Reliability of nonlocalizing signs and symptoms as indicators of the presence of infection in nursing-home residents.

Antibiotics are among the most common medications prescribed in nursing homes. The annual prevalence of antibiotic use in residents of nursing homes ranges from 47% to 79%, and more than half of antibiotic courses initiated in nursing-home settings are unnecessary or prescribed inappropriately (wrong drug, dose, or duration). Inappropriate antibiotic use is associated with a variety of negative consequences including Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI), adverse drug effects, drug-drug interactions, and antimicrobial resistance.

Lessons to learn with the methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus control in Norway.

The prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in Norway is low, compared to other European and American countries. The health system includes mandatory case reporting and has written guidelines for prevention and control. This communication describes the national public policies related to MRSA obtained from documents and academic experience gained during a doctoral fellowship in Oslo, Norway.

A multidrug-resistant, methicillin-susceptible strain of Staphylococcus aureus from a neonatal intensive care unit in Oslo, Norway.

Over a 6-month period in 2008, approximately 15% of all Staphylococcus aureus isolates from our neonatal intensive care unit were resistant to penicillin, gentamicin, erythromycin and clindamycin. Extended antibiotic susceptibility testing and molecular profiling revealed an outbreak of an S. aureus strain with a rare susceptibility pattern for a Scandinavian setting.

Hospital-acquired infections before and after healthcare reorganization in a tertiary university hospital in Norway.

Background: To evaluate hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) in somatic (all admissions other than psychiatric) and psychiatric patients admitted to a tertiary university hospital in Oslo, before and after reorganization of the Norwegian healthcare system in 2002.

Methods: Point prevalence studies were conducted four times per annum and over the period from 1995 to 2007.

Results: A total of 57,360 patients were studied over the whole time period: 80.

[An outbreak of MRSA in a nursing home in Oslo].

Background: Infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) represent an increasing problem in Norway, also in nursing homes and other institutions for long-term care. We describe an outbreak of MRSA in a nursing home in Oslo 2004-5.

Material And Methods: The nursing home has six wards with 185 beds.

[Infection control and hand hygiene in nursing homes in Oslo].

Background: Nosocomial infections and transmission can be substantially reduced by good infection control. The laws and regulations for infection control in heath care institutions emphasize establishment of infection control programs and improved hand hygiene. Our study reviews some factors that are important for practicing adequate hand hygiene (knowledge about infection control and hand-washing facilities).

Is an increase of MRSA in Oslo, Norway, associated with changed infection control policy?

Objectives: The objective was to describe the prevalence of MRSA in Oslo, Norway, before and after introduction of a new National MRSA Control Guideline.

Methods: From 1993 to 2006, we prospectively collected clinical and microbiological data on all MRSA cases in Oslo, Norway. Two MRSA guidelines; a strict Ullevål Standard MRSA Guideline and a less strict National MRSA Control Guideline were compared.

[Changes in antibiotic consumption among day-care children in Oslo].

Background: Day-care children in Oslo had a high proportion of infections (97 %) and a high consumption of antibiotics (65 %) in 2000. The study from 2000 was repeated in 2006 to see if prescriptions for antibiotics had changed.

Material And Methods: Parents in 22 randomly chosen day-care centres in Oslo answered a questionnaire about their children (concerning infections, contact with physicians and antibiotic treatment).

[Parents' attitude to physician's role in the prescription of antibiotics to their children].

Background: Most children in day care get infections and are given antibiotics. In physicians' view, the main reason for excessive use is pressure exerted on them by anxious parents. We studied parents' view of physicians' influence on the use of antibiotics.

[Parents' attitudes to the prescription of antibiotics to children].

Background: Most children in day care get infections and are prescribed antibiotics. We studied parents' attitude towards such prescription.

Material And Methods: Parents (563 out of 1126 surveyed) in 22 day care centres returned a questionnaire on factors in their own situation and in their day care centre with impact on the use of antibiotics.

[Children in day care centers--infections and use of antibiotics].

Background: Bacterial resistance is a major problem in many countries and is associated with liberal use of antibiotics. In this study infections and use of antibiotics were studied in day-care children in Oslo and Akershus counties in Norway.

Material And Methods: Parents in 22 randomly chosen day-care centers were asked to complete a semi-structured questionnaire about infections and antibiotic treatment of their children over the last 12 months.

[Control of imported infections in nursing homes].

Background: Nursing home residents and accompanying staff often go on stays i Norwegian-owned health institutions in southern Europe and may bring infections back with them.

Material And Methods: We studied infection control routines for residents and staff returning home from health institutions abroad as well as isolation capacity by an anonymous questionnaire to 59 nursing homes with a total of 4,409 residents.

Results: 21 nursing homes (36%) sent their residents and staff members to health institutions abroad.

[Nosocomial infections in nursing homes in Oslo].

Background: Residents of long-term care facilities are at risk of infection and may deliver resistant microbes to hospitals.

Material And Methods: A point prevalence study was performed, including 3,474 residents in 2000 and 4,650 in 2001.

Results: The infection rate increased from 5.

Preoperative hair removal--a systematic literature review.

This article describes a systematic literature review on whether, how, and when to perform preoperative hair removal. By searching electronic databases and reference lists of relevant articles, team members identified 20 clinical studies that deal with preoperative hair removal. No strong evidence was found to advocate against preoperative hair removal.

Occlusive scrub suits in operating theaters during cataract surgery: effect on airborne contamination.

The effect of wearing occlusive scrub suits on bacterial contamination of air was studied during cataract operations. All personnel regularly wore cotton scrub suits. During the intervention period, all wore occlusive scrub suits, which, compared with cotton scrub suits, were associated with more than a 50% reduction in the load of airborne bacteria during operations.