Development of a pandemic-related core set of quality indicators for quality and patient safety in University Hospitals in Germany.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic entailed a global health crisis, significantly affecting medical service delivery in Germany as well as elsewhere. While intensive care capacities were overloaded by COVID cases, not only elective cases but also non-COVID cases requiring urgent treatment unexpectedly decreased, potentially leading to a deterioration in health outcomes. However, these developments were only uncovered retrospectively.

Frequency, type and severity of drug-related problems and pharmacist interventions in Paxlovid® prescribing: a descriptive analysis.

Background: Paxlovid® (nirmatrelvir and ritonavir) is the only licensed oral antiviral for COVID-19. Ritonavir is a potent inhibitor of cytochrome P450 enzymes causing numerous drug-drug interactions (DDIs).

Aim: To describe the frequency, type, and severity of detected drug related problems (DRPs) associated with Paxlovid®.

Insight into potential long COVID effects: Antidepressant use in post SARS-CoV-2 Infection scenarios. A multiregional nested case-control study.

This study aimed to investigate the impact of previous SARS-CoV-2 infection and the role of vaccination in the onset of neuropsychiatric conditions, evaluated through antidepressant prescriptions. This case-control study evaluated the risk of new antidepressant prescriptions in relation to previous exposure to SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination. It was conducted in three Italian Regions on adults who did not receive antidepressant prescriptions in the year preceding the study period.

First report of a -producing extensively drug resistant ST437 in Italy.

Carbapenemase-producing strains (CP-Kps) have recently been observed to spread rapidly worldwide. New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase (NDM) producing clones of cause a significant healthcare burden, particularly in Indian sub-continent, where this clone is circulating widely. However, in Italy, data on the incidence of these new clones is limited, and an ST437 NDM-producing strain has not been reported to date.

Development and validation of a national clinical pharmacy competency framework for hospital pharmacists in Austria: a multi-method study.

Background: Despite the publication of a European wide competency framework for hospital pharmacy by the European Association of Hospital Pharmacist (EAHP) in 2017, not all countries have adopted and implemented such a framework.

Aim: This study aimed to develop and validate a bespoke national hospital pharmacy competency framework for Austria that supports the hospital pharmacy workforce development.

Method: A multi-method study was carried out in three phases.

Benchmarking medical laboratory performance on a global scale.

Background And Aims: Laboratory performance as a relative concept needs repetitive benchmarking for continuous improvement of laboratory procedures and medical processes. Benchmarking as such establishes reference levels as a basis for improvements efforts for healthcare institutions along the diagnosis cycle, with the patient at its center. But while this concept seems to be generally acknowledged in laboratory medicine, a lack of practical implementation hinders progress at a global level.

Effect of intravitreal injections due to neovascular age-related macular degeneration on retinal nerve fiber layer thickness and minimum rim width: a cross sectional study.

Purpose: The present study tested the hypothesis that repeated anti-VEGF injections are associated with reduced retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) and minimum rim width (MRW) of the optic nerve head.

Patients And Methods: Sixty-six patients with a history of intravitreal injections due to neovascular age-related macular degeneration were included. RNFL and MRW were measured using optical coherence tomography (Spectralis OCT, Heidelberg Engineering, Heidelberg, Germany).

The effect of seminal pathogens on standard semen parameters, sperm kinematics and seminal inflammatory markers.

This study evaluated the effects of urogenital pathogens on standard semen parameters, sperm kinematics and host inflammatory response in a cohort of asymptomatic subfertile men. There were six groups based on the results of bacterial culture, including Ureaplasma urealyticum (U. Urealyticum) (n = 27), mixed comprising two or more pathogenic species (n = 28), Gardnerella Vaginalis (G.

Clinical comparison of three SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid amplification tests for routine diagnostic testing.

Background: Cycle threshold (Ct) values from SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid amplification tests have been used to estimate viral load for treatment decisions. Additionally, there is a need for high-throughput testing, consolidating a variety of assays on one random-access analyzer.

Objectives: In this study, the clinical performance of the Alinity m SARS-CoV-2, RealTie SARS-CoV-2, and GeneXpert Xpress SARS-CoV-2/Flu/RSV assays was assessed.

Performance of SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid amplification testing in Austria as measured by external quality assessment schemes during 3 years of the COVID-19 pandemic: an observational retrospective study.

Background: The aim of external quality assessment (EQA) schemes is to evaluate the analytical performance of laboratories and test systems in a near-to-real-life setting. This monitoring service provides feedback to participant laboratories and serves as a control measure for the epidemiological assessment of the regional incidence of a pathogen, particularly during epidemics. Using data from EQA schemes implemented as a result of the intensive effort to monitor SARS-CoV-2 infections in Austria, we aimed to identify factors that explained the variation in laboratory performance for SARS-CoV-2 detection over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prospective analysis of anatomic features predisposing patients to intraoperative floppy iris syndrome.

Purpose: To aid preoperative risk assessment by identifying anatomic parameters corresponding with a higher risk of intraoperative floppy iris syndrome (IFIS) during cataract surgery.

Methods: Prospective cohort study of 55 patients with α-adrenergic receptor antagonist (α-ARA) treatment and 55 controls undergoing cataract surgery. Anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT), video pupilometer, and biometry measurements were performed preoperatively and analyzed regarding anatomic parameters that corresponded with a higher rate of IFIS.

Trends in hospital acquired New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase-producing Enterobacterales in Tuscany (Italy) from 2019 to 2021: impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objectives: In Tuscany, Italy, New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase-producing carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (NDM-CRE) in hospitalized patients has increasingly been observed since 2018, leading in 2019 to the implementation of enhanced control measures successfully reducing transmission. We describe the NDM-CRE epidemiology during the COVID-19 pandemic in Tuscany.

Methods: Data on NDM-CRE patients hospitalized in five Tuscan hospitals were collected from January 2019 to December 2021.

Design of external quality assessment schemes and definition of the roles of their providers in future epidemics.

During an epidemic, individual test results form the basis of epidemiological indicators such as case numbers or incidence. Therefore, the accuracy of measures derived from these indicators depends on the reliability of individual results. In the COVID-19 pandemic, monitoring and evaluating the performance of the unprecedented number of testing facilities in operation, and novel testing systems in use, was urgently needed.

Second Victim Phenomenon in an Austrian Hospital before the Implementation of the Systematic Collegial Help Program KoHi: A Descriptive Study.

(1) Background: The Second Victim Phenomenon (SVP) is widespread throughout health care institutions worldwide. Second Victims not only suffer emotional stress themselves; the SVP can also have a great financial and reputational impact on health care institutions. Therefore, we conducted a study (Kollegiale Hilfe I/KoHi I) in the Hietzing Clinic (KHI), located in Vienna, Austria, to find out how widespread the SVP was there.

Converting to an international unit system improves harmonization of results for SARS-CoV-2 quantification: Results from multiple external quality assessments.

Background: The detection of SARS-CoV-2 vRNA in clinical samples has relied almost exclusively on RT-qPCR as the gold standard test. Published results from various external quality assessments ("ring trials") worldwide have shown that there is still a large variability in results reported for the same samples. As reference standards of SARS-CoV-2 RNA are available, we tested whether using standard curves to convert Ct values into copies/mL (cp/mL) improved harmonization.

Post-Dobbs legal conundrums surrounding preimplantation in vitro fertilization embryo dispositions.

The legal issues surrounding in vitro fertilization from its beginnings have found their way into courtrooms and legislatures, with disposition of cryopreserved in vitro fertilization preimplantation embryos presenting legal and policy conundrum for patients, providers, and lawmakers in a myriad of contexts. This article examines the legal aspects of selected embryo disposition issues and the potential impact of laws enacted following the US Supreme Court's recent removal of Constitutional protections for reproductive choice and autonomy in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization.

Improved FMEA Methods for Proactive Health Care Risk Assessment of the Effectiveness and Efficiency of COVID-19 Remote Patient Telemonitoring.

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the need to more effectively harness and leverage digital tools and technology for remote patient monitoring (RPM). RPM gained great popularity given the need to provide effective, safe, efficient, and remote patient care. RPM is based on noninvasive digital technologies aimed at improving the safety and efficiency of health care delivery.

Is There a Relationship Between Facility Peer Review Findings and Quality in the Veterans Health Administration?

Background: The aim of clinical peer review (PR) is to improve facility health care quality. However, prior authors have shown that PR may be biased, have rater reliability concerns, or be used for punitive reasons. It is important to determine whether facility PR processes are related to objective facility quality of care.

Careggi Re-Engineered Discharge project: standardize discharge and improve care coordination between healthcare professionals.

Background: The hospital discharge process plays a key role in patient care. Careggi Re-Engineered Discharge (CaRED) aimed at establishing a meaningful relationship among general practitioners (GPs) and patients, throughout the discharge process.

Objective: The aim is to describe the activities and results in the period 2014-17 of the CaRED.

A nudge intervention to improve hand hygiene compliance in the hospital.

Hand hygiene among professionals plays a crucial role in preventing healthcare-associated infections, yet poor compliance in hospital settings remains a lasting reason for concern. Nudge theory is an innovative approach to behavioral change first developed in economics and cognitive psychology, and recently spread and discussed in clinical medicine. To assess a combined nudge intervention (localized dispensers, visual reminders, and gain-framed posters) to promote hand hygiene compliance among hospital personnel.

Risk Assessment and Management for Potential Living Kidney Donors: The Role of "Third-Party" Commission.

Living kidney donation is the most common type of living-donor transplant. Italian guidelines allow the living donations from emotionally related donors only after clear and voluntary consent expressed by both the donor and the recipient involved. Living donation raises ethical and legal issues because donors voluntarily undergo a surgical procedure to remove a healthy kidney in order to help another person.

Benchmarking medical laboratory performance: survey validation and results for Europe, Middle East, and Africa.

Objectives: Medical laboratory performance is a relative concept, as are quality and safety in medicine. Therefore, repetitive benchmarking appears to be essential for sustainable improvement in health care. The general idea in this approach is to establish a reference level, upon which improvement may be strived for and quantified.

Improving Healthcare Workers' Adherence to Surgical Safety Checklist: The Impact of a Short Training.

Background: Although surgery is essential in healthcare, a significant number of patients suffer unfair harm while undergoing surgery. Many of these originate from failures in non-technical aspects, especially communication among operators. A surgical safety checklist is a simple tool that helps to reduce surgical adverse events, but even if it is fast to fill out, its compilation is often neglected by the healthcare workers because of unprepared cultural background.

Recommendations for OCT Angiography Reporting in Retinal Vascular Disease: A Delphi Approach by International Experts.

Purpose: To develop a consensus nomenclature for reporting OCT angiography (OCTA) findings in retinal vascular disease (e.g., diabetic retinopathy, retinal vein occlusion) by international experts.