Action research on promoting hand hygiene practices in an intensive care unit.

Aim: Evaluate the intensive care acquired infections incidence and the change over time in infection practices in one intensive care unit.

Design: We used an action research approach with cyclical activities.

Methods: Our study included two cycles with hand hygiene observation based on the WHO's five-moments observation tool, observing hand hygiene practices, analysing the observations, and giving feedback on observations, intensive care acquired infection rates, and alcohol-based hand rub consumption.

Whole genome sequencing reveals new links between spa t172/CC59 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus cases in low-endemicity region of Southwest Finland, 2007‒2016.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) rates have remained relatively low in Finland. In Southwest Finland, however, annual MRSA incidence increased from 12 to 25/100,000 between 2007 and 2016 with spa t172 strain causing one fourth (237/983) of all cases. This provoked us to study the molecular epidemiology of t172-MRSA, aiming to better understand the transmission of this strain type.

Three clusters of carbapenemase-producing Citrobacter freundii in Finland, 2016-20.

Objectives: Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE) have spread widely into health care facilities (HCF) but clusters caused by carbapenemase-producing (CP) Citrobacter freundii have been uncommon until recent years. Here we describe CP C. freundii clusters detected in Finland during 2016-20.

Repeated 5-aminolevulinic Acid Instillations During Follow-up in Non-muscle-invasive Bladder Cancer: A Randomized Study.

Background/aim: Non-muscle invasive bladder carcinoma (NMIBC) is highly recurrent. We studied if 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) instillations before transurethral resection of bladder tumours (TURBT) and cystoscopy extend the time to recurrence during follow-up with NMIBC patients.

Patients And Methods: A prospective multicenter study enrolled 328 NMIBC patients.

IL-6 and other biomarkers as predictors of severity in COVID-19.

Objective: Cytokine release syndrome is suggested to be the most important mechanism triggering acute respiratory distress syndrome and end organ damage in COVID-19. The severity of disease may be measured by different biomarkers.

Methods: We studied markers of inflammation and coagulation as recorded in 29 patients on admission to the hospital in order to identify markers of severe COVID-19 and need of ICU.