The prevalence of severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) IgG antibodies in intensive care unit (ICU) healthcare personnel (HCP) and its implications—a single-center, prospective, pilot study

To the Editor—Healthcare personnel (HCP), including practitioners, nursing staff, respiratory therapists, and the pronepositioning team caring for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) are considered to have a high risk of exposure to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Most patients admitted to the ICU are severely sick and need to be intubated. High-risk procedures for droplet dispersion, including tracheal intubation and tracheostomy tube placement, can be performed in the ICU.1 In a community seroprevalence study in Los Angeles County, the prevalence of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 was 4.65%.2 To our knowledge, no other study has addressed the prevalence of subclinical seroconversion of SARSCoV-2 among HCP in the ICU setting. In this study, we investigated the seroconversion of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection in ICU HCP exposed to critically ill COVID-19 patients.