Healthcare-associated infection

OBJECTIVE: Contact tracing aids epidemic control by enabling early detection and isolation without overburdening healthcare systems despite potential challenges. This study aimed to evaluate the practical application of contact and risk assessment-based models in predicting SARS-CoV-2 infection following exposure among healthcare workers in a large tertiary public university hospital in Türkiye. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was designed as a retrospective cohort study, including contact tracing data from 3389 exposed healthcare workers from March 23, 2020, to October 22, 2021...

OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to investigate the reliability of ChatGPT's answers to medical questions, including those sourced from patients and guide recommendations. The focus was on evaluating ChatGPT's accuracy in responding to various types of infectious disease questions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was conducted using 200 questions sourced from social media, experts, and guidelines related to various infectious diseases like urinary tract infection, pneumonia, HIV, various types of hepatitis, COVID-19, skin infections, and tuberculosis...

BACKGROUND: To address antimicrobial resistance, antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) principles must be implemented and adhered to. Clinical decision aids such as the MicroGuideTM app are an important part of these efforts. We sought to evaluate the consistency of core AMS information and the diversity of classification thresholds for healthcare-associated pneumonia (HAP) in the MicroGuide app. METHODS: Guidelines in the MicroGuide app were extracted and analysed for content related to AMS and HAP...

INTRODUCTION: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples (First Nations Australians) living in remote communities are hospitalised with skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) at three times the rate of non-First Nations Australians. The Torres Strait in tropical northern Australia has a highly dispersed population mainly comprising First Nations Australians. This study aimed to define the health service utilisation and health system costs associated with SSTIs in the Torres Strait and to improve the quality of regional healthcare delivery...

BACKGROUND: Rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) play a significant role in expanding case management in peripheral healthcare systems. Histidine-rich protein-2 (HRP2) antigen detection RDTs are predominantly used to diagnose Plasmodium falciparum infection. However, the evolution and spread of P. falciparum parasite strains with deleted hrp2/3 genes, causing false-negative results, have been reported. This study assessed the diagnostic performance of HRP2-detecting RDTs for P. falciparum cases and the prevalence of pfhrp2/3 deletions among symptomatic patients seeking malaria diagnosis at selected health facilities in southern Ethiopia...

Klebsiella pneumoniae is a Gram-negative Enterobacteriaceae that is classified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a Priority One ESKAPE pathogen. South and Southeast Asian countries are regions where both healthcare associated infections (HAI) and community acquired infections (CAI) due to extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing and carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae (CRKp) are of concern. As K. pneumoniae can also exist as a harmless commensal, the spread of resistance genotypes requires epidemiological vigilance...

BACKGROUND: The incidence of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is increasing around the world, and patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have a higher risk of obtaining CDI. The data on the incidence rate of CDI in the Asian pediatric IBD population was lacking. METHODS: We retrospectively collected data from a tertiary medical center in Taipei, Taiwan. All patients aged 1-18 years old who visited the outpatient department or were admitted to our hospital between 2006 and 2019 were included...

BACKGROUND: The Breakthrough Series model uses learning sessions (LS) to promote education, professional development and quality improvement (QI) in healthcare. Staff divergences regarding prior knowledge, previous experience, preferences and motivations make selecting which pedagogic strategies to use in LS a challenge. AIM: We aimed to assess new active-learning strategies: two educational games, a card game and an escape room-type game, for training in healthcare-associated infection prevention...

BACKGROUND: To date, there are no studies investigating the safety and outcomes of facial feminization surgery (FFS) as an outpatient procedure. This is the first study of its kind analyzing the outcomes of ambulatory FFS based on a comparison of complications, post-operative emergency department or urgent care (ED/UC) visits, and readmissions between patients who underwent FFS with admission versus same-day surgery. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on all patients who underwent FFS in a single integrated healthcare system...

BACKGROUND: Candidemia is the most common healthcare associated invasive fungal infection. Over the last few decades, candidemia caused by Candida species other than Candida albicans, particularly the Candida parapsilosis complex, has emerged worldwide. The aims of this study were: to analyze the genotypic and phenotypic characteristics of C. parapsilosis strains isolated from blood cultures and the environment in a hospital in southern Italy, to study the possible source of infection and to correlate the isolated strains...

In this study, the genetic differences and clinical impact of the carbapenemase-encoding genes among the community and healthcare-acquired infections were assessed. This retrospective, multicenter cohort study was conducted in Colombia and included patients infected with carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative rods between 2017 and 2021. Carbapenem resistance was identified by Vitek, and carbapenemase-encoding genes were identified by whole-genome sequencing (WGS) to classify the alleles and sequence types (STs)...

BACKGROUND: Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a prevalent condition in older men, causing significant morbidity. Despite recent progress, essential concerns of the disease remain under-researched. This study aims to assess knowledge and estimate self-reported prevalence of BPH in Saudi Arabian men. Understanding BPH prevalence in Saudi Arabia is essential for healthcare planning, resource allocation, public awareness, early detection, intervention, research, and addressing regional variations...

The burden of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is disproportionately high in low and middle-income countries. Barriers to implementing effective antimicrobial stewardship and infection prevention programs include the lack of a structural framework, consensus guidelines, educational opportunities, trained personnel, funding, and access to resources such as manpower, information technology, and diagnostics. Socioeconomic instability with supply chain interruptions, poor skilled staff retention, absence of mandates, and inadequate support to enforce existing policies further aggravates the situation...

BACKGROUND: Globally, viral hepatitis is a leading cause of death and is highly prevalent in Ethiopia. Military personnel are more vulnerable to hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections, and there are no data on such populations in the study area. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the seroprevalence of HBV and HCV infections and their associated factors among military personnel in military camps in Central Gondar, Ethiopia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted with 277 military personnel from April to August 2022 at military camps in Central Gondar, Ethiopia...

BACKGROUND: Antiseptics, disinfectants, and hand hygiene products can be contaminated with bacteria and cause healthcare-associated infections, which are underreported from low- and middle-income countries. To better understand the user-related risk factors, we conducted a knowledge, awareness, and practice survey among hospital staff in sub-Saharan Africa. METHODS: Self-administered questionnaire distributed among healthcare workers in three tertiary care hospitals (Burkina Faso, Benin, Democratic Republic of the Congo)...

BACKGROUND: Liver disease is within the top five causes of premature death in adults. Deaths caused by complications of cirrhosis continue to rise, whilst deaths related to other non-liver disease areas are declining. Portal hypertension is the primary sequelae of cirrhosis and is associated with the development of variceal haemorrhage, ascites, hepatic encephalopathy and infection, collectively termed hepatic decompensation, which leads to hospitalisation and mortality. It remains uncertain whether administering a non-selective beta-blocker (NSBB), specifically carvedilol, at an earlier stage, i...

BACKGROUND: Widespread inappropriate use of antimicrobial substances drives resistance development worldwide. In long-term care facilities (LTCF), antibiotics are among the most frequently prescribed medications. More than one third of antimicrobial agents prescribed in LTCFs are for urinary tract infections (UTI). We aimed to increase the number of appropriate antimicrobial treatments for UTIs in LTCFs using a multi-faceted antimicrobial stewardship intervention. METHODS: We performed a non-randomized cluster-controlled intervention study...

Twelve years after the first edition of The Guideline for Gynecological Practice, which was jointly edited by The Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology and The Japan Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the 5th Revised Edition was published in 2023. The 2023 Guidelines includes 5 additional clinical questions (CQs), which brings the total to 103 CQ (12 on infectious disease, 30 on oncology and benign tumors, 29 on endocrinology and infertility and 32 on healthcare for women). Currently, a consensus has been reached on the Guidelines, and therefore, the objective of this report is to present the general policies regarding diagnostic and treatment methods used in standard gynecological outpatient care that are considered appropriate...

Background Sexting is the sending and receiving of nude or partially nude images or videos. Despite it being a part of contemporary relationships, it can have adverse effects. This is particularly the case when receiving non-consensual sexts. To date, there remains a gap in the literature on whether receiving non-consensual sexts is associated with poor sleep. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the association between receiving non-consensual sexts and average sleep duration. Methods Data from Wave 2 (2022) of the Canadian Study of Adolescent Health Behaviours (N =906) were analysed...

BACKGROUND: Chronic neuropsychological sequelae following SARS-CoV-2 infection, including depression, anxiety, fatigue, and general cognitive difficulties, are a major public health concern. Given the potential impact of long-term neuropsychological impairment, it is important to characterize the frequency and predictors of this post-infection phenotype. METHODS: The Epidemiology, Immunology, and Clinical Characteristics of Emerging Infectious Diseases with Pandemic Potential (EPICC) study is a longitudinal study assessing the impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection in U...