Exploring Concurrent Approach for Respiratory Epidemiological Surveillance and Symptom Screening (CARES): a new strategy for preventing respiratory infection outbreaks in long-term care facilities.

Objective: The Concurrent Approach for Respiratory Epidemiological Surveillance and Symptom Screening (CARES) combines symptom screening to prevent external respiratory infections by managing staff and visitor health and surveillance to monitor the infection rates within the facility and take timely decisions on activity programs based on outbreak prevalence. This study examines the efficacy of the CARES strategy in preventing respiratory infection outbreaks in long-term care facilities.

Design: Prospective cohort study utilizing historical controls including an intervention and control group.

Healthcare workers' presenteeism causing an outbreak of respiratory infections in a facility for patients with severe motor and intellectual disabilities.

Background: This study aimed to identify the source of infection and medical costs for a respiratory infection outbreak in a facility for patients with severe motor and intellectual disabilities (SMID). Presenteeism refers to a situation wherein a person continues going to work despite being ill.

Methods: The cohort included 1 healthcare worker and 17 patients who developed a fever of ≥37.

Family Presence Restrictions and Telemedicine Use in Neonatal Intensive Care Units during the Coronavirus Disease Pandemic.

We aimed to describe parental presence policy and telemedicine use in Japanese neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) before and during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. This cross-sectional study was performed through an online survey in 110 level III units from 19 November 2020 to 18 December 2020. Nurses' evaluation of the current situation (during COVID-19) was compared with their retrospective pre-COVID-19 (December 2019) evaluation.

Maximal sterile barrier precautions independently contribute to decreased central line-associated bloodstream infection in very low birth weight infants: A prospective multicenter observational study.

Background: The use of peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) in neonates differs among various institutions and countries because there are no random controlled trials or large observational studies regarding maximal sterile barrier (MSB) precautions in neonatal intensive care units. Our objective was to investigate the association of MSB implementation with central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) in very low birth weight infants.

Methods: This was a prospective multicenter observational study in Japan of infants with birth weight less than 1501 grams and in whom a PICC was placed for the first time between October 2014 and March 2017.

An investigation of the risk factors for infection with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus among patients in a neonatal intensive care unit.

Background: The aims of this study were to investigate the risk factors of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection among infants to establish effective infection control measures for neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

Methods: Data were prospectively collected from 961 infants hospitalized in a teaching hospital in Japan, from July 2002 through December 2005.

Results: Among all infants, 28 (2.