Healthcare-associated infection control

Modifiable healthcare factors affecting 28-day survival in bloodstream infection: a prospective cohort study

Bloodstream infection is common in the UK and has significant mortality depending on the pathogen involved, site of infection and other patient factors. Healthcare staffing and ward activity may also impact on...

Authors: Rebecca N. Evans, Katie Pike, Chris A. Rogers, Rosy Reynolds, Margaret Stoddart, Robin Howe, Mark Wilcox, Peter Wilson, F. Kate Gould and Alasdair MacGowan

An unusual Staphylococcus saccharolyticus spondylodiscitis post kyphoplasty: a case report

Staphylococcus saccharolyticus is a rarely encountered coagulase-negative, which grows slowly and its strictly anaerobic staphylococcus from the skin. It is usually considered a contaminant, but some rare reports...

Authors: Marie-Charlotte Trojani, Brigitte Lamy, Raymond Ruimy, Nicolas Amoretti, Karine Risso and Christian Roux

Hospital physicians’ experiences with procalcitonin – implications for antimicrobial stewardship; a qualitative study

Procalcitonin is an inflammatory biomarker that is sensitive for bacterial infections and a promising clinical decision aid in antimicrobial stewardship programs. However, there are few studies of physicians’ ...

Authors: Ingrid Christensen, Jon Birger Haug, Dag Berild, Jørgen Vildershøj Bjørnholt and Lars-Petter Jelsness-Jørgensen

Asymptomatic central line-associated bloodstream infections in children implanted with long term indwelling central venous catheters in a teaching hospital, Sri Lanka

Indwelling central venous catheters (CVC) are used to provide long term hemodialysis. The commonest and the severe complication of CVC is the central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI). This study ...

Authors: J. A. A. S. Jayaweera and D. Sivakumar

Nosocomial infections due to multidrug-resistant bacteria in cancer patients: a six-year retrospective study of an oncology Center in Western China

Bacterial infections are the most frequent complications in patients with malignancy, and the epidemiology of nosocomial infections among cancer patients has changed over time. This study aimed to evaluate the...

Authors: Ai-Min Jiang, Xin Shi, Na Liu, Huan Gao, Meng-Di Ren, Xiao-Qiang Zheng, Xiao Fu, Xuan Liang, Zhi-Ping Ruan, Yu Yao and Tao Tian

Simulating transmission of ESKAPE pathogens plus C. difficile in relevant clinical scenarios

The prevalence of healthcare-acquired infections (HAI) and rising levels of antimicrobial resistance places significant economic and public health burdens on modern healthcare systems. A group of highly drug r...

Authors: Katharina L. Weber, Danielle S. LeSassier, Anthony D. Kappell, Kathleen Q. Schulte, Nicole Westfall, Nicolette C. Albright, Gene D. Godbold, Veena Palsikar, Carlos A. Acevedo, Krista L. Ternus and F. Curtis Hewitt

Measles outbreak amplified in a pediatric ward: Lyantonde District, Uganda, August 2017

Measles is a highly infectious viral disease. In August 2017, Lyantonde District, Uganda reported a measles outbreak to Uganda Ministry of Health. We investigated the outbreak to assess the scope, factors faci...

Authors: Claire Biribawa, Joselyn Annet Atuhairwe, Lilian Bulage, Denis Othuba Okethwangu, Benon Kwesiga, Alex Riolexus Ario and Bao-Ping Zhu

Resurgence risk for malaria, and the characterization of a recent outbreak in an Amazonian border area between French Guiana and Brazil

In 2017, inhabitants along the border between French Guiana and Brazil were affected by a malaria outbreak primarily due to Plasmodium vivax (Pv). While malaria cases have steadily declined between 2005 and 2016 ...

