The combination of personal protective equipment (PPE) together with donning and doffing protocols was designed to protect British and Canadian military medical personnel in the Kerry Town Ebola Treatment Unit (ETU) in Sierra Leone. The PPE solution was selected to protect medical staff from infectious risks, notably Ebola virus, and chemical (hypochlorite) exposure. PPE maximized dexterity, enabled personnel to work in hot temperatures for periods of up to 2h, protected mucosal membranes when doffing outer layers, and minimized potential contamination of the doffing area with infectious material by reducing the requirement to spray PPE with hypochlorite. The ETU was equipped to allow medical personnel to provide a higher level of care than witnessed in many existing ETUs. This assured personnel working as part of the international response that they would receive as close to Western treatment standards as possible if they were to contract Ebola virus disease (EVD). PPE also enabled clinical interventions that are not seen routinely in West African EVD treatment regimens, whilst providing a robust protective barrier. Competency in using PPE was developed during a nine-day pre-deployment training programme. This allowed over 60 clinical personnel per deployment to practice skills in PPE in a simulated ETU and in classrooms. Overall, the training provided: (i) an evidence base underpinning the PPE solution chosen; (ii) skills in donning and doffing of PPE; (iii) personnel confidence in the selected PPE; and (iv) quantifiable testing of each individual's capability to don PPE, perform tasks and doff PPE safely.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhin.2017.03.018 | DOI Listing |
J Occup Environ Hyg
January 2025
Air Pollution Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
The pathogenic potential of airborne particles carrying the SARS-CoV-2 viral genome was examined by considering the size distribution of airborne particles at given distances from the respiratory zone of an infected patient after coughing or sneezing with a focus on time, temperature, and relative humidity. The results show an association between the size distribution of airborne particles, particularly PM and PM, and the presence of viral genome in different stations affected by the distance from the respiratory zone and the passage of time. The correlation with time was strong with all the dependent factors except PM.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLOS Glob Public Health
January 2025
Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America.
Eleven countries have been certified as malaria free since 2016, but none of these are in subSaharan Africa where elimination challenges are unique. The 1-3-7 focus investigation approach is an implementation strategy that requires case reporting, case investigation/classification, and focal classification/response to be completed one, three, and seven days, respectively, after index case diagnosis. Real-time short-messaging-service reports are sent at each step to add accountability and data transparency.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Diagnosing dementia remains challenging in low-income settings due to limited diagnostic options and the absence of definitive biomarkers. The use of brain MRI in the diagnosis of dementia is infrequent in Uganda, and even when it is used, subtle findings like mild regional atrophy are often overlooked, despite being crucial for imaging diagnosis.
Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions and practices of imaging personnel and physicians regarding the use of brain MRI as a diagnostic approach for dementia in Uganda.
PLoS One
January 2025
Cleopatra Hospital, Cleopatra Hospitals Group-(CHG), Cairo, Egypt.
Background: Increasing healthcare costs, particularly in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) like Egypt, highlight the need for rational economic strategies. Clinical pharmacy interventions offer potential benefits by reducing drug therapy problems and associated costs, thereby supporting healthcare system sustainability.
Objective: This study evaluates the economic impact and clinical benefits of clinical pharmacy interventions in four tertiary hospitals in Egypt by implementing an innovative tool for medication management, focusing on cost avoidance and return on investment (ROI), while accounting for case severity and drug therapy problem (DTP) resolution.
PLoS One
January 2025
Faculty of Medicine, Department of Simulation Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic.
This study aims to provide an updated overview of medical error taxonomies by building on a robust review conducted in 2011. It seeks to identify the key characteristics of the most suitable taxonomy for use in high-fidelity simulation-based postgraduate courses in Critical Care. While many taxonomies are available, none seem to be explicitly designed for the unique context of healthcare simulation-based education, in which errors are regarded as essential learning opportunities.
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