Healthcare-associated infection control

High contribution and impact of resistant gram negative pathogens causing surgical site infections at a multi-hospital healthcare system in Saudi Arabia, 2007–2016

Despite being largely preventable, surgical site infections (SSIs) are still one of the most frequent healthcare-associated infections. The presence of resistant pathogens can further augment their clinical an...

Authors: Aiman El-Saed, Hanan H. Balkhy, Majid M. Alshamrani, Sameera Aljohani, Asim Alsaedi, Wafa Al Nasser, Ayman El Gammal, Saad A. Almohrij, Ziyad Alyousef, Sara Almunif and Mohammad Alzahrani

Solidarity, vulnerability and mistrust: how context, information and government affect the lives of women in times of Zika

The public health response to Zika outbreak has mostly focused on epidemiological surveillance, vector control, and individual level preventative measures. This qualitative study employs a social-ecological fr...

Authors: Ana Rosa Linde-Arias, Maria Roura and Eduardo Siqueira

Can metagenomic next-generation sequencing identify the pathogens responsible for culture-negative prosthetic joint infection?

The aims of this study were to (1) evaluate the efficacy and safety of targeted antibiotics for the treatment of culture-negative prosthetic joint infection based on metagenomic next-generation sequencing resu...

Authors: Chaoxin Wang, Zida Huang, Wenbo Li, Xinyu Fang and Wenming Zhang

The spatiotemporal distribution of human brucellosis in mainland China from 2007-2016

Despite the considerable efforts made to address the issue of brucellosis worldwide, its prevalence in dairy products continues to be difficult to estimate and represents a key public health issue around the w...

Authors: Peifeng Liang, Yuan Zhao, Jianhua Zhao, Dongfeng Pan and Zhongqin Guo

Reduced bacterial contamination rates detected on silicone tourniquets compared to conventional tourniquets in clinical routine

Tourniquets used for peripheral venous vascular access such as blood sampling are regularly contaminated in clinical routine. Although most contaminations are harmless, some pose a possible risk for infection....

Authors: Marcus Grohmann, Lena Schomakers, Frank Wolschendorf, Janina Grosch, Susan Lindner and Anna Kristina Witte

Forecasting incidence of infectious diarrhea using random forest in Jiangsu Province, China

Infectious diarrhea can lead to a considerable global disease burden. Thus, the accurate prediction of an infectious diarrhea epidemic is crucial for public health authorities. This study was aimed at developi...

Authors: Xinyu Fang, Wendong Liu, Jing Ai, Mike He, Ying Wu, Yingying Shi, Wenqi Shen and Changjun Bao

Evaluation of TNF-α genetic polymorphisms as predictors for sepsis susceptibility and progression

The goal of the study was to evaluate a potential role for tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) genetic variability as biomarker in sepsis. In particular, we aimed to determine if single nucleotide polymorphism...

Authors: Anca Meda Georgescu, Claudia Banescu, Razvan Azamfirei, Adina Hutanu, Valeriu Moldovan, Iudita Badea, Septimiu Voidazan, Minodora Dobreanu, Ioana Raluca Chirtes and Leonard Azamfirei

Epidemiology and clinical characteristics of pathogens positive in hospitalized children with segmental/lobar pattern pneumonia

The occurrence of segmental/lobar pattern pneumonia (S/L-PP) in children has recently increased. The pathogens of the disease may change for the misuse of antibiotics and the application of vaccines. Therefore...

Authors: Yanxia Wang, Liji Ma, Ying Li, Yuyun Li, Yanfei Zheng and Xiaoyue Zhang

Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D and the risk of mortality in adult patients with Sepsis: a meta-analysis

Vitamin D deficiency has been related to the risk of sepsis. However, previous studies showed inconsistent results regarding the association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25 (OH) D) and mortality risk in ...

Authors: Yuye Li and Shifang Ding

Factors associated with antibiotic prescribing for acute bronchitis at a university health center

Antibiotics are not indicated for treating acute bronchitis cases, yet up to 70% of adult acute bronchitis medical visits in the USA result in an antibiotic prescription. Reducing unnecessary antibiotic prescr...

