COVID-19 Infection Exposure in the Neuroangiographic Suite

Abstract

Background and Importance—Better understanding of transmission dynamics of corona virus disease
2019 (COVID-19) infection in various health care settings is important because of increasing number of
infections in medical professionals. We report upon exposure to COVID-19 infection within the neuroan‐
giographic suite and consequences.
Clinical Presentation—A nurse in our neuroangiographic suite was the index patient. She was asympto‐
matic and assisted with two neuroendovascular procedures on two consecutive weekend days. Two techni‐
cians and three physicians participated in the procedures (in addition to the two patients), all of whom used
standard caps, surgical masks, gowns, and gloves although not continuously throughout the clinical encoun‐
ters. The exposure of the seven close contacts was considered low risk in six cases (i.e., they were all wear‐
ing a facemask or respirator at contact), while that of the remaining medical professional was considered
medium risk (i.e., no face mask at contact). All contacts were placed on self-monitoring with delegated
supervision by our institution’s occupational health/infection control program. Two of the contacts under‐
went polymerase chain reaction testing using nasal swab specimens with negative results. The one contact
considered as the medium risk exposure underwent self-quarantine for 2 weeks. None of the exposed per‐
sons developed symptoms suggestive of COVID-19 infection.
Conclusion—The risk of COVID-19 infection transmission within the neuroangiographic suite appears to
be low possibly due to existing precautions and use of personal protective equipment.