Authors: Emilie Mosnier, Isabelle Dusfour, Guillaume Lacour, Raphael Saldanha, Amandine Guidez, Margarete S. Gomes, Alice Sanna, Yanouk Epelboin, Johana Restrepo, Damien Davy, Magalie Demar, Félix Djossou, Maylis Douine, Vanessa Ardillon, Mathieu Nacher, Lise Musset…

Live poultry market closure and avian influenza A (H7N9) infection in cities of China, 2013–2017: an ecological study

Previous studies have proven that the closure of live poultry markets (LPMs) was an effective intervention to reduce human risk of avian influenza A (H7N9) infection, but evidence is limited on the impact of s...

Authors: Ying Chen, Jian Cheng, Zhiwei Xu, Wenbiao Hu and Jiahai Lu

Adherence to guidelines across different specialties to prevent infections in patients undergoing immunosuppressive therapies

Substantial numbers of patients are now receiving either immunosuppressive therapies or chemotherapy. There are significant risks in such patients of developing opportunistic infections or re-activation of lat...

Authors: David R. Chadwick, Laila Sayeed, Matthew Rose, Emily Budd, Mo Mohammed, Sarah Harrison, Jaskiran Azad and Jamie Maddox

Molecular characteristics of Clostridium difficile in children with acute gastroenteritis from Zhejiang

Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) has an increasing pediatric prevalence worldwide. However, molecular characteristics of C. difficile in Chinese children with acute gastroenteritis have not been reported.

Authors: Huiqun Shuai, Qiao Bian, Yun Luo, Xiaohong Zhou, Xiaojun Song, Julian Ye, Qinghong Huang, Zhaoyang Peng, Jun Wu, Jianmin Jiang and Dazhi Jin

Peer education for HIV prevention among high-risk groups: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Peer education has become a strategy for health promotion among high-risk groups for HIV infection worldwide. However, the extent to which peer education could have an impact on HIV prevention or the long-term...

Authors: Jiayu He, Ying Wang, Zhicheng Du, Jing Liao, Na He and Yuantao Hao

Prevalence and burden of orthopaedic implantable-device infections in Italy: a hospital-based national study

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) represent a serious burden to individual safety and healthcare sustainability. Identifying which patients, procedures and settings are most at risk would offer a signifi...

Authors: Luca Pirisi, Federico Pennestrì, Marco Viganò and Giuseppe Banfi

In-depth analysis of T2Bacteria positive results in patients with concurrent negative blood culture: a case series

T2Bacteria assay uses T2 magnetic resonance (T2MR) technology for the rapid diagnosis of bacterial bloodstream infections (BSIs). This FDA cleared technology can detect 5 of the most prevalent pathogens causin...

Authors: Markos Kalligeros, Ioannis M. Zacharioudakis, Giannoula S. Tansarli, Katerina Tori, Fadi Shehadeh and Eleftherios Mylonakis

Efficacy of the quick sequential organ failure assessment for predicting clinical outcomes among community-acquired pneumonia patients presenting in the emergency department

The study aimed to investigate the predictive value of the quick sequential organ failure assessment (qSOFA) for clinical outcomes in emergency patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP).

Authors: Xiangqun Zhang, Bo Liu, Yugeng Liu, Lijuan Ma and Hong Zeng

Inapropriate use of antibiotics effective against gram positive microorganisms despite restrictive antibiotic policies in ICUs: a prospective observational study

Gram-positive spectrum antibiotics such as vancomycin, teicoplanin, daptomycin, and linezolid are frequently used in empirical treatment combinations in critically ill patients. Such inappropriate and unnecess...

Authors: Hasan Selçuk Özger, Dolunay Merve Fakıoğlu, Kübra Erbay, Aslınur Albayrak and Kenan Hızel

Characteristics of Clostridium difficile isolates and the burden of hospital-acquired Clostridium difficile infection in a tertiary teaching hospital in Chongqing, Southwest China

Clostridium difficile infection (CDI), especially hospital-acquired Clostridium difficile infection (HA-CDI), continues to be a public health problem and has aroused great concern worldwide for years. This study ...

Authors: Wei Dai, Tianxiang Yang, Li Yan, Siqiang Niu, Chuanming Zhang, Jide Sun, Zhu Wang and Yun Xia

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