Articles

Enhancing engagement beyond the conference walls: analysis of Twitter use at #ICPIC2019 infection prevention and control conference

Social media may provide a tool, when coupled with a patient-included™ conference, to enhance the engagement among the general public. We describe authors and potential readers of Twitter content surrounding a...

Authors: Romain Martischang, Ermira Tartari, Claire Kilpatrick, Graham Mackenzie, Vanessa Carter, Enrique Castro-Sánchez, Hilda Márquez-Villarreal, Jonathan A. Otter, Eli Perencevich, Denise Silber, Julie Storr, Jason Tetro, Andreas Voss and Didier Pittet

Stenotrophomonas maltophilia bacteremia in children: risk factors and mortality rate

Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (S. maltophilia) is an opportunistic and nosocomial pathogen that can cause an invasive and fatal infection, particularly in hospitalized and immunocompromised patients. However, litt...

Authors: Mohammed Alsuhaibani, Alanoud Aljarbou, Sahar Althawadi, Abdulrahman Alsweed and Sami Al-Hajjar

Carriage of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria in a high-density informal settlement in Kenya is associated with environmental risk-factors

The relationship between antibiotic use and antimicrobial resistance varies with cultural, socio-economic, and environmental factors. We examined these relationships in Kibera, an informal settlement in Nairob...

Authors: Sylvia Omulo, Eric T. Lofgren, Svetlana Lockwood, Samuel M. Thumbi, Godfrey Bigogo, Alice Ouma, Jennifer R. Verani, Bonventure Juma, M. Kariuki Njenga, Samuel Kariuki, Terry F. McElwain, Guy H. Palmer and Douglas R. Call

Comparison of the antimicrobial efficacy of povidone-iodine-alcohol versus chlorhexidine-alcohol for surgical skin preparation on the aerobic and anaerobic skin flora of the shoulder region

Cutibacterium acnes is part of the anaerobic skin microbiome and resides in deeper skin layers. The organism is an agent of surgical site infections (SSI) in shoulder surgery. We hypothesized that prolonged skin ...

Authors: Dorothea Dörfel, Matthias Maiwald, Georg Daeschlein, Gerald Müller, Robert Hudek, Ojan Assadian, Günter Kampf, Thomas Kohlmann, Julian Camill Harnoss and Axel Kramer

Bloodstream infections caused by ST2 Acinetobacter baumannii: risk factors, antibiotic regimens, and virulence over 6 years period in China

Bloodstream infection (BSI) caused by multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (MDR-AB) has been increasingly observed among hospitalized patients. The following study analyzed the epidemiology and microbiolog...

Authors: Kaihang Yu, Weiliang Zeng, Ye Xu, Wenli Liao, Wenya Xu, Tieli Zhou, Jianming Cao and Lijiang Chen

Antibiotic prescribing in inpatient and outpatient settings in Iran: a systematic review and meta-analysis study

Antibiotic prescribing is common worldwide. There are several original studies about antibiotic prescribing in the healthcare setting of Iran reporting different levels of prescribing. The aim of this systemat...

Authors: Ehsan Nabovati, Zhila TaherZadeh, Saeid Eslami, Ameen Abu-Hanna and Reza Abbasi

Exploring determinants of hand hygiene compliance in LTCFs: a qualitative study using Flottorps’ integrated checklist of determinants of practice

Elderly residents in long-term care facilities (LTCFs) are vulnerable to healthcare-associated infections. Although hand hygiene is a leading measure for preventing infection, the compliance of healthcare work...

Authors: Dominique Lescure, Anja Haenen, Sabine de Greeff, Andreas Voss, Anita Huis and Marlies Hulscher

Non-prescription dispensing of antibiotic agents among community drug retail outlets in Sub-Saharan African countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis

The development of antimicrobial resistance, which is partially attributable to the overuse and/or misuse of antibiotics in health care, is one of the greatest global public health challenges. In Sub-Saharan A...

