Evaluating the long-term impact of an antimicrobial stewardship programme in a Central London mixed medical and surgical intensive care unit.

Background: Antimicrobial overuse causes increased antimicrobial resistance in ICUs; antimicrobial stewardship programmes (ASPs) aim to optimize usage. Following an MDR (MRAb) outbreak in 2008, an ASP was implemented at a London ICU, and then continued as a long-term programme. This study aimed to determine long-term changes in antimicrobial prescribing 9 years on.

Association between SARS-CoV-2 exposure and antibody status among healthcare workers in two London hospitals: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Patient-facing (frontline) health-care workers (HCWs) are at high risk of repeated exposure to SARS-CoV-2.

Aim: We sought to determine the association between levels of frontline exposure and likelihood of SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity amongst HCW.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was undertaken using purposefully collected data from HCWs at two hospitals in London, United Kingdom (UK) over eight weeks in May-June 2020.

A pseudo-outbreak of Rhinocladiella similis in a bronchoscopy unit of a tertiary care teaching hospital in London, United Kingdom.

Outbreaks of fungal infections due to emerging and rare species are increasingly reported in healthcare settings. We investigated a pseudo-outbreak of Rhinocladiella similis in a bronchoscopy unit of a tertiary care teaching hospital in London, UK. We aimed to determine route of healthcare-associated transmission and prevent additional infections.

Clinical utility and cost-effectiveness of bacterial 16S rRNA and targeted PCR based diagnostic testing in a UK microbiology laboratory network.

16S ribosomal-ribonucleic acid polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and targeted PCR aid microbiological diagnosis in culture-negative clinical samples. Despite routine clinical use, there remains a paucity of data on their effectiveness across a variety of clinical sample types, and cost-effectiveness. In this 4 year multicentre retrospective observational study, all clinical samples referred for 16S PCR and/or targeted PCR from a laboratory network serving seven London hospitals were identified.

Evaluating the impact of the ICNET® clinical decision support system for antimicrobial stewardship.

Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an ecological and economic crisis and stewardship of available antimicrobials is required. Electronic prescribing, where available, enables auditing of practice, yet in order to be efficient and effective in addressing inappropriate antimicrobial prescribing, better use of current and new technological interventions is needed. This retrospective observational evaluation looked at the impact of a commercial clinical decision support system (CDSS) on the workflow of an established antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) team.