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Infection Control Matters

We are a group of professionals who work in the field of infectious disease and infection prevention and control. In this podcast series, we discuss new research and issues on the topic of infection prevention and control. We will pick new papers of interest and will discuss them, often with an author of the paper who can give us some insights into the research that go beyond the written paper. Authors will include nurses, doctors, academics, clinicians, administrators and leaders. We should stress that all of our comments relate to our own opinions and that they do not necessarily reflect those institutions and employers that we relate to. We welcome comment, suggestions and ideas.

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Episodes

Reflecting on a contact precautions talk at ECCMID with Dr Gonzalo Bearman

7 days ago

Reflecting on a contact precautions talk at ECCMID with Dr Gonzalo Bearman

7 days ago

After his excellent session atthe ECCMID meeting, Martin talks to Dr Gonzalo Bearman (Chief of Infectious Diseases at VCU Health, Editor in Chief of Antimicrobial Stewardship Healthcare Epidemiology (ASHE), footballer and drummer) about the removal of contact precautions for endemic organisms like MRSA and VRE and how evidence can change practice. Challenges of applying evidence from one setting to another are also discussed. Some of Gonzalo's papers on this subject are here: Bearman GM, et al. A controlled trial of universal gloving versus contact precautions for preventing the transmission of multidrug-resistant organisms. Am J Infect Control. 2007;35(10):650-655.  https://10.1016/j.ajic.2007.02.011 McLemore A, et al. Effect of contact precautions on wait time from emergency room disposition to inpatient admission. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2011;32(3):298-299.  https://doi:10.1086/658913 Banach DB, et al. Duration of Contact Precautions for Acute-Care Settings. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2018:1-18.  https://doi:10.1017/ice.2017.245 Bearman G, et al. Impact of Discontinuing Contact Precautions for Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus: An Interrupted Time Series Analysis. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2018;39(6):676-682.  https://doi:10.1017/ice.2018.57 Godbout EJ, et al. Impact of discontinuation of contact precautions on central-line associated bloodstream infections in an academic children's hospital. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2019:1-3.  Haessler S, et al. Stopping the routine use of contact precautions for management of MRSA and VRE at three academic medical centers: An interrupted time series analysis. Am J Infect Control. 2020;48(12):1466-1473.  https://doi:10.1016/j.ajic.2020.06.219 Morgan DJ, et al. Contact Precautions for Endemic MRSA and VRE: Time to Retire Legal Mandates. JAMA. 2017;318(4):329-330.  https://doi:10.1001/jama.2017.7419 Bearman G, et al. Control of drug-resistant pathogens in endemic settings: contact precautions, controversies, and a proposal for a less restrictive alternative. Curr Infect Dis Rep. 2012;14(6):620-626.  https://doi:10.1007/s11908-012-0299-8

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Environmental cleaning &  the role of patient service assistants

Wednesday May 11, 2022

Environmental cleaning & the role of patient service assistants

Wednesday May 11, 2022

In this podcast, Brett Mitchell talks to A/Professor Stéphane Bouchoucha about a recent article exploring the role of patient service assistants in environmental cleaning. The article is published in Infection Disease and Health. https://www.idhjournal.com.au/article/S2468-0451(22)00006-2/fulltext Dr Stéphane Bouchoucha is an Associate Professor and Associate Head of School (International) in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Deakin University. He is also a researcher based in Deakin’s Institute for Health Transformation and the Australasian College for Infection Prevention and Control President-Elect.

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50 Shades of Grey  - Risk assessment and communicating decisions with Dr Elaine Cloutman-Green

Wednesday May 04, 2022

50 Shades of Grey - Risk assessment and communicating decisions with Dr Elaine Cloutman-Green

Wednesday May 04, 2022

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Measuring cleaning effectivness and improvement with Dr Phil Carling from SHEA Spring 2022

Friday Apr 29, 2022

Measuring cleaning effectivness and improvement with Dr Phil Carling from SHEA Spring 2022