Authors: Sewunet Admasu Belachew, Lisa Hall and Linda A. Selvey

Compliance with antibiotic prophylaxis guidelines in caesarean delivery: a retrospective, drug utilization study (indication-prescription type) at an Ecuadorian hospital

Preoperative antibiotic prophylaxis is essential for preventing surgical site infection (SSI). The aim of this study was to evaluate compliance with international and local recommendations in caesarean deliver...

Authors: Katherine Romero Viamonte, Adrian Salvent Tames, Rosa Sepúlveda Correa, María Victoria Rojo Manteca and Ana Martín-Suárez

Bacterial but no SARS-CoV-2 contamination after terminal disinfection of tertiary care intensive care units treating COVID-19 patients

In intensive care units (ICUs) treating patients with Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) invasive ventilation poses a high risk for aerosol and droplet formation. Surface contamination of severe acute respira...

Authors: Daniel A. Hofmaenner, Pedro David Wendel Garcia, Branko Duvnjak, Bhavya Chakrakodi, Julian D. Maier, Michael Huber, Jon Huder, Aline Wolfensberger, Peter W. Schreiber, Reto A. Schuepbach, Annelies S. Zinkernagel, Philipp K. Buehler and Silvio D. Brugger

Contradictions in the promotion of publishing academic and scientific journal articles, and the inability to cope with the new coronavirus (COVID-19)

Translating research into practice is a central priority within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Roadmap. The underlying aim of the NIH Roadmap is to accelerate the movement of scientific findings into ...

Authors: Rostam Jalali, Amin Hosseinian-Far and Masoud Mohammadi

Characterization of florfenicol resistance genes in the coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (CoNS) isolates and genomic features of a multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus lentus strain H29

With the wide use of florfenicol to prevent and treat the bacterial infection of domestic animals, the emergence of the florfenicol resistance bacteria is increasingly serious. It is very important to elucidat...

Authors: Chongyang Wu, Xueya Zhang, Jialei Liang, Qiaoling Li, Hailong Lin, Chaoqin Lin, Hongmao Liu, Danying Zhou, Wei Lu, Zhewei Sun, Xi Lin, Hailin Zhang, Kewei Li, Teng Xu, Qiyu Bao and Junwan Lu

The Clean pilot study: evaluation of an environmental hygiene intervention bundle in three Tanzanian hospitals

Healthcare associated infections (HAI) are estimated to affect up to 15% of hospital inpatients in low-income countries (LICs). A critical but often neglected aspect of HAI prevention is basic environmental hy...

Authors: Giorgia Gon, Abdunoor M. Kabanywanyi, Petri Blinkhoff, Simon Cousens, Stephanie J. Dancer, Wendy J. Graham, Joseph Hokororo, Fatuma Manzi, Tanya Marchant, Dickson Mkoka, Emma Morrison, Sarah Mswata, Shefali Oza, Loveday Penn-Kekana, Yovitha Sedekia, Sandra Virgo…

Nosocomial transmission and outbreaks of coronavirus disease 2019: the need to protect both patients and healthcare workers

To compile current published reports on nosocomial outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), evaluate the role of healthcare workers (HCWs) in transmission, and evaluate outbre...

Authors: Mohamed Abbas, Tomás Robalo Nunes, Romain Martischang, Walter Zingg, Anne Iten, Didier Pittet and Stephan Harbarth

Impact of replacing powdered gloves with powder-free gloves on hand-hygiene compliance among healthcare workers of an intensive care unit: a quasi-experimental study

After wearing powdered gloves, healthcare workers (HCW) are supposed to wash their hands instead of using alcohol-based hand-rub (ABHR). Washing hands takes longer than using ABHR, and the use of powdered glov...

Authors: Mayra Gonçalves Menegueti, Fernando Bellissimo-Rodrigues, Marcia A. Ciol, Maria Auxiliadora-Martins, Anibal Basile-Filho, Silvia Rita Marin da Silva Canini, Elucir Gir and Ana Maria Laus

Economic burden of antibiotic resistance in China: a national level estimate for inpatients

Antibiotic resistance (AR) threats public health in China. National-level estimation of economic burden of AR is lacking. We aimed to quantify the economic costs of AR in inpatients in China.

