Lower risk of peripheral venous catheter-related bloodstream infection by hand insertion.

Introduction: Little is known about the bloodstream infection (BSI) risk associated with short-term peripheral venous catheters (PVCs) and no large study investigated the insertion site-related risk for PVC-BSI.

Methods: We performed a cohort study at the University of Geneva Hospitals using the prospective hospital-wide BSI surveillance database. We analyzed the association between insertion site and risk of PVC-BSI on the upper extremity using univariable and multivariable marginal Cox models.

Results of an international pilot survey on health care environmental hygiene at the facility level.

Background: Health care-associated infections (HAIs) are a major threat to patient safety worldwide. The importance of the health care environment in patient care is not always adequately addressed. Currently, no overview exists of how health care environmental hygiene (HEH) is performed around the world.

A 'whole of United Nations approach' to tackle antimicrobial resistance? A mapping of the mandate and activities of international organisations.

The 2015 World Health Organization Global Action Plan and other international policy documents have stressed the need for a 'whole of United Nations approach' in addressing antimicrobial resistance (AMR). As several years have passed, the goal of this paper is to take stock of the current role, mandate, and activities of international organisations and other global stakeholders on AMR. Relevant information is identified through a web-based search and a review of policy documents from international organisations.

A Short Intervention and an Interactive e-Learning Module to Motivate Medical and Dental Students to Enlist as First Responders: Implementation Study.

Background: Prompt and proficient basic life support (BLS) maneuvers are essential to increasing the odds of survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. However, significant time can elapse before the arrival of professional rescuers. To decrease these delays, many countries have developed first responder networks.

Mortality associated with third-generation cephalosporin resistance in Enterobacteriaceae bloodstream infections at one South African hospital.

Objectives: Enterobacteriaceae are common pathogens causing bloodstream infection (BSI) in sub-Saharan Africa and frequently express third-generation cephalosporin (3GC) resistance; however, the impact of 3GC resistance on clinical outcomes is rarely studied.

Methods: We conducted a single-site prospective cohort study at Tygerberg Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa to examine the feasibility of measuring impacts of 3GC resistance in Enterobacteriaceae BSI. We included patients with 3GC-susceptible and 3GC-resistant BSIs and matched each BSI patient to two uninfected patients.

Impact of Face-to-Face Teaching in Addition to Electronic Learning on Personal Protective Equipment Doffing Proficiency in Student Paramedics: Randomized Controlled Trial.

Personal protective equipment doffing is a complex procedure that needs to be adequately performed to prevent health care worker contamination. During the COVID-19 pandemic, junior health care workers and students of different health care professions who had not been trained to carry out such procedures were often called upon to take care of infected patients. To limit direct contact, distance teaching interventions were used, but different trials found that their impact was rather limited.

The first WHO global survey on infection prevention and control in health-care facilities.

Background: WHO core components for infection prevention and control (IPC) are important building blocks for effective IPC programmes. To our knowledge, we did the first WHO global survey to assess implementation of these programmes in health-care facilities.

Methods: In this cross-sectional survey, IPC professionals were invited through global outreach and national coordinated efforts to complete the online WHO IPC assessment framework (IPCAF).

Impact of environmental hygiene interventions on healthcare-associated infections and patient colonization: a systematic review.

Background: Healthcare-associated infections (HAI) are one of the gravest threats to patient safety worldwide. The importance of the hospital environment has recently been revalued in infection prevention and control. Though the literature is evolving rapidly, many institutions still do not consider healthcare environmental hygiene (HEH) very important for patient safety.

Comparing the effectiveness of hand hygiene techniques in reducing the microbial load and covering hand surfaces in healthcare workers: Updated systematic review.

Background: This review, commissioned by the World Health Organization (WHO), examined the effectiveness of the WHO 6-step hand hygiene (HH) technique in reducing microbial load on hands and covering hand surfaces, and compared its effectiveness to other techniques.

Methods: Medline, CINAHL, ProQuest, Web of Science, Mednar, and Google Scholar were searched for primary studies, published in English (1978-February 2021), evaluating the microbiological effectiveness or hand surface coverage of HH techniques in healthcare workers. Reviewers independently performed quality assessment using Cochrane tools.

Comparing surgeons' skin tolerance and acceptability to alcohol-based surgical hand preparation vs traditional surgical scrub: A matched quasi-experimental study.

Background: We aimed to compare the tolerance and acceptability of alcohol-based surgical hand preparation versus handscrubbing with antimicrobial soap and water by surgeons.

Methods: Matched quasi-experimental trial in an academic quaternary care hospital in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil, from April 1 to October, 31, 2017. Participants were cardiac and orthopedics surgeons from the study facility.

Providing care to patients in contact isolation: is the systematic use of gloves still indicated?

This article reviews the available evidence on the effectiveness of gloves in preventing infection during care provided to patients under contact precautions, and analyses the risks and benefits of their systematic use. Although hand hygiene with alcohol-based handrub was shown to be effective in preventing nosocomial infections, many publications put the effectiveness and usefulness of gloves into perspective. Instead, literature and various unpublished experiences point towards reduced hand hygiene compliance and increased risk of spreading pathogens with routine glove use.

Tolerability and acceptability of three alcohol-based hand-rub gel formulations: a randomized crossover study.

Background: Healthcare workers often experience skin dryness and irritation from performing hand hygiene frequently. Tolerability and acceptability are barriers to hand hygiene compliance, but there is little in the literature about exactly which types of alcohol-based hand rubs (ABHRs) have a higher dermal tolerance.

Aim: To compare the tolerability and acceptability of three different ABHR gel formulations in a population of adult volunteers.

Systematic review on factors influencing the effectiveness of alcohol-based hand rubbing in healthcare.

Background: The effectiveness of hand rubbing with alcohol-based handrub (ABHR) is impacted by several factors. To investigate these, World Health Organization (WHO) commissioned a systematic review.

Aim: To evaluate the impact of ABHR volume, application time, rubbing friction and hand size on microbiological load reduction, hand surface coverage or drying time.

Association between Prehospital Hypoxemia and Admission to Intensive Care Unit during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

: The aim of this study was to assess the association between prehospital peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO) and intensive care unit (ICU) admission in confirmed or suspected coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) patients. : We carried out a retrospective cohort study on patients requiring prehospital intervention between 11 March 2020 and 4 May 2020. All adult patients in whom a diagnosis of COVID-19 pneumonia was suspected by the prehospital physician were included.

European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) guidelines for the treatment of infections caused by multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacilli (endorsed by European society of intensive care medicine).

Scope: These ESCMID guidelines address the targeted antibiotic treatment of third-generation cephalosporin-resistant Enterobacterales (3GCephRE) and carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative bacteria, focusing on the effectiveness of individual antibiotics and on combination versus monotherapy.

Methods: An expert panel was convened by ESCMID. A systematic review was performed including randomized controlled trials and observational studies, examining different antibiotic treatment regimens for the targeted treatment of infections caused by the 3GCephRE, carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales, carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa and carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii.