Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol
January 2025
Background: The study objective was to develop and validate a clinical decision support system (CDSS) to guide clinicians through the diagnostic evaluation of hospitalized individuals with suspected pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) in low-prevalence settings.
Methods: The "TBorNotTB" CDSS was developed using a modified Delphi method. The CDSS assigns points based on epidemiologic risk factors, TB history, symptoms, chest imaging, and sputum/bronchoscopy results.
Patients with suspected or confirmed high-consequence infectious diseases (HCIDs) may present for care at any acute care facility. However, there are limited data to inform recommendations for the design, maintenance, and operation of isolation spaces for patients with suspected or confirmed HCIDs. To address this gap, we developed consensus statements by convening a group of 29 subject matter experts to participate in a modified Delphi process facilitated by a validated tool (the RAND-developed ExpertLens system).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Antimicrobial resistance is a global health threat resulting in significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Until recently, in Ukraine, cumulative antibiograms (CuAbgms) have never been available.
Objectives: To describe the first CuAbgm developed in Ukraine.
Background: Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, multiple policies and guidelines were issued and updated for health care personnel (HCP) for COVID-19 testing and returning to work after reporting symptoms, exposures, or infection. The high frequency of changes and complexity of the policies made it difficult for HCP to understand when they needed testing and were eligible to return to work (RTW), which increased calls to Occupational Health Services (OHS), creating a need for other tools to guide HCP. Chatbots have been used as novel tools to facilitate immediate responses to patients' and employees' queries about COVID-19, assess symptoms, and guide individuals to appropriate care resources.
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