Table 4

Number of days, severity and type of COVID-19 symptoms in association with access to personal protective equipment (PPE) in exposed healthcare workers

	OR access to PPE good versus excellent	OR access to PPE basic versus excellent	OR access to PPE poor versus excellent	P trend
>14 days of symptoms	1.26 (0.62–2.55)	1.76 (0.86–3.61)	2.39 (1.10–5.22)	0.0044
Moderate to severe symptoms	1.70 (0.90–3.20)	1.63 (0.83–3.19)	3.51 (1.70–7.26)	0.0058
Specific COVID-19 symptoms:
Fatigue and muscle aches	1.53 (0.79–2.93)	2.07 (1.00–4.30)	0.97 (0.46–2.08)	0.86
Loss of taste or smell	1.17 (0.66–2.09)	1.74 (0.95–3.18)	1.31 (0.67–2.58)	0.46
Cough	1.46 (0.85–2.51)	1.59 (0.90–2.81)	1.48 (0.78–2.79)	0.36
Diarrhoea	1.88 (0.94–3.73)	2.04 (1.01–4.12)	1.79 (0.82–3.89)	0.28
Nausea or vomiting	1.18 (0.53–2.64)	2.53 (1.14–5.59)	2.10 (0.87–5.07)	0.029
Sore throat or headache	2.40 (1.37–4.18)	2.92 (1.62–5.27)	2.15 (1.11–4.14)	0.039
Fever or chills	1.47 (0.85–2.56)	1.49 (0.83–2.65)	2.25 (1.16–4.39)	0.049
Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing	1.10 (0.60–2.03)	1.46 (0.78–2.76)	2.45 (1.22–4.93)	0.021
Respiratory symptoms: abnormal chest X-ray, low oxygen saturation (SpO₂) <93%) at rest, respiratory distress, respiratory rate ≥30 times/min, or acute lung injury	1.48 (0.43–5.09)	1.74 (0.48–6.30)	3.33 (0.93–11.86)	0.036

*Adjusted for age, gender, country, diabetes, pre-diabetes, coronary artery disease, overweight, asthma and high-risk exposure to an individual with COVID-19 outside of the workplace (n=568 total).
†Poor access to PPE was described as ‘little access to masks, face shields, gowns, and gloves’. Basic access was described as ‘access to at least one daily mask, face shield, gown, and gloves’. Good access to PPE was described as ‘I had access to a change of mask, gown, and gloves if soiled as well as a face shield’. Excellent access to PPE was described as ‘I had access to a fresh mask, gown, and gloves every time that I entered a new patient room as well as a face shield’.