The Addis Ababa toxicology curriculum project: educational needs assessment for the toxicology modules of an emergency medicine training program.

Background: The Toronto Addis Ababa Academic Collaboration in Emergency Medicine (TAAAC-EM) is a bi-institutional partnership between the University of Toronto (UofT) and Addis Ababa University (AAU) focused on addressing the need for emergency medicine (EM) postgraduate training and care in Ethiopia. Toxicology is a key competency in EM. EM physicians are often the first and sole clinicians to identify and treat patients presenting with a wide range of intoxications.

Identifying candidate quality indicators of tools that support the practice of knowledge translation: a scoping review protocol.

Objective: The objective of this scoping review is to identify and characterize relevant knowledge translation methods tools (those that provide guidance for optimized knowledge translation practice) to uncover candidate quality indicators to inform a future quality assessment tool for knowledge translation strategies.

Introduction: Knowledge translation strategies (defined as including knowledge translation interventions, tools, and products) target various knowledge users, including patients, clinicians, researchers, and policy-makers. The development and use of strategies that support knowledge translation practice have been rapidly increasing, making it difficult for knowledge users to decide which to use.

Safety profile of autologous macrophage therapy for liver cirrhosis.

Therapies to reduce liver fibrosis and stimulate organ regeneration are urgently needed. We conducted a first-in-human, phase 1 dose-escalation trial of autologous macrophage therapy in nine adults with cirrhosis and a Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score of 10-16 (ISRCTN 10368050). Groups of three participants received a single peripheral infusion of 10, 10 or up to 10 cells.

Toward improving the World Health Organization fifth moment for hand hygiene in the prevention of cross-infection.

Background: The World Health Organization describes that there are 5 moments during a health care encounter when hand hygiene should be performed. This research explores a number of explanatory hypotheses to inform future intervention development with regard to improving compliance with the fifth moment.

Methods: A sequential, mixed-methods study was conducted using nonparticipant observation and a survey with focus groups informing the development of the questionnaire.

Standardising infection control precautions.

To minimise the risk of infection transmission, standard infection control precautions must be practised whether a patient is known to have an infection. The main aim of any infection control guideline or policy should, therefore, be to make it easy for staff to do the right thing at the right time. This article outlines standard precautions, explains their importance and presents the critical elements that should be applied in all care settings.

Use of respiratory and facial protection.

Infectious microorganisms can be transmitted by various routes. Respiratory and facial protection is needed to prevent infection with organisms that are usually transmitted through the droplet/airborne route, or when airborne particles have been artificially created, for example during aerosol-generating procedures. Recent experiences with severe acute respiratory syndrome and pandemic (H1N1) influenza in 2009 highlighted that health professionals may have difficulty in choosing the correct facial and respiratory protection.

Evidence-based infection control planning based on national healthcare-associated infection prevalence data.

This study identifies factors associated with a high prevalence of healthcare-associated infection (HAI) in the Scottish inpatient population, on the basis of the Scotland National HAI Prevalence Survey data set. The multivariate models developed can be used to predict HAI prevalence in specific patient groups to help with planning and policy in infection control.