Friday Apr 29, 2022

In this episode recorded at the 2022 SHEA spring meeting, Martin Kiernan discussed measuring the effectiveness of cleaning with Dr Phil Carling from Boston. We also discuss how data used from environmental monitoring can be used to promote improvements in practice. Some of Phil's key papers in this area are here: Carling PC, et al. Improved cleaning of patient rooms using a new targeting method. Clin Infect Dis. 2006;42(3):385-388.  https://doi.org/10.1086/499361 Carling PC, et al. Improving environmental hygiene in 27 intensive care units to decrease multidrug-resistant bacterial transmission. Crit Care Med. 2010;38(4):1054-1059. https://doi.org/10.1097/ccm.0b013e3181cdf705 Carling PC, et al. Intensive care unit environmental cleaning: an evaluation in sixteen hospitals using a novel assessment tool. J Hosp Infect. 2008;68(1):39-44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhin.2007.09.015 Carling PC, et al. Identifying opportunities to enhance environmental cleaning in 23 acute care hospitals. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2008;29(1):1-7.  https://doi.org/10.1086/524329

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CO2 monitoring to find hospital areas with poor ventilation - Poster at ECCMID 2022 with Sharon Bamber

Friday Apr 29, 2022

CO2 monitoring to find hospital areas with poor ventilation - Poster at ECCMID 2022 with Sharon Bamber

Friday Apr 29, 2022

In this episode recorded at the ECCMID 2022 meeting in Lisbon, Portugal, Martin Kiernan talks to poster abstract presenter Clinical Scientist Sharon Bamber about her organisation's use of small, portable and inexpensive CO2 monitors (Airvisual Pro iQAir - other monotors are available..) that measure air quality. Through the use of these, the organisation (Wirral University Hospital Trust in the UK) was able to determine which areas of the organisation were poorly ventilated based on aur quality, allowing for mitigation measures (portable HEPA) to be implemented. If you would like to read the poster whilst listening, Sharon has kindly sent a copy, available here NERVTAG is the New and Emerging Respiratory Viruses Threats Advisory Group https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/new-and-emerging-respiratory-virus-threats-advisory-group

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Human and financial cost of healthcare-associated pneumonia with Dr Dian Baker at the 2022 SHEA Spring Meeting

Wednesday Apr 20, 2022

Human and financial cost of healthcare-associated pneumonia with Dr Dian Baker at the 2022 SHEA Spring Meeting

Wednesday Apr 20, 2022

In this episode recorded at the 2022 SHEA Sprong meeting, Martin Kiernan talks to Dr Dian Baker, Emeritus Professor at California State University, Sacramento, USA. Dian has been a passionate advocate for action against healthcare-onset non-ventilator associated pneumonia (nVHAP) for over 12 years and as ever, it was a personal experience that motivated her to look into this important topic. Apart from the human cost, nVHAP is responsible for use of antibiotics and means huge costs for healthcare systems globally. Some of Dian's key papers are listed here: 1. Baker DL, et al. Prevention practices for nonventilator hospital-acquired pneumonia: A survey of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) Research Network (SRN). Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2021:1-2.  http:2. Quinn B, et al. Non-ventilator health care-associated pneumonia (NV-HAP): Best practices for prevention of NV-HAP. Am J Infect Control. 2020;48(5S):A23-A27.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2020.03.0063. Giuliano KK, et al. The epidemiology of nonventilator hospital-acquired pneumonia in the United States. Am J Infect Control. 2018;46(3):322-327.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2017.09.0054. Baker D, et al. Hospital Acquired Pneumonia Prevention Initiative-2: Incidence of nonventilator hospital-acquired pneumonia in the United States. Am J Infect Control. 2018;46(1):2-7.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2017.08.0365. Quinn B, et al. Basic nursing care to prevent nonventilator hospital-acquired pneumonia. J Nurs Scholarsh. 2014;46(1):11-19.  https://doi.org/10.1111/jnu.12050

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N95 Mask use for respiratory protection - a discussion with Dr Michael Klompas at the SHEA Spring Meeting

Thursday Apr 14, 2022

N95 Mask use for respiratory protection - a discussion with Dr Michael Klompas at the SHEA Spring Meeting

Thursday Apr 14, 2022

Martin Kiernan managaed to grab a few minutes with Dr Michael Klompas, ID Physicial at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston and Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School, at the SHEA Spring meeting. We discuss the use of N95 masks and whether in a time of Omicron increased prevalence they should be used in all healthcare settins and not just for suspected or confirmed cases of COVID. Some of Dr Klompas' recent papers are here: 1. Klompas M, et al. Universal Use of N95 Respirators in Healthcare Settings When Community Coronavirus Disease 2019 Rates Are High. Clin Infect Dis. 2022;74(3):529-531.  doi:10.1093/cid/ciab539 2. Klompas M, et al. Preventing SARS-CoV-2 Transmission in Health Care Settings in the Context of the Omicron Variant. JAMA. 2022;327(7):619-620.  https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2788503 3. Klompas M, et al. COVID-19's Challenges to Infection Control Dogma Regarding Respiratory Virus Transmission. Clin Infect Dis. 2022.  https://academic.oup.com/cid/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/cid/ciac204/6546689 4. Baker MA, et al. Rapid control of hospital-based SARS-CoV-2 Omicron clusters through daily testing and universal use of N95 respirators. Clin Infect Dis. 2022.  https://academic.oup.com/cid/advance-article/doi/10.1093/cid/ciac113/6523822 5. Klompas M, et al. Current Insights Into Respiratory Virus Transmission and Potential Implications for Infection Control Programs : A Narrative Review. Ann Intern Med. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34748374/

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Implementation of patient warming to prevent SSI - How hard can it be? With Prof. Judith Tanner

Wednesday Apr 06, 2022

Implementation of patient warming to prevent SSI - How hard can it be? With Prof. Judith Tanner

Wednesday Apr 06, 2022

In this week's episode, Martin Kiernan talks to Dr Judith Tanner, Professor of Adult Nursing at the University of Nottingham, UK about a paper in which a mixed methods approach to examining potential and actual barriers to implementation of patient warming were examined. Papers discussed during the session include:   Tanner J, et al. Using a comprehensive audit to identify local context prior to care bundle design and implementation for inadvertent perioperative hypothermia in colorectal surgery. BMJ Open Qual. 2021;10(1).   doi:10.1136/bmjoq-2020-001132  https://bmjopenquality.bmj.com/content/10/1/e001132 Melling AC, et al. Effects of preoperative warming on the incidence of wound infection after clean surgery: a randomised controlled trial. Lancet. 2001;358(9285):876-880.  doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(01)06071-8 Tanner J, et al. Effectiveness of a care bundle to reduce surgical site infections in patients having open colorectal surgery. Ann R Coll Surg Engl. 2016;98(4):270-274.  doi:10.1308/rcsann.2016.0072 Tanner J, et al. Do surgical care bundles reduce the risk of surgical site infections in patients undergoing colorectal surgery? A systematic review and cohort meta-analysis of 8,515 patients. Surgery. 2015;158(1):66-77.  doi:10.1016/j.surg.2015.03.009

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Surgical Site Infection (SSI) prevention with Charles Edmiston

Wednesday Mar 30, 2022

Surgical Site Infection (SSI) prevention with Charles Edmiston

Wednesday Mar 30, 2022

In this episode, Phil Russo flies solo and discusses strategies for prevention of SSI with Professor Charles Edmiston, Emeritus Professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. Chuck has a longstanding interest in SSI prevention and a few of his papers are listed below. As ever, 'compliance' with interventions is a key issue. Parvizi, J., S. Barnes, N. Shohat & C. E. Edmiston, Jr. (2017) Environment of care: Is it time to reassess microbial contamination of the operating room air as a risk factor for surgical site infection in total joint arthroplasty? Am J Infect Control, 45, 1267-1272. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28818359 Leaper, D. J., C. E. Edmiston, Jr. & C. E. Holy (2017) Meta-analysis of the potential economic impact following introduction of absorbable antimicrobial sutures. Br J Surg, 104, e134-e144. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28093728 Edmiston, C. E., Jr. & D. Leaper (2017) Should preoperative showering or cleansing with chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) be part of the surgical care bundle to prevent surgical site infection? J Infect Prev, 18, 311-314. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29344102 Edmiston, C. E., Jr., N. A. Ledeboer, B. W. Buchan, M. Spencer, G. R. Seabrook & D. Leaper (2016) Is Staphylococcal Screening and Suppression an Effective Interventional Strategy for Reduction of Surgical Site Infection? Surg Infect (Larchmt), 17, 158-66. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26836053 Tanner, J., W. Padley, O. Assadian, D. Leaper, M. Kiernan & C. Edmiston (2015) Do surgical care bundles reduce the risk of surgical site infections in patients undergoing colorectal surgery? A systematic review and cohort meta-analysis of 8,515 patients. Surgery, 158, 66-77. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25920911

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Vaccine hesitancy and the role of social scientists in infection prevention with A/Professor Holly Seale

Wednesday Mar 23, 2022

Vaccine hesitancy and the role of social scientists in infection prevention with A/Professor Holly Seale

Wednesday Mar 23, 2022

In this episode Brett Mitchell talks to Associate Professor Holly Seale about the role of social scientists, vaccine hesitancy, booster vaccines and the potential implications for the next influenza season. Holly is an infectious disease social scientist at the School of Population Health at the University of New South Wales in Australia. She has over 15 years of experience in undertaking social science research focused on improving confidence and engagement of different at-risk groups with immunisation and other prevention strategies.

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Environmental decontamination reduces healthcare infections - a systematic review with Alexandra Peters

Thursday Mar 17, 2022

Environmental decontamination reduces healthcare infections - a systematic review with Alexandra Peters

Thursday Mar 17, 2022

In this week's episode, Martin Kiernan talks to Alexandra Peters, who works in Prof. Didier Pittet's group at the University Hospitals of Geneva and with a WHO Collaborating Centre. We discuss a new systematic review that demonstrates that there is significant evidence that environmental decontamination reduces healthcare-associated infections and colonisations and also progress on a new Healthcare Environmentsl Hygiene (HEH) self-assessment tool, the results of which will shortly be published. Papers that we discuss are: Peters, A., Schmid, M.N., Parneix, P. et al. Impact of environmental hygiene interventions on healthcare-associated infections and patient colonization: a systematic review. Antimicrob Resist Infect Control 11, 38 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186 - https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13756-022-01075-1#article-info Accepted paper, shortly to appear in the AJIC website: Peters, A., Schmid, M., deKraker, M. et al. Results of an international pilot survey on healthcare environmental hygiene at the facility level. American Journal of Infection Control (2022)   Also mentioned: Brett G Mitchell, Lisa Hall, Nicole White, Adrian G Barnett, Kate Halton, David L Paterson, Thomas V Riley, Anne Gardner, Katie Page, Alison Farrington, Christian A Gericke, Nicholas Graves, An environmental cleaning bundle and health-care-associated infections in hospitals (REACH): a multicentre, randomised trial, The Lancet Infectious Diseases,Volume 19, Issue 4, 2019, Pages 410-418, https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(18)30714-X https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S147330991830714X Deverick J Anderson, Rebekah W Moehring, David J Weber, Sarah S Lewis, Luke F Chen, J Conrad Schwab, Paul Becherer, Michael Blocker, Patricia F Triplett, Lauren P Knelson, Yuliya Lokhnygina, William A Rutala, Daniel J Sexton, Effectiveness of targeted enhanced terminal room disinfection on hospital-wide acquisition and infection with multidrug-resistant organisms and Clostridium difficile: a secondary analysis of a multicentre cluster randomised controlled trial with crossover design (BETR Disinfection), The Lancet Infectious Diseases, Volume 18, Issue 8, 2018, Pages 845-853, https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(18)30278-0 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1473309918302780    

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Infection Prevention Team Staffing levels - Less (staff) is more (infections)?

Thursday Mar 10, 2022

Infection Prevention Team Staffing levels - Less (staff) is more (infections)?

Thursday Mar 10, 2022

In this week's episode, Brett Mitchell and Martin Kiernan use a recent paper published in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology to start a discussion about an relationship between IPC Team staffiing levels and levels of healthcare-associated infections. How are staffing levels set and is it just a number or is there more to it? The papers that we discuss are listed below. 1. Clifford RJ, Newhart D, Laguio-Vila MR, Gutowski JL, Bronstein MZ, Lesho EP. Infection preventionist staffing levels and rates of 10 types of healthcare-associated infections: A 9-year ambidirectional observation. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2022:1-6. doi:10.1017/ice.2021.507 2. Mitchell BG, Hall L, MacBeth D, Gardner A, Halton K. Hospital infection control units: staffing, costs, and priorities. Am J Infect Control. 2015;43:612-6. doi:10.1016/j.ajic.2015.02.016 3. Dickstein Y, Nir-Paz R, Pulcini C, Cookson B, Beovic B, Tacconelli E, et al. Staffing for infectious diseases, clinical microbiology and infection control in hospitals in 2015: results of an ESCMID member survey. Clin Microbiol Infect. 2016;22:