A 'train the trainers' approach to infection prevention and control training in pandemic conditions.

Background: The first wave of the SARS-CoV-2 global pandemic in early 2020 required a rapid roll-out of infection prevention and control (IPC) training for healthcare workers (HCW), including use of appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE). Education about respiratory droplet and aerosol transmission was of paramount importance to ensure safe working practices and improve confidence.

Methods: A joint working group of Infectious Diseases and IPC staff developed a 'train the trainers' programme, to be rapidly deployed over a three-week period.

Increasing anti-S antibody testing: a quality improvement initiative with evolving COVID-19 guidelines.

Background: COVID-19 management guidelines are constantly evolving, making them difficult to implement practically. was a neutralising monoclonal antibody introduced into UK COVID-19 guidelines in 2021. It reduces mortality in seronegative patients infected with non-omicron variants.

qSOFA, SIRS and NEWS for predicting inhospital mortality and ICU admission in emergency admissions treated as sepsis.

Background: The third international consensus definition for sepsis recommended use of a new prognostic tool, the quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (qSOFA), based on its ability to predict inhospital mortality and prolonged intensive care unit (ICU) stay in patients with suspected infection. While several studies have compared the prognostic accuracy of qSOFA to the Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (SIRS) criteria in suspected sepsis, few have compared qSOFA and SIRS to the widely used National Early Warning Score (NEWS).

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study carried out in a UK tertiary centre.