Comparison of COVID-19 Infection in Operating Room Staff During Two COVID-19 Waves Using Different Preventive Strategies in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Pakistan

To assess if limiting elective surgeries during specific pandemic phases significantly affected COVID-19 incidence among operating room (OR) staff. Retrospective cohort study. Place and Duration of the Study: Operation Theatre (OT), The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan, from May 2020 to 2021. This retrospective study compared two pandemic waves: Wave 1, during which elective surgeries were restricted (REL), and Wave 2, during which elective surgeries were continued routinely (EL). Exposure levels were measured based on OR activity. Incidence rates were calculated per 100 OR staff, per 100 ORs, and per 100 surgeries for both Groups. No statistically significant difference emerged in COVID-19 incidence among OR staff between REL (13.8 per 100 staff) and EL (14.4 per 100 staff) Groups (p = 0.825). However, the EL Group exhibited a significantly lower incidence risk per running OR (5.6 per 100 ORs vs. REL's 12 per 100 ORs, p