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Respiratory illness disrupts DC hospital

Hospital Safety Connection, September 3, 2003

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A mysterious respiratory illness that infected 25 employees and patients in late August at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, DC, forced the facility to temporarily shut down clinical units where the disease spread, The Washington Post reports.

All infected workers were told to stay home until their symptoms went away, and each will be examined at the employee health center before they are allowed to return to work. None has returned yet, and all are expected to miss five to seven days.

Almost all the cases are tied to the endoscopy suite, where patients undergo gastrointestinal exams under short-acting anesthesia. The hospital closed the suite for several days last week to allow disinfection of surfaces.

Those infected by the illness report low-grade fevers, headaches, nasal congestion, muscle aches, and dry coughs. City health officials believe the cause is a virus, but not severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).

Although the time, course, and symptoms are not consistent with SARS, the organism is likely a coronavirus similar to the SARS virus. Officials expect to identify the bug within 10 days when lab tests are complete.

The first infection was a nurse from the endoscopy unit. The hospital learned of her infection August 18, and two days later, seven other workers from the same unit fell ill. At that point, the hospital notified the DC Health Department. City officials theorize that the nurse may have spread the infection through coughing or sneezing. Among those infected were a cardiac surgeon and a patient who underwent a cardiac catheterization procedure and spent time in a recovery room shared with the endoscopy unit.

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