Authors: Xuemei Zhen, Cecilia Stålsby Lundborg, Xueshan Sun, Nina Zhu, Shuyan Gu and Hengjin Dong

Impact of environmental cleaning on the colonization and infection rates of multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii in patients within the intensive care unit in a tertiary hospital

To continuously evaluate the effect of environmental cleaning and hand hygiene compliance on the colonization and infection rates of multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (MDR-AB) in the patients within an ...

Authors: Yang Li, Hai Ge, Hui Zhou, Wanqing Zhou, Jie Zheng, Wei Chen and Xiaoli Cao

Understanding antibiotic use for pig farming in Thailand: a qualitative study

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR), recognised as a serious and growing threat to global health, is promoted by multiple drivers, including antibiotic use in the livestock sector. Thus, understanding factors influ...

Authors: Angkana Lekagul, Viroj Tangcharoensathien, Marco Liverani, Anne Mills, Jonathan Rushton and Shunmay Yeung

Caretaker knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) and carriage of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing E. coli (ESBL-EC) in children in Quito, Ecuador

The rapid spread of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing E. coli (ESBL-EC) is an urgent global health threat. We examined child caretaker knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) towards proper antimicrobi...

Authors: Rachel Marusinec, Kathleen M. Kurowski, Heather K. Amato, Carlos Saraiva-Garcia, Fernanda Loayza, Liseth Salinas, Gabriel Trueba and Jay P. Graham

Investigation and control of an outbreak of urinary tract infections caused by Burkholderia cepacian-contaminated anesthetic gel

This report describes an outbreak of 71 patients developed B. cepacia urinary tract infection (UTI) by contaminated single-use anesthetic gel.

Authors: Mingmei Du, Linjian Song, Yan Wang, Jijiang Suo, Yanling Bai, Yubin Xing, Lijun Xie, Bowei Liu, Lu Li, Yanping Luo and Yunxi Liu

Antimicrobial prophylaxis administration after umbilical cord clamping in cesarean section and the risk of surgical site infection: a cohort study with 55,901 patients

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends administration of surgical antimicrobial prophylaxis (SAP) in cesarean section prior to incision to prevent surgical site infections (SSI). This study aimed to de...

Authors: Rami Sommerstein, Jonas Marschall, Andrew Atkinson, Daniel Surbek, Maria Gloria Dominguez-Bello, Nicolas Troillet and Andreas F. Widmer

Scientific evidence supports aerosol transmission of SARS-COV-2

Authors: C. Raina MacIntyre and Michelle R. Ananda-Rajah

Evaluation of the health and healthcare system burden due to antimicrobial-resistant Escherichia coli infections in humans: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Assessment of the burden of disease due to antimicrobial-resistant Escherichia coli infections facilitates understanding the scale of the problem and potential impacts, and comparison to other diseases, which all...

Authors: M. C. MacKinnon, J. M. Sargeant, D. L. Pearl, R. J. Reid-Smith, C. A. Carson, E. J. Parmley and S. A. McEwen

Adherence to personal protective equipment use among healthcare workers caring for confirmed COVID-19 and alleged non-COVID-19 patients

Adherence observations of health care workers (HCW) revealed deficiencies in the use of recommended personal protective equipment (PPE) among HCW caring in COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 wards during the first peri...

Authors: Meike M. Neuwirth, Frauke Mattner and Robin Otchwemah

Prevalence and molecular characteristics of ESBL and AmpC β -lactamase producing Enterobacteriaceae strains isolated from UTIs in Egypt

Infections caused by Enterobacteriaceae are mainly treated with the β-lactam antibiotics, nevertheless, the emergence of species with plasmid-borne β-lactamases has decreased the efficacy of these antibiotics. Th...

Authors: Ebtisam S. Mohamed, Rasha M. M. Khairy and Soha S. Abdelrahim

Comparative evaluation of the effect of different growth media on in vitro sensitivity to azithromycin in multi-drug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from cystic fibrosis patients

Long-term treatment with azithromycin is a therapeutic option in Cystic Fibrosis (CF) patients chronically infected with P. aeruginosa. It was recently shown that azithromycin has direct antimicrobial activity wh...

Authors: Michael Sörensen, Bakhodur Khakimov, Dennis Nurjadi, Sébastien Boutin, Buqing Yi, Alexander H. Dalpke and Tatjana Eigenbrod

Keeping PPE barriers in COVID-19 wards while doing proper auscultation

The emerging COVID-19 pandemic poses many difficulties to medical professionals. One of them is the need to use personal protective equipment (PPE) in order to protect themselves and their families, while not ...

Authors: Einat Seidel, Shahar Luski, Yaarit Ribak, Ahmed Nama, Takeshi Saraya, Toshiaki Nishiyama, Yonatan Oster and Ran Nir-Paz

Impact of a multifaceted intervention to improve antibiotic prescribing: a pragmatic cluster-randomised controlled trial

This study sought to assess the effectiveness and return on investment (ROI) of a multifaceted intervention aimed at improving antibiotic prescribing for acute respiratory infections in primary care.

Authors: Adolfo Figueiras, Paula López-Vázquez, Cristian Gonzalez-Gonzalez, Juan Manuel Vázquez-Lago, María Piñeiro-Lamas, Ana López-Durán, Coro Sánchez, María Teresa Herdeiro and Maruxa Zapata-Cachafeiro

Knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding antimicrobial use and resistance among communities of Ilala, Kilosa and Kibaha districts of Tanzania

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) represents one of the biggest threats to health globally. This cross-sectional study determined knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) regarding antimicrobial use (AMU) and AMR...

Authors: Calvin Sindato, Leonard E. G. Mboera, Bugwesa Z. Katale, Gasto Frumence, Sharadhuli Kimera, Taane G. Clark, Helena Legido-Quigley, Stephen E. Mshana, Mark M. Rweyemamu and Mecky Matee

Burden of carbapenem non-susceptible infections in high-risk patients: systematic literature review and meta-analysis

Owing to their resistance to an important class of antibiotics, the prevention and treatment of carbapenem-resistant (CR)/non-susceptible Gram-negative (GN) infections has become an important public health obj...

Authors: Esther E. Avendano, Gowri Raman, Jeffrey Chan and Eilish McCann

SARS-Coronavirus-2 cases in healthcare workers may not regularly originate from patient care: lessons from a university hospital on the underestimated risk of healthcare worker to healthcare worker transmission

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) represents an unprecedented healthcare challenge. Various SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks in healthcare facilitie...

Authors: Sandra Schneider, Brar Piening, Pauline Assina Nouri-Pasovsky, Anne Caroline Krüger, Petra Gastmeier and Seven Johannes Sam Aghdassi

Does respiratory co-infection facilitate dispersal of SARS-CoV-2? investigation of a super-spreading event in an open-space office

Super-spreaders are individuals infecting disproportionately large numbers of contacts. They probably play a crucial role in the transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). We...

Authors: Dana Weissberg, Jürg Böni, Silvana K. Rampini, Verena Kufner, Maryam Zaheri, Peter W. Schreiber, Irene A. Abela, Michael Huber, Hugo Sax and Aline Wolfensberger

Why psychiatry is different - challenges and difficulties in managing a nosocomial outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in hospital care

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was officially declared a pandemic in March 2020. Many cases of COVID-19 are nosocomial, but to the best of our knowledge, no nosocomial outbreaks on psychiatric departments of s...

Authors: J. J. E. Rovers, L. S. van de Linde, N. Kenters, E. M. Bisseling, D. F. Nieuwenhuijse, B. B. Oude Munnink, A. Voss and M. Nabuurs-Franssen

Central venous catheter-related bloodstream infection and colonization: the impact of insertion site and distribution of multidrug-resistant pathogens

Placement of central-venous catheters (CVCs) is an essential practice in the management of hospitalized patients, however, insertion at the commonly used sites has often the potential of inducing major complic...

Authors: Vassiliki Pitiriga, Petros Kanellopoulos, Ioannis Bakalis, Elsa Kampos, Ioannis Sagris, George Saroglou and Athanasios Tsakris

Efficacy of universal preoperative decolonization with Polyhexanide in primary joint arthroplasty on surgical site infections. A multicenter before-and after-study

Surgical site infections (SSI) are rare but severe complications after total joint arthroplasty (TJA). Decolonization measures prior to elective orthopedic surgeries have shown to reduce the risk of SSI with Stap...

Authors: Björn Wandhoff, Christin Schröder, Ulrich Nöth, Robert Krause, Burkhard Schmidt, Stephan David, Eike-Eric Scheller, Friedrich Jahn, Michael Behnke, Petra Gastmeier and Tobias Siegfried Kramer

A one health framework to estimate the cost of antimicrobial resistance

The costs attributable to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) remain theoretical and largely unspecified. Current figures fail to capture the full health and economic burden caused by AMR across human, animal, and ...

Authors: Chantal M. Morel, Richard A. Alm, Christine Årdal, Alessandra Bandera, Giacomo M. Bruno, Elena Carrara, Giorgio L. Colombo, Marlieke E. A. de Kraker, Sabiha Essack, Isabel Frost, Bruno Gonzalez-Zorn, Herman Goossens, Luca Guardabassi, Stephan Harbarth, Peter S. Jørgensen, Souha S. Kanj…

Prevention of central line-associated bloodstream infections: a survey of ICU nurses’ knowledge and practice in China

Central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) are largely preventable when evidence-based guidelines are followed. However, it is not clear how well these guidelines are followed in intensive care un...

Authors: Xiuwen Chi, Juan Guo, Xiaofeng Niu, Ru He, Lijuan Wu and Hong Xu

Impact of an e-learning module on personal protective equipment knowledge in student paramedics: a randomized controlled trial

Prehospital professionals such as emergency physicians or paramedics must be able to choose and adequately don and doff personal protective equipment (PPE) in order to avoid COVID-19 infection. Our aim was to ...

Authors: Laurent Suppan, Loric Stuby, Birgit Gartner, Robert Larribau, Anne Iten, Mohamed Abbas, Stephan Harbarth and Mélanie Suppan

Artemether–lumefantrin treatment adherence among uncomplicated plasmodium falciparum malaria patients, visiting public health facilities in AsgedeTsimbla district, Tigray, Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study

Ethiopia has set a goal to eliminate malaria by 2030; Artemether–lumefantrine (AL) is put as one of the cornerstone strategies for uncomplicated plasmodium falciparum malaria treatment. However, only focusing on ...

Authors: Mekonnen Gebremichael Gebrekidan, Gebretsadik Berhe Gebremedhin, Yosef Sibhatu Gebregiorgis, Alefech Addisu Gezehegn and Kissanet Tesfay Weldearegay

Education and training programmes for infection prevention and control professionals: mapping the current opportunities and local needs in European countries

Studies have repeatedly highlighted the need for homogenisation of training content and opportunities in infection prevention and control (IPC) across European countries.

Authors: Constantinos Tsioutis, Gabriel Birgand, Erik Bathoorn, Aleksander Deptula, Lenny ten Horn, Enrique Castro-Sánchez, Oana Săndulescu, Andreas F. Widmer, Athanasios Tsakris, Giulio Pieve, Evelina Tacconelli and Nico T. Mutters

The carbapenem resistance gene bla_OXA-23 is disseminated by a conjugative plasmid containing the novel transposon Tn6681 in Acinetobacter johnsonii M19

Carbapenem resistant Acinetobacter species have caused great difficulties in clinical therapy in the worldwide. Here we describe an Acinetobacter johnsonii M19 with a novel bla_OXA-23 containing transposon Tn6681 ...

Authors: Gongli Zong, Chuanqing Zhong, Jiafang Fu, Yu Zhang, Peipei Zhang, Wenchi Zhang, Yan Xu, Guangxiang Cao and Rongzhen Zhang

Antimicrobial use in food animals and human health: time to implement ‘One Health’ approach

The use of antimicrobials in animals for growth promotion and infection prevention significantly contributes to the development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), a growing public health threat. While the Worl...

Authors: Sunil Pokharel, Priyanka Shrestha and Bipin Adhikari

Donor-derived vancomycin-resistant enterococci transmission and bloodstream infection after intestinal transplantation

Transplant recipients are at high risk for infections. However, donor-recipient transmission of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) remains mostly unaddressed in the protocols of pre-transplant infection and...

Authors: Carlos L. Correa-Martínez, Felix Becker, Vera Schwierzeck, Alexander Mellmann, Jens G. Brockmann and Stefanie Kampmeier

COVID-19: through the eyes through the front line, an international perspective

COVID-19 is continuing to ravage the globe. In many Western Countries, the populous has not embraced public health advice which has resulted in a resurgence of the COVID-19 virus. In the United States, there i...

Authors: Kevin T. Kavanagh, Judith Pare and Christine Pontus

A decade of antimicrobial resistance research in social science fields: a scientometric review

Though social sciences are expectedly instrumental in combating antimicrobial resistance (AMR), their research on AMR has been historically lacking.

Authors: Jiahui Lu, Anita Sheldenkar and May Oo Lwin

Fluoroquinolone resistance of Staphylococcus epidermidis isolated from healthy conjunctiva and analysis of their mutations in quinolone-resistance determining region

Staphylococcus epidermidis is the most common pathogen in postoperative endophthalmitis and causes various infectious eye diseases. However, there is very little information on fluoroquinolone antibiotic resistan...

Authors: Jung Youb Kang, Woonhyoung Lee, Gwang Myeong Noh, Bo Hyun Jeong, Indal Park and Sang Joon Lee

Disinfectant wipes transfer Clostridioides difficile spores from contaminated surfaces to uncontaminated surfaces during the disinfection process

Pre-wetted disinfectant wipes are increasingly being used in healthcare facilities to help address the risk of healthcare associated infections (HAIs). However, HAIs are still a major problem in the US with Clost...

Authors: Carine A. Nkemngong, Gurpreet K. Chaggar, Xiaobao Li, Peter J. Teska and Haley F. Oliver

Carriage of ESBL-producing Gram-negative bacteria by flies captured in a hospital and its suburban surroundings in Ethiopia

Local data from the Asella Teaching and Referral Hospital in the town of Asella, Ethiopia reveal a high prevalence of extended-spectrum β-lactamase- (ESBL) producing Gram-negative bacteria (GNB) in clinical is...

Authors: Tafese Beyene Tufa, Andre Fuchs, Tobias Wienemann, Yannik Eggers, Sileshi Abdissa, Marlen Schneider, Björn-Erik Ole Jensen, Johannes G. Bode, Klaus Pfeffer, Dieter Häussinger, Colin R. Mackenzie, Hans Martin Orth and Torsten Feldt

Association of sexually-transmitted infection and African–American race with Streptococcus agalactiae colonization in pregnancy

Group B Streptococcus (GBS) remains a significant cause of neonatal infection, but the maternal risk factors for GBS colonization remain poorly defined. We hypothesized that there may be an association between an...

Authors: Gerald A. Capraro, Sajel Lala, Khaldia Khaled, Elizabeth Gosciniak, Brianna Saadat, Sarah M. Alvarez, Seema Kumar, Tara Calhoun, Edward Landry, Gloria Caldito, Joseph A. Bocchini Jr. and John A. Vanchiere

Evaluating antimicrobial appropriateness in a tertiary care pediatric ICU in Saudi Arabia: a retrospective cohort study

Inappropriate antibiotic utilization is associated with the emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and a decline in antibiotic susceptibility in many pathogenic organisms isolated in intensive care units....

Authors: Yasser M. Kazzaz, Haneen AlTurki, Lama Aleisa, Bashaer Alahmadi, Nora Alfattoh and Nadia Alattas