on February 29, 2020, residents became ill with COVID-19-like illness (CLI), which required absence from work. There was initially a shortage of personal protective equipment and delays in SARS-CoV-2 testing, which gradually improved during March and April 2020. OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the relationship between CLI-related work absence rates of internal medicine residents and MMC's COVID-19 hospital census over time. METHODS: Data on resident work absence between February 29 and May 22 were reviewed along with MMC's COVID-19 hospital census data. To determine the effect of patient exposure on resident CLI incidence, we compared the mean incidence of CLI per patient exposure days (PED = daily hospital census × days pre- or post-peak) before and after peak COVID-19 hospital census. RESULTS: Forty-two percent (103 of 245) of internal medicine residents were absent from work, resulting in 875 missed workdays. At the peak of resident work absence, 16% (38 of 245) were out sick. Residents were absent for a median of 7 days (IQR 6-9.5 days). Mean resident CLI incidence per PED (CLI/PED) was 13.9-fold lower post-peak compared to pre-peak (P = .003). CONCLUSIONS: At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City, a large portion of internal medicine residents at this single center became ill. However, the incidence of CLI decreased over time, despite ongoing exposure to patients with COVID-19.
Authors: Meryl B Kravitz; Nicholas B Dadario; Adeel Arif; Simon Bellido; Amber Arif; Oark Ahmed; Marc Gibber; Farrukh N Jafri Journal: Cureus Date: 2022-03-30
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