Publications by authors named "Shalvi Arora"
Objective: To describe the evolving epidemiology and risk associations of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) between 2018 and 2023 in a tertiary hospital in Singapore.
Methods: Inpatients in Singapore General Hospital (SGH) between January 2018 and December 2023 were included. VRE surveillance criteria changed in August 2020 and November 2022.
Article Synopsis
- The study used a multi-state model to assess the impact of MRSA infections on mortality, length of hospital stay (LOS), and healthcare costs in Singapore from 2018 to 2022.
- 536 patients with MRSA infections were compared to matched groups with MRSA colonization and without MRSA, revealing that MRSA infections resulted in an extra 2.11 to 3.75 days of hospital stay and significant additional costs.
- The research highlighted that pneumonia due to MRSA had the highest risk of mortality, emphasizing the need for effective management strategies to combat MRSA in healthcare settings.
Prediction model to identify infectious COVID-19 patients in the emergency department.
Antimicrob Steward Healthc Epidemiol
May 2024
Background: Real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) has been the gold standard for diagnosing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) but has a lag time for the results. An effective prediction algorithm for infectious COVID-19, utilized at the emergency department (ED), may reduce the risk of healthcare-associated COVID-19.
Objective: To develop a prototypic prediction model for infectious COVID-19 at the time of presentation to the ED.
Background: We describe the investigations for control of two consecutive Serratia marcescens outbreaks in neonatology unit of Singapore General Hospital.
Methods: Epidemiological investigations, environmental sampling and risk-factors analysis were performed to guide infection control measures. Active surveillance sampling of nasopharyngeal aspirate and/or stool from neonates was conducted during both outbreaks.
Background: Increased transmissibility of severe-acute-respiratory-syndrome-coronavirus-2(SARS-CoV-2) variants, such as the Omicron-variant, presents an infection-control challenge. We contrasted nosocomial transmission amongst hospitalized inpatients across successive pandemic waves attributed to the Delta- and Omicron variants, over a 9-month period in which enhanced-infection-prevention-measures were constantly maintained.
Methods: Enhanced-infection-prevention-measures in-place at a large tertiary hospital included universal N95-usage, routine-rostered-testing (RRT) for all inpatient/healthcare-workers (HCWs), rapid-antigen-testing (RAT) for visitors, and outbreak-investigation coupled with enhanced-surveillance (daily-testing) of exposed patients.
Background: Temporary isolation wards have been introduced to meet demands for airborne-infection-isolation-rooms (AIIRs) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Environmental sampling and outbreak investigation was conducted in temporary isolation wards converted from general wards and/or prefabricated containers, in order to evaluate the ability of such temporary isolation wards to safely manage COVID-19 cases over a period of sustained use.
Methods: Environmental sampling for SARS-CoV-2 RNA was conducted in temporary isolation ward rooms constructed from pre-fabricated containers (N = 20) or converted from normal-pressure general wards (N = 47).
Article Synopsis
- Distinguishing between dengue and COVID-19 during the pandemic was challenging in endemic areas, as both can present with similar symptoms and false-positive results may occur.
- A triage strategy was implemented at a tertiary hospital, where febrile patients with no COVID-19 risk were admitted to a designated ward for routine COVID-19 testing from January 2020 to December 2021.
- Of the cases managed, true co-infections were rare, with a significant increase in dengue cases being isolated during the pandemic while COVID-19 testing was conducted, highlighting the importance of hospitalisation protocols for both illnesses.
Linking sporadic hospital clusters during a community surge of the severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) B.1.617.2 delta variant: The utility of whole-genome sequencing.
Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol
June 2023
Sporadic clusters of healthcare-associated coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) occurred despite intense rostered routine surveillance and a highly vaccinated healthcare worker (HCW) population, during a community surge of the severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) B.1.617.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSporadic clusters of health care-associated COVID-19 infection occurred in a highly vaccinated health care-workers and patient population, over a 3-month period during ongoing community transmission of the B.1.617.
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