Authors: Valerie J. Morley, Emily P. C. Firgens, Rachel R. Vanderbilt, Yanmengqian Zhou, Michelle Zook, Andrew F. Read and Erina L. MacGeorge

Prevalence and associated factors of diarrhea among under-five children in Debre Berhan town, Ethiopia 2018: a cross sectional study

Diarrhea is responsible for 525,000 children under-five deaths and 1.7 billion cases globally and is the second leading cause of death among children under-five every year. It is a major public health problem ...

Authors: Sisay Shine, Sindew Muhamud, Solomon Adanew, Alebachew Demelash and Makda Abate

Successful control of an extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae ST307 outbreak in a neonatal intensive care unit

In this study, we evaluated the genetic relatedness of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae (ESBL-KPN) isolates from an outbreak in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in August 2017...

Authors: Eun-Hwa Baek, Se-Eun Kim, Sunjoo Kim, Seungjun Lee, Oh-Hyun Cho, Sun In Hong, Jeong Hwan Shin and Inyeong Hwang

Molecular mechanism of azoles resistant Candida albicans in a patient with chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis

More and more azole-resistant strains emerged through the development of acquired resistance and an epidemiological shift towards inherently less susceptible species. The mechanisms of azoles resistance of Candid...

Authors: Ming-rui Zhang, Fei Zhao, Shuang Wang, Sha Lv, Yan Mou, Chun-li Yao, Ying Zhou and Fu-qiu Li

Enterovirus D68 in a 6-year-old acute flaccid myelitis case in China, 2018: a case report

Acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) are reported to be associated with enterovirus D68 infection. Though an increasing number of AFM cases were reported with EV-D68 infection in the US, few such cases have been found...

Authors: Xiaoli Wang, Pengfei Zhang, Jie Li, Yanhui Chu, Zheng Li, Yang Yang, Fu Li, Shujuan Cui, Da Huo, Yu Wang and Quanyi Wang

Prevalence of Vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE) in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

The emergence of Vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE) poses a major public health problem since it was first reported. Although the rising rates of VRE infections are being reported elsewhere in the worldwide; ...

Authors: Addisu Melese, Chalachew Genet and Tesfaye Andualem

Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of healthcare-associated infection in elderly patients in a large Chinese tertiary hospital: a 3-year surveillance study

We analyzed the results of a 3-year surveillance study on the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of healthcare associated-infections (HAIs) in elderly inpatients in a large tertiary hospital in China.

Authors: Xia Zhao, Lihong Wang, Nan Wei, Jingli Zhang, Wenhui Ma, Huijie Zhao and Xu Han

Antibiotic use among twelve Canadian First Nations communities: a retrospective chart review of skin and soft tissue infections

Previous publications indicated an emerging issue with community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA), particularly skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs), in Indigenous communities in ...

Authors: Dahn Jeong, Ha Nhan Thi Nguyen, Mark Tyndall and Yoko S. Schreiber

Prioritising pathogens for the management of severe febrile patients to improve clinical care in low- and middle-income countries

Severe febrile illness without a known source (SFWS) is a challenge for clinicians when deciding how to manage a patient, particularly given the wide spectrum of potential aetiologies that contribute to fever....

Authors: Jennifer Osborn, Teri Roberts, Ethan Guillen, Oscar Bernal, Paul Roddy, Stefano Ongarello, Armand Sprecher, Anne-Laure Page, Isabela Ribeiro, Erwan Piriou, Abiy Tamrat, Roberto de la Tour, V. Bhargavi Rao, Laurence Flevaud, Tomas Jensen, Lachlan McIver…

Normothermic and hypothermic oxygenated perfusion for donation after circulatory death in kidney transplantation: do we pay higher risk of severe infection after transplantation?: a case report

Normothermic and hypothermic oxygenated perfusion for donation after circulatory death in kidney transplantation are becoming popular in Italy, with the purpose of reducing the risk of primary non function and...

