Blood Culture Use in Medical and Surgical Intensive Care Units and Wards.

Importance: Blood culture (BC) use benchmarks in US hospitals have not been defined.

Objective: To characterize BC use in adult intensive care units (ICUs) and wards in US hospitals.

Design, Setting, And Participants: A retrospective cross-sectional study of BC use in adult medical ICUs, medical-surgical ICUs, medical wards, and medical-surgical wards from acute care hospitals from the 4 US geographic regions was conducted.

The First 100 Seconds of Sleep of rEEGs Can Be a Reliable Scoring Method for D/EE-SWAS.

Purpose: Developmental/epileptic encephalopathy with spike wave activation with sleep, formerly known as electrical status epilepticus in sleep, is an electrographic pattern in which the interictal epileptiform activity is augmented by transition to sleep. Recent studies demonstrate the utility of the first 100 seconds of sleep of long-term monitoring (LTM) as a scoring method for electrical status epilepticus in sleep. Our aim was to measure the reliability of the spike-wave index (SWI) of the first 100 seconds of sleep of routine EEG (rEEG) as a tool for diagnosis of developmental/epileptic encephalopathy with spike wave activation with sleep.

Electrocatalytic Transfer Hydrogenation of 1-Octene with [(PCP)Ir(H)(Cl)] and Water.

Electrocatalytic hydrogenation of 1-octene as non-activated model substrate with neutral water as H-donor is reported, using [(PCP)Ir(H)(Cl)] (1) as the catalyst, to form octane with high faradaic efficiency (FE) of 96 % and a k of 87 s. Cyclic voltammetry with 1 revealed that two subsequent reductions trigger the elimination of Cl and afford the highly reactive anionic Ir(I) hydride complex [(PCP)Ir(H)] (2), a previously merely proposed intermediate for which we now report first experimental data by mass spectrometry. In absence of alkene, the stoichiometric electrolysis of 1 in THF with water selectively affords the Ir(III) dihydride complex [(PCP)Ir(H)] (3) in 88 % FE from the reaction of 2 with HO.

Implementing a Successful Influenza and Updated COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign Among Healthcare Workers in a Delaware Healthcare Facility.

Although influenza (flu) and COVID-19 vaccines are highly recommended for healthcare workers, it is known that vaccination rates are suboptimal in healthcare settings. There is a need to optimize vaccination rates among healthcare workers as there are direct correlations to increased patient safety and protection of staff from healthcare associated infections. Our health care organization employed some novel strategies to increase the uptake of both flu and COVID-19 vaccinations by identifying and addressing common barriers.

Multi-omics approach to socioeconomic disparity in metabolic syndrome reveals roles of diet and microbiome.

The epidemy of metabolic syndrome (MetS) is typically preceded by adoption of a "risky" lifestyle (e.g., dietary habit) among populations.

A Case of ALG6-CDG with Explosive Onset of Intractable Epilepsy During Infancy.

ALG6-CDG is a rare, but second most common, type 1 congenital disorder of glycosylation (CDG) caused by a defect in the α-1-3-glucosyltransferase (ALG6) enzyme in the N-glycan assembly pathway. Many mutations have been identified and inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern. There are less than 100 ALG6-CDG cases reported, all sharing the phenotype of hypotonia and developmental delay.

Transmission of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to Healthcare Personnel Resulting From Contaminated Bone Graft Material, United States, June 2021-August 2022.

A nationwide tuberculosis outbreak linked to a viable bone allograft product contaminated with Mycobacterium tuberculosis was identified in June 2021. Our subsequent investigation identified 73 healthcare personnel with new latent tuberculosis infection following exposure to the contaminated product, product recipients, surgical instruments, or medical waste.

Prevention and Control of Nosocomial Varicella During the United States Varicella Vaccination Program Era.

The United States varicella vaccination program has successfully reduced varicella incidence and hospitalizations by ≥90%, consequently reducing the risk of nosocomial exposures. However, patients and healthcare personnel (HCP) continue to introduce varicella zoster virus (VZV) into healthcare settings. Herpes zoster (HZ) is less contagious than varicella, but it can also result in exposures.

Nationwide tuberculosis outbreak in the USA linked to a bone graft product: an outbreak report.

Background: Mycobacterium tuberculosis transmission through solid organ transplantation has been well described, but transmission through transplanted tissues is rare. We investigated a tuberculosis outbreak in the USA linked to a bone graft product containing live cells derived from a single deceased donor.

Methods: In this outbreak report, we describe the management and severity of the outbreak and identify opportunities to improve tissue transplant safety in the USA.

The Spike-Wave Index of the First 100 Seconds of Sleep Can Be a Reliable Scoring Method for Electrographic Status Epilepticus in Sleep.

Introduction: Electrical status epilepticus in sleep (ESES) is an electrographic pattern in which interictal epileptiform activity is augmented by the transition to sleep, with non-rapid eye movement sleep state characterized by near-continuous lateralized or bilateral epileptiform discharges. The aim of this study was to measure the reliability of the spike-wave index (SWI) of the first 100 seconds of sleep as a tool for the diagnosis of ESES.

Methods: One hundred forty studies from 60 unique patients met the inclusion.

Introducing Benzene-1,3,5-tri(dithiocarboxylate) as a Multidentate Linker in Coordination Chemistry.

