Health care workers hospitalized for COVID-19 in Liberia: who were they, and what were their outcomes?

Background: Sustaining a 'fit-for-purpose' health workforce requires a better understanding of the health care worker cadres that are affected during pandemics and their outcomes. In hospitalized health care workers with confirmed COVID-19 between March 2020 and May 2023 in Liberia, we determined the hospitalization and case fatality rates, type of health care worker cadres affected, their demographic and clinical characteristics and hospital exit outcomes.

Methods: This was a cohort study using routine data extracted from hospitalization forms for health care workers in 24 designated COVID-19 treatment facilities.

Feasibility, enablers and challenges of using timeliness metrics for household contact tracing and TB preventive therapy in Pakistan.

Introduction: Screening household contacts of TB patients and providing TB preventive therapy (TPT) is a key intervention to end the TB epidemic. Global and timely implementation of TPT in household contacts, however, is dismal. We adapted the 7-1-7 timeliness metric designed to evaluate and respond to infectious disease outbreaks or pandemics, and assessed the feasibility, enablers and challenges of implementing this metric for screening and management of household contacts of index patients with bacteriologically-confirmed pulmonary TB in Karachi city, Pakistan.

Quality of Reporting of Adverse Drug Reactions to Antimicrobials Improved Following Operational Research: A before-and-after Study in Sierra Leone (2017-2023).

The quality of pharmacovigilance data is important for guiding medicine safety and clinical practice. In baseline and follow-up studies after introducing interventions to improve the quality of reporting of Individual Case Safety Reports (ICSRs) in Sierra Leone, we compared (a) timeliness and completeness of reporting and (b) patient outcomes classified as 'recovering'. : Baseline (January 2017-December 2021) and follow-up (June 2022-April 2023) studies of ICSRs in the national pharmacovigilance database.

Surgical Antibiotic Prophylaxis Administration Improved after introducing Dedicated Guidelines: A Before-and-After Study from Dhulikhel Hospital in Nepal (2019-2023).

(1) : Surgical antibiotic prophylaxis (SAP) is important for reducing surgical site infections. The development of a dedicated hospital SAP guideline in the Dhulikhel Hospital was a recommendation from a baseline study on SAP compliance. Compliance with this new guideline was enhanced through the establishment of a hospital committee, the establishment of an antibiotic stewardship program and the funding and training of healthcare professionals.

Improvement in Infection Prevention and Control Performance Following Operational Research in Sierra Leone: A Before (2021) and After (2023) Study.

Introduction: Infection prevention and control (IPC) is crucial to limit health care-associated infections and antimicrobial resistance. An operational research study conducted in Sierra Leone in 2021 reported sub-optimal IPC performance and provided actionable recommendations for improvement.

Methods: This was a before-and-after study involving the national IPC unit and all twelve district-level secondary public hospitals.

Triple Priority: TB/HIV Co-Infection and Treatment Outcomes among Key Populations in The Kyrgyz Republic: A National Cohort Study (2018-2022).

: Improving tuberculosis (TB) care in key populations is an operational research priority in the Kyrgyz Republic. Here, we describe the characteristics of TB/HIV co-infected individuals, their affiliations with key country-wide population groups, and their TB treatment outcomes. This was a cohort study using national programmatic data (2018-2022).

Managing Comorbidities, Determinants and Disability at Start and End of TB Treatment under Routine Program Conditions in China.

Many patients with tuberculosis (TB) have comorbidities, risk determinants and disability that co-exist at diagnosis, during and after TB treatment. We conducted an observational cohort study in 11 health facilities in China to assess under routine program conditions (i) the burden of these problems at the start and end of TB treatment and (ii) whether referral mechanisms for further care were functional. There were 603 patients registered with drug-susceptible TB who started TB treatment: 84% were symptomatic, 14% had diabetes, 14% had high blood pressure, 19% smoked cigarettes, 10% drank excess alcohol and in 45% the 6 min walking test (6MWT) was abnormal.

Strengthening the Operational Research Capacity of National Tuberculosis Control Programs: Necessity or Luxury?

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High level of infection prevention and control in surveyed hospitals in Colombia, 2021.

Objective: This study aimed to determine the performance of infection prevention and control (IPC) programs in eight core components in level 2 and level 3 hospitals across all provinces in Colombia.

Methods: This cross-sectional study used self-assessed IPC performance data voluntarily reported by hospitals to the Ministry of Health and Social Protection during 2021. Each of the eight core components of the World Health Organization's checklist in the Infection Prevention and Control Assessment Framework contributes a maximum score of 100, and the overall IPC performance score is the sum of these component scores.

Bloodstream infections and antibiotic resistance at a regional hospital, Colombia, 2019-2021.

Objectives: To assess antibiotic susceptibility of World Health Organization (WHO) priority bacteria ( spp., , and ) in blood cultures at the Orinoquía regional hospital in Colombia.

Methods: This was cross-sectional study using routine laboratory data for the period 2019-2021.

What Is in the Salad? and Antibiotic Resistance in Lettuce Irrigated with Various Water Sources in Ghana.

Introduction: Safety of the environment in which vegetables are grown, marketed and consumed is paramount as most are eaten raw. Irrigation sources include open drains and streams, which are often contaminated with human and animal waste due to poor sanitation infrastructure. In irrigated vegetable farms using such sources in Ghana, we assessed counts, antibiotic resistance patterns and resistant genes on irrigated lettuce.

Performance of an Emergency Road Ambulance Service in Bhutan: Response Time, Utilization, and Outcomes.

An efficient ambulance service is a vital component of emergency medical services. We determined the emergency ambulance response and transport times and ambulance exit outcomes in Bhutan. A cross-sectional study involving real-time monitoring of emergency ambulance deployments managed by a central toll-free (112) hotline (20 October 2021 to 20 January 2022) was carried out.

Achieving Minimum Standards for Infection Prevention and Control in Sierra Leone: Urgent Need for a Quantum Leap in Progress in the COVID-19 Era!

Introduction: Good Infection prevention and control (IPC) is vital for tackling antimicrobial resistance and limiting health care-associated infections. We compared IPC performance before (2019) and during the COVID-19 (2021) era at the national IPC unit and all regional (4) and district hospitals (8) in Sierra Leone.

Methods: Cross-sectional assessments using standardized World Health Organizations IPC checklists.

Bacterial Isolates and Antibiotic Resistance of Isolated from Fresh Poultry Excreta Used for Vegetable Farming in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

The transfer of antibiotic resistance from animals to humans is of concern in recent times. One potential source of such transfer is the untreated poultry excreta used as manure in farming. We aim to identify bacterial isolates and antibiotic susceptibility patterns of Escherichia coli in poultry excreta in Sierra Leone.

The Structured Operational Research and Training Initiative for Strengthening Health Systems to Tackle Antimicrobial Resistance and Improve Public Health in Low-and-Middle Income Countries.

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Antibiotic Use in Suspected and Confirmed COVID-19 Patients Admitted to Health Facilities in Sierra Leone in 2020-2021: Practice Does Not Follow Policy.

Inappropriate use of antibiotics during the COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to increase the burden of antimicrobial resistance. In this study, we report on the prevalence of antibiotic use and its associated factors among suspected and confirmed COVID-19 patients admitted to 35 health facilities in Sierra Leone from March 2020-March 2021. This was a cross-sectional study using routinely collected patient data.

Inconsistent Country-Wide Reporting of Adverse Drug Reactions to Antimicrobials in Sierra Leone (2017-2021): A Wake-Up Call to Improve Reporting.

Background: Monitoring of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) to antimicrobials is important, as they can cause life-threatening illness, permanent disabilities, and death. We assessed country-wide ADR reporting on antimicrobials and their outcomes. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using individual case safety reports (ICSRs) entered into the national pharmacovigilance database (VigiFlow) during 2017−2021.

Breaking the paradigm: Optimized Case Finding multiplies tuberculosis detection among key populations in Ukraine.

Introduction: In 2018, there were 3 million "missed" tuberculosis (TB) cases globally, much of which was disproportionally concentrated among key populations. To enhance TB case-finding, an Optimized Case Finding (OCF) strategy involving all contacts within the social network of an index TB case was introduced in five regions of Ukraine. We assessed TB detection and linkage to TB treatment using OCF in key populations.

People Who Inject Drugs and have tuberculosis: Opioid Substitution Therapy improves treatment outcomes in Ukraine.

Introduction: Opioid substitution therapy (OST) is one of the pillars of harm reduction strategies for People Who Inject Drugs (PWID). It should be an integral part of tuberculosis (TB) care to increase the uptake, compliance and effectiveness of treatment and also curtail risk behaviors. We aimed to compare TB treatment outcomes in relation to OST among PWID in six regions of Ukraine.

Going virtual for research training during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond: e-SORT IT.

The Structured Operational Research and Training Initiative (SORT IT) model has contributed to building research capacity and has produced evidence for improving public health program performance in countries with limited research capacity. The model involves hands-on mentorship and consists of three modules/weeks. It is recognized to be an innovative research capacity building model.

Real-Time Operational Research: Case Studies from the Field of Tuberculosis and Lessons Learnt.

Real-time operational research can be defined as research on strategies or interventions to assess if they are feasible, working as planned, scalable and effective. The research involves primary data collection, periodic analysis during the conduct of the study and dissemination of the findings to policy makers for timely action. This paper aims to illustrate the use of real-time operational research and discuss how to make it happen.