Authors: Matteo Ravaioli, Valeria Corradetti, Matteo Renzulli, Giuliana Germinario, Lorenzo Maroni, Federica Odaldi, Guido Fallani, Anna Paola Pezzuto, Daniele Parlanti, Raffaele Bova, Claudia Bini, Gaetano La Manna and Giorgia Comai

Ambulatory screening and decontamination to prevent Staphylococcus aureus complications in patients undergoing elective surgery (STAUfrei): study protocol for a controlled intervention study

Surgical site infections (SSI) are the most common health care associated infections in German acute hospitals and can result in prolonged hospital stays, increased use of antibiotics and utilisation of care. Sta...

Authors: Antonia Bauer, Martin Grünewald, Hans Eberhardt, Rieke Schulz, Peter Martus, Bernd Brüggenjürgen, Stefanie Joos and Heidrun Sturm

Multi-drug resistance of blood stream, urinary tract and surgical site nosocomial infections of Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa among patients hospitalized at Felegehiwot referral hospital, Northwest Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study

Multi-drug resistant (MDR) Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa are major causes of nosocomial infections globally. They are the current World Health Organization critical priority pathogens for res...

Authors: Hilina Motbainor, Fetlework Bereded and Wondemagegn Mulu

Determining the susceptibility of carbapenem resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli strains against common disinfectants at a tertiary hospital in China

Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) infections have become a global health threat. Controlling CRE transmission in hospitals is increasingly dependent on the use of disinfectants to restrict the risk of...

Authors: Yili Chen, Kang Liao, Yongxin Huang, Penghao Guo, Han Huang, Zhongwen Wu and Min Liu

Clinical and microbiological effect of pulsed xenon ultraviolet disinfection to reduce multidrug-resistant organisms in the intensive care unit in a Japanese hospital: a before-after study

No-touch environmental disinfection using ultraviolet devices has been highlighted in the past several years to control the transmission of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs). However, its effectiveness in ...

Authors: Keita Morikane, Shoko Suzuki, Jun Yoshioka, Jun Yakuwa, Masaki Nakane and Kenji Nemoto

A 2-year point-prevalence surveillance of healthcare-associated infections and antimicrobial use in Ferrara University Hospital, Italy

Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs) represent one of the leading issues to patient safety as well as a significant economic burden. Similarly, Antimicrobial Use (AMU) and Resistance (AMR) represent a growi...

Authors: Paola Antonioli, Niccolò Bolognesi, Giorgia Valpiani, Chiara Morotti, Daniele Bernardini, Francesca Bravi, Eugenio Di Ruscio, Armando Stefanati and Giovanni Gabutti

Gaps between current clinical practice and evidence-based guidelines for treatment and care of older patients with Community Acquired Pneumonia: a descriptive cross-sectional study

Community acquired pneumonia (CAP) remains a significant cause of morbidity and in-hospital mortality, and readmission rates are rising for older persons (> 65 years). Optimized treatment and nursing care will...

Authors: Signe Eekholm, Gerd Ahlström, Jimmie Kristensson and Tove Lindhardt

A hybrid simulation model approach to examine bacterial genome sequencing during a hospital outbreak

Hospital infection control requires timely detection and identification of organisms, and their antimicrobial susceptibility. We describe a hybrid modeling approach to evaluate whole genome sequencing of patho...

Authors: Thomas M. Elliott, Xing J. Lee, Anna Foeglein, Patrick N. Harris and Louisa G. Gordon

Comorbid status and the faecal microbial transplantation failure in treatment of recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection – pilot prospective observational cohort study

Faecal microbial transplantation (FMT) is currently the most effective treatment of recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI). However, up to 20% of patients experience further recurrences after single F...

Authors: M. Kachlíková, P. Sabaka, A. Koščálová, M. Bendžala, Z. Dovalová and I. Stankovič

Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia associated thrombosis at Beijing Children’s hospital

With the increase of awareness of mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (MPP), we found thrombosis in severe MPP (SMPP) was not rare. The aim of the study was to investigate the clinical characteristics, treatment, and...

Authors: Jinrong Liu, Ruxuan He, Runhui Wu, Bei Wang, Hui Xu, Yue Zhang, Huimin Li and Shunying Zhao

Prevention of post-splenectomy sepsis in patients with asplenia - a study protocol of a controlled trial

Patients with asplenia have a significantly increased lifelong risk of severe invasive infections, particular post-splenectomy sepsis (PSS). Clear preventive measures have been described in the literature, but...

