CATALYST: challenging antibiotic allergy status.

Objectives: To develop a transferable process, CATALYST (challenging antibiotic allergystatus), to assess and challenge penicillin allergy status of inpatients within an NHS Foundation Hospital.

Methods: A multidisciplinary team (MDT) steering group reviewed existing literature and protocols enabling penicillin allergy assessment, challenge and de-labelling. Using this, they identified five key steps forming the basis of CATALYST: clinical assessment of the nature of allergy; inclusion/exclusion criteria; consent; direct oral penicillin challenge; and removal of allergy label.

Hip aspiration culture: analysing data from a single operator series investigating periprosthetic joint infection.

: We undertook this study to know the sensitivity, specificity and post-test probabilities of hip aspiration when diagnosing periprosthetic hip infections. We also examined "dry tap" (injection with saline and aspiration) results and aspiration volumes. : This is a retrospective cohort study of patients aspirated for suspected periprosthetic joint infection between July 2012 and October 2016.

Antibiotic resistance profiles of deep surgical site infections in hip hemiarthroplasty; comparing low dose single antibiotic versus high dose dual antibiotic impregnated cement.

The incidence of fractured neck of femur (FNOF) is increasing yearly. Many of these patients undergo hip hemiarthroplasty. High dose dual-antibiotic cement (HDDAC) has been shown to reduce rates of deep surgical site infection (SSI) when compared to the current standard low dose single-antibiotic cement (LDSAC) in a quasi-randomised controlled trial.

Impact of universal screening on MRSA bacteremias in a single acute NHS organisation (2006-12): interrupted time-series analysis.

Background: In November 2004, a national target was set for the English hospital trusts to reduce the Meticillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteremia rate by 60% by April 2008 against the number during 2003/04 (baseline year). In our organisation the number of MRSA bacteremias had risen since 2002 and peaked at 75 in 2005/06. A target was set to reduce the number and series of specific and non- specific interventions was introduced including universal MRSA screening.