[SARS-CoV-2 Exposure and Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies among Medical Students in the First Phase of the Pandemic 2020-2021]. / SARS-CoV-2 Exposition und Seroprävalenz von SARS-CoV-2-Antikörpern bei Medizinstudierenden in der ersten Phase der Pandemie, 2020­2021.

BACKGROUND: Due to their clinical training and secondary activities in the hospital, medical students are exposed to contact with SARS-CoV-2 infected people more often than the general population. We determined the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in medical students in clinical training at different times during the pandemic and asked participants about possible SARS-CoV-2 exposures in both medical and private settings. METHODS: From May 2020 to June 2021, medical students each in their 3rd year of training at the University Hospital Würzburg participated in the cross-sectional survey. All SARS-CoV-2 unvaccinated students were offered a determination of their SARS-CoV-2 serostatus. The blood samples were tested by an immunoassay (Elecsys, Roche) for IgG/IgM/IgA antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 N antigen. Demographic data, SARS-CoV-2 disease and vaccination status, as well as possible SARS-CoV-2 exposures were collected using a questionnaire. RESULTS: Overall, 383 (86.1%) of 445 students took part in the cross-sectional survey (65% female; median age 22 years; IQR 21-24). Serostatus was determined in 223 (58.2% of 383) SARS-CoV-2 unvaccinated participants. In the period between the beginning of the pandemic in Germany (February 2020) and the time of the survey, 332 (86.7% of 383) students stated that they worked in the medical field, mainly in the context of clinical traineeships (76.8%) or secondary activities with patient contact (48.8%); 129 (33.7%) reported previous contact with a COVID-19 patient, of which 78.3% of contacts took place at a medical facility. Antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 were detected in 8 (3.6%) of the 223 unvaccinated participants tested, and in 3 infected persons an association between infection and contact in the course of medical activity seemed likely. CONCLUSION: Despite frequent patient contact and the associated increased risk of infection, medical students in their 3rd year of training did not show an increased seroprevalence compared to the general population and showed a lower or similar seroprevalence rate than medical students in other European countries in the first 18 months of the pandemic. This indicates sufficient protection of medical students at the beginning of clinical training through the hygiene and infection protection measures implemented at that time during medical activities.

Online-rotation in paediatrics - digital live-interaction with children.

The two-week block rotation in paediatrics (tenth semester) took place for 62 students purely as online teaching in the summer semester of 2020, at the time of the initial restrictions. As a teaching module, virtual patient presentations including debriefing took place as synchronous teaching. Patients and one parent were broadcast from the wards and outpatient clinics via video conference. Students were able to interact in small groups with 15-22 patients or their parents, respectively, via a doctor and both conduct the case history interview and brief the examination steps. Despite the limitation of not being able to perform the clinical examination themselves, participants rated the block rotation with good marks. They particularly appreciated the ability to interact with the children online as an indispensable compromise in times of suspended classroom teaching during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.