Authors: Marianne Bayrhuber, Natascha Anka, Johannes Camp, Manuela Glattacker, Erik Farin and Siegbert Rieg

Filling the gaps in global antimicrobial resistance research/surveillance

Authors: Luis Furuya-Kanamori and Laith Yakob

Prevalence of diarrhoea and associated risk factors among children under five years old in Pader District, northern Uganda

Diarrhoea remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in children under 5 years in sub-Saharan Africa. Of the three East African countries, Uganda has the worst mortality rate in children < 5 years, with ...

Authors: Stephen Omona, Geoffrey M. Malinga, Robert Opoke, Geoffrey Openy and Robert Opiro

Quantifying the relative impact of contact heterogeneity on MRSA transmission in ICUs - a modelling study

An efficient surface cleaning strategy would first target cleaning to surfaces that make large contributions to the risk of infections.

Authors: Hao Lei, Rachael M. Jones and Yuguo Li

Validating a screening agar for linezolid-resistant enterococci

Linezolid is an alternative treatment option for infections with multidrug-resistant Gram-positive bacteria including vancomycin-resistant enterococci. Some countries report an increasing number of isolates wi...

Authors: Guido Werner, Carola Fleige, Ingo Klare, Robert E. Weber and Jennifer K. Bender

Epidemiological study of scarlet fever in Shenyang, China

Since 2011, there has been an increase in the incidence of scarlet fever across China. The main objective of this study was to depict the spatiotemporal epidemiological characteristics of the incidence of scar...

Authors: Huijie Chen, Ye Chen, Baijun Sun, Lihai Wen and Xiangdong An

An investigation of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia-positive culture caused by fiberoptic bronchoscope contamination

Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (SMA) is present in hospital environments and has been one of the pathogens that cause nosocomial contamination and infections. To investigate the occurrence of Stenotrophomonas malto...

Authors: Bende Liu and Shenglan Tong

Perceived barriers and enablers for preventing the spread of carbapenem producing gram-negative bacteria during patient transfers: a mixed methods study among healthcare providers

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) increasingly threatens public health. Carbapenem-producing gram-negative bacteria (CPB) pose the biggest threat. The risk for CPB spread is heightened during the transfer of a CP...

Authors: Eline van Dulm, Wendy van der Veldt, Katja Jansen-van der Meiden, Gerry van Renselaar, Lian Bovée, Jeanette Ros, Udi Davidovich and Yvonne van Duijnhoven

Measuring the in-hospital costs of Pseudomonas aeruginosa pneumonia: methodology and results from a German teaching hospital

Pseudomonas aeruginosa-related pneumonia is an ongoing healthcare challenge. Estimating its financial burden is complicated by the time-dependent nature of the disease.

Authors: Klaus Kaier, Thomas Heister, Tim Götting, Martin Wolkewitz and Nico T. Mutters

Effects of the proportion of high-risk patients and control strategies on the prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in an intensive care unit

The presence of nosocomial pathogens in many intensive care units poses a threat to patients and public health worldwide. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is an important pathogen endemic in man...

Authors: Farida Chamchod and Prasit Palittapongarnpim

Magnitude of Rotavirus A and Campylobacter jejuni infections in children with diarrhea in Twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, Pakistan

Acute diarrhea is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in children particularly in developing countries of Asia and Africa. The present study was conducted to detect the two most important pathogens, rotavi...

Authors: Asma Sadiq, Habib Bokhari, Zobia Noreen, Rai Muhammad Asghar and Nazish Bostan

Estimating extra length of stay and risk factors of mortality attributable to healthcare-associated infection at a Chinese university hospital: a multi-state model

The current evidence of extra length of stay (LOS) attributable to healthcare-associated infection (HCAI) scarcely takes time-dependent bias into consideration. Plus, limited evidences were from developing cou...

Authors: Qian Zhou, Lili Fan, Xiaoquan Lai, Li Tan and Xinping Zhang

The effect of temperature on childhood hand, foot and mouth disease in Guangdong Province, China, 2010–2013: a multicity study

Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) is a serious infectious disease, which has become a public health problem. Previous studies have shown that temperature may influence the incidence of HFMD, but most only fo...

Authors: Zece Xu, Wenqi Hu, Kedi Jiao, Ci Ren, Baofa Jiang and Wei Ma

Prevalence of active trachoma and associated factors among children aged 1 to 9 years in rural communities of Lemo district, southern Ethiopia: community based cross sectional study

Trachoma, caused by Chlamydia trachomatis is the leading infectious cause of blindness. It is transmitted via personal contact with infected ocular and nasal secretions by hands, fomites and eye- seeking flies. A...

Authors: Endale WoldeKidan, Deresse Daka, Deresse Legesse, Tariku Laelago and Bealu Betebo

Broad spectrum resistance in Helicobacter pylori isolated from gastric biopsies of patients with dyspepsia in Cameroon and efflux-mediated multiresistance detection in MDR isolates

Antibiotic resistance is a leading cause of treatment failure in Helicobacter pylori infection. In Africa, there are very little data concerning the susceptibility of Helicobacter pylori isolates to antibiotics. ...

Authors: Laure Brigitte Kouitcheu Mabeku, Bertrand Eyoum Bille, Cromwell Tepap Zemnou, Lionel Danny Tali Nguefack and Hubert Leundji

Effect of ultrasound-guided central venous catheter insertion on the incidence of catheter-related bloodstream infections and mechanical complications

Central venous catheters (CVCs) are necessary for critically ill patients, including those with hematological malignancies. However, CVC insertion is associated with inevitable risks for various adverse events...

Authors: Osamu Imataki, Mami Shimatani, Yukiko Ohue and Makiko Uemura

Multiple sequence types responsible for healthcare-associated Acinetobacter baumannii dissemination in a single centre in Egypt

Acinetobacter baumannii is an increasingly worrying organism in the healthcare setting, due to its multidrug resistance and persistence. Prolonged hospitalisation, immunocompromised patients and excessive antibio...

Authors: Leena Al-Hassan, Mai M. Zafer and Hadir El-Mahallawy

Measles outbreak in an office building in the crowded Metropolis of Beijing, China

Although worldwide measles elimination achieved great progress for decades, outbreaks were still reported in certain countries. This study describes the epidemiologic features of a substantial measles outbreak...

Authors: Zhen Li, Zheng Zhang, Fang Wang, Rui Wei, Jianhong Zhao and Fang Liu

Association of TGF-ß1 polymorphisms and chronic hepatitis C infection: a Meta-analysis

Although several researches have reported the connection between the transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-β1) gene polymorphisms and chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, the conclusions of these studies w...

Authors: Pengfei Guo, Shuangyin Liu, Xiangru Sun and Longqin Xu

The utility of endotracheal aspirate bacteriology in identifying mechanically ventilated patients at risk for ventilator associated pneumonia: a single-center prospective observational study

Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a well-known, life-threatening disease that persists despite preventative measures and approved antibiotic therapies. This prospective observational study investigated ...

Authors: Ekaterina Kabak, Jana Hudcova, Zoltán Magyarics, Lukas Stulik, Marie Goggin, Valéria Szijártó, Eszter Nagy and Chris Stevens

Editorial: the airborne microbiome - implications for aerosol transmission and infection control – special issue

Although the title of the Special Issue is ‘Airborne Microbiome’ the manuscripts received have highlighted a variety of peripheral, yet related aspects of this. The contributions are a mixture of primary resea...

Authors: Julian W. Tang and Yuguo Li

Surgical site infections after cesarean sections at the University Clinical Center of Kosovo: rates, microbiological profile and risk factors

Surgical site infections (SSI) are a common complication after a cesarean section (C-section) and mainly responsible for increased maternal mortality and morbidity, dissatisfaction of patients, longer hospital...

Authors: Vjosa A. Zejnullahu, Rozalinda Isjanovska, Zana Sejfija and Valon A. Zejnullahu