Benzene-1,3,5-tri(dithiocarboxylate) (BTDTC), the sulfur-donor analogue of trimesate (BTC, benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylate), is introduced, and its potential as a multidentate, electronically bridging ligand in coordination chemistry is evaluated. For this, the sodium salt NaBTDTC has been synthesized, characterized, and compared with the sodium salt of the related ditopic benzene-1,4-di(dithiocarboxylate) (NaBDDTC). Single-crystal X-ray diffraction of the respective tetrahydrofuran (THF) solvates reveals that such multitopic aromatic dithiocarboxylate linkers can form both discrete metal complexes (NaBTDTC·9THF) and (two-dimensional) coordination polymers (NaBDDTC·4THF).

Multisociety statement on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination as a condition of employment for healthcare personnel.

This consensus statement by the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) and the Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine (AMDA), the Association for Professionals in Epidemiology and Infection Control (APIC), the HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA), the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (PIDS), and the Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists (SIDP) recommends that coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination should be a condition of employment for all healthcare personnel in facilities in the United States. Exemptions from this policy apply to those with medical contraindications to all COVID-19 vaccines available in the United States and other exemptions as specified by federal or state law. The consensus statement also supports COVID-19 vaccination of nonemployees functioning at a healthcare facility (eg, students, contract workers, volunteers, etc).

Evaluation of N95 respirator ultraviolet decontamination and clinical reuse with quantitative fit testing.

The supply of N95 respirators has been severely strained by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. We used quantitative fit-testing to evaluate 16 participants and 45 respirators through up to 4 rounds of ultraviolet decontamination and clinical reuse. The mean fit-test failure rate was 29.

Next Generation Sequencing Based Non-invasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT): First Report From Saudi Arabia.

Non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) for aneuploidy in pregnant women screening has been recently established in Saudi Arabia. We aim from this study to report our experience in the implementation of this new technology in clinical practice and to assess factors influencing cell-free fetal (cffDNA) fraction and successful NIPT reporting. In total, 200 pregnant women were subjected to the NIPT test using standard methods.

Implementing Antibiotic Stewardship in a Network of Urgent Care Centers.

Background: Most antibiotics are prescribed in outpatient settings, including urgent care clinics (UCCs); however, few UCCs have described implementing antibiotic stewardship. This study describes interventions to reduce total antibiotic and azithromycin use in a UCC network.

Methods: The researchers conducted a prospective performance improvement project in five UCCs in Delaware, with > 40 providers and > 75,000 visits annually.

Policy statement from the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA): Only medical contraindications should be accepted as a reason for not receiving all routine immunizations as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

SHEA endorses adhering to the recommendations by the CDC and ACIP for immunizations of all children and adults. All persons providing clinical care should be familiar with these recommendations and should routinely assess immunization compliance of their patients and strongly recommend all routine immunizations to patients. All healthcare personnel (HCP) should be immunized against vaccine-preventable diseases as recommended by the CDC/ACIP (unless immunity is demonstrated by another recommended method).

Thermal Defect Engineering of Precious Group Metal-Organic Frameworks: A Case Study on Ru/Rh-HKUST-1 Analogues.

A methodology is introduced for controlled postsynthetic thermal defect engineering (TDE) of precious group metal-organic frameworks (PGM-MOFs). The case study is based on the Ru/Rh analogues of the archetypical structure [Cu(BTC)] (HKUST-1; BTC = 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylate). Quantitative monitoring of the TDE process and extensive characterization of the samples employing a complementary set of analytical and spectroscopic techniques reveal that the compositionally very complex TDE-MOF materials result from the elimination and/or fragmentation of ancillary ligands and/or linkers.

Automated outbreak detection of hospital-associated pathogens: Value to infection prevention programs.

Objective: To assess the utility of an automated, statistically-based outbreak detection system to identify clusters of hospital-acquired microorganisms.

Design: Multicenter retrospective cohort study.

Setting: The study included 43 hospitals using a common infection prevention surveillance system.

Extensive Achilles tendon ossification: Repair using a fascia lata graft.

Ossification of the Achilles tendon is a relatively common finding. However, a large ossification covering more than two third of the tendon is rarely seen. A 70 year old patient with a 12 cm long Achilles tendon ossification is discussed.

Mixed precious-group metal-organic frameworks: a case study of the HKUST-1 analogue [RuRh(BTC)].

This work presents the first full series of mixed precious-group metal-organic frameworks (MPG-MOFs) using ruthenium and rhodium. The obtained crystalline, highly porous and thermally robust materials were characterized by means of powder X-ray diffraction, N/CO sorption isotherms, thermogravimetry, spectroscopy methods (IR, Raman, UV/VIS-, NMR and XPS) and as well by high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) with elemental mapping (HAADF-EDS). Additionally, the assignment of spectroscopic data is supported by computational (time dependent)-density functional theory methods.

Statewide Antibiotic Stewardship: : An eBrightHealth Choosing Wisely Initiative.

Objective: To implement a collaborative statewide antibiotic stewardship initiative in both the ambulatory and inpatient settings.

Methods: Five participating Delaware health systems each convened internal team(s) to translate the vision set forth by the eBrightHealth LLC Choosing Wisely Work Group into clinical action through process improvement efforts at their institutions. The teams focused on implementing antibiotic time-outs, and on improving antibiotic prescribing for upper respiratory infections in ambulatory settings.