Journal of Hospital Infection

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has drawn attention to the importance of facial (respiratory and eye) protective equipment (FPE). Optimal use of FPE in non-outbreak situations, will enable frontline staff, such as emergency department (ED) clinicians, to adapt more rapidly and safely to the increased demands and skills required during an infectious disease outbreak. METHODS: A survey, designed to determine the attitudes, beliefs and knowledge of HCWs around the use of FPE for protection against respiratory infections, was distributed to staff in a respiratory ward, an adult ED and a paediatric ED in Sydney, Australia prior to COVID-19...

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OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate a nomogram to predict CNS infections in patients with severe traumatic brain injury (sTBI) after craniotomy. METHODS: This retrospective study was conducted in consecutive adult patients with sTBI who were admitted to the neurointensive care unit (NCU) between January 2014 and September 2020. We applied the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) and multivariate logistic regression analysis to construct the nomogram, and k-fold cross-validation (k=10) to validate it...

BACKGROUND: Nosocomial infections caused by carbapenem-resistant gram-negative bacteria (CRGNB) are associated with increased mortality and prolonged hospitalization; thus, later CRGNB-decolonization has significant clinical and public health implications. AIM: We investigated modifiable/ non-modifiable risk factors for CRGNB-later gut decolonization in children. METHODS: We included CRGNB-carriers (1day-16years old), hospitalized in a tertiary-level hospital (2018-2019)...

BACKGROUND: In contrast to the beginning of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, more and more hospital issues are regulated by policy. AIM: To identify differences between experts' recommendations and legal requirements regarding infection prevention and control (IPC) strategies. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted between 2022/09/29 - 2022/11/03 addressing 1319 members of the German Society for Hygiene and Microbiology (DGHM), the response rate was 12%...

Following recent viral outbreaks, there has been a significant increase in global demand for gloves. Biomedical research increasingly focuses on antimicrobial gloves to combat microbial transmission and hospital-acquired infections. Most antimicrobial gloves are manufactured using antimicrobial chemicals such as disinfectants, biocides, and sanitizers. The design of antimicrobial gloves incorporates advanced technologies, including colloidal particles and nanomaterials, to enhance antimicrobial effectiveness...

BACKGROUND: Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are one the most common hospital-acquired complications. Insertion of a urinary catheter and the duration of catheterisation are the main risk factors, with catheter-associated UTIs (CAUTIs) accounting for 70-80% of hospital-acquired UTIs. Guidance is available regarding the prevention of hospital-acquired CAUTI, however, how best to operationalise this guidance remains a challenge. AIM: This pragmatic review aimed to map and summarize the peer-reviewed literature on model of care interventions for the prevention of CAUTI in adult inpatients...

BACKGROUND: The complex design of cannulas is a major challenge for reprocessing due to the retention and accumulation of fat residues. AIM: To evaluate the cleaning of liposuction cannulas and the protective effects of the remaining fat residues on Mycobacterium abscessus subspecies bolletii (MASB) and Geobacillus stearothermophilus inactivation during steam sterilization. METHODS: In Phase 1, six standard operating procedures (SOP) were evaluated for cleaning of liposuction cannulas...

BACKGROUND: Machine learning (ML) models for early identification of patients at risk of hospital-acquired urinary tract infections (HA-UTI) may enable timely and targeted preventive and therapeutic strategies. However, clinicians are often challenged in the interpretation of the predictive outcomes provided by the ML models, which often reach different performances. AIM: To train ML models for predicting patients at risk of HA-UTI using available data from electronic health records at the time of hospital admission...

BACKGROUND: Sternal wound infections (SWI) and aortic graft infections (AGI) are serious complications after cardiac surgery. Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococci are the most common causes of SWI, while AGI are less studied. AGI may occur from contamination during surgery or postoperative haematogenous spread. Skin commensals, such as Cutibacterium acnes, are present in the surgical wound; however, their ability to cause infection is debated. AIM: The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of skin bacteria in the sternal wound and to evaluate their possible ability to contaminate surgical materials...

BACKGROUND: Bone flap infections (BFI) occur following neurosurgical procedures such as craniotomies. However, they are poorly defined and often not clearly differentiated from other surgical site infection neurosurgery. AIM: To review data from a national adult neurosurgical centre to explore some clinical aspects to better inform definitions, classification and surveillance methodologies. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed data on clinical samples sent for culture from patients with suspected BFI...

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BACKGROUND: Previous studies reported higher incidence of surgical site infection (SSI) after procedures performed in summer or with high temperatures. However, no study used detailed climate data to assess this risk after hip and knee arthroplasty, and no study specifically investigated the role of heatwaves. AIM: To assess the impact of higher environmental temperatures and heatwaves on SSI rates after hip and knee arthroplasty. METHODS: Data on hip and knee arthroplasty procedures performed between 01/2013 - 09/2019 in hospitals participating in the Swiss SSI surveillance were linked to climate data extracted from weather stations located in their vicinity...

BACKGROUND: Despite adherence to standard protocols, residues including live microorganisms may remain on the various surfaces of reprocessed flexible endoscopes. Prions are infectious proteins notoriously difficult to eliminate. AIM: We tested the potential of cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) for the decontamination of flexible endoscope various surfaces, measuring total proteins and prion-residual infectivity as an indicator of efficacy. METHODS: New PTFE endoscope channels and metal test surfaces spiked with test soil or prion-infected tissues were treated using different CAP-generating prototypes...

INTRODUCTION: Low counts of air-borne bacteria in the operating room is a mean to prevent surgical site infection. AIM: To investigate levels of air-borne bacteria during surgical procedures in two operating rooms with turbulent mixing ventilation (TMV) and unidirectional airflow (UDAF), both with an air supply of 2600 L/s, when staff used either reusable scrub suits made from a mixed material (dry penetration ≤ 300 CFU) or single-use scrub suits made from polypropylene (dry penetration ≤ 100 CFU)...

Monkeypox virus (MPXV) is a DNA virus in the Orthopoxvirus genus which causes Mpox (previously monkeypox). Symptoms include fever, lymphadenopathy and vesicular lesions. There is limited evidence for the duration of MPXV infectivity. This study uses cell culture as a proxy for infectivity. Clinical samples from four patients with Mpox were inoculated into African green monkey kidney (Vero E6) cells and monitored for cytopathic effects (CPE). From one patient, infectious MPXV was recovered 25 days after illness onset...

BACKGROUND: Indiscriminate use of antimicrobials in neonatal sepsis treatment contributes to consumption misuse, and the optimization of prescription programmes is encouraged as a way of reducing this inappropriate use. AIM: To evaluate the impact of intervention programmes for adequate antimicrobial use (antimicrobial stewardship programmes) in consumption measurements of such drugs in neonatology. METHODS: The search for articles was performed in electronic databases and by manual search for citations in publications initially identified...

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