Department members participate in COVID-19 study
Study conducted by resident and faculty
About ninety members of the department were enrolled as participants in a study conducted by one of our graduating residents, Dr. Miguel Morcuende, and Drs. Ruth Landau and Jean Guglielminotti.
The study, “Anesthesiologists’ and intensive care providers’ exposure to COVID-19 infection in a New York City academic center,” assesses the incidence of COVID-19-like symptoms and the presence of COVID-19 antibodies among anesthesiologists and other affiliated physicians at CUIMC. Anesthesiologists are at particularly high risk for exposure to COVID-19 because of the aerosols produced during intubation and extubation procedures.
At the height of the COVID-19 crisis, the investigators emailed a survey to anesthesiologists and affiliated intensive care providers here at CUIMC. They recorded respondents’ demographics and medical history, along with community exposure to the virus (e.g., on the subway), work exposure to the virus, and the development of COVID-19-like symptoms after work exposure. After serological testing of the respondents, the investigators concluded that the presence of COVID-19 antibodies appeared to be associated with community transmission rather than work exposure.
The study was published online ahead of print in Anesthesia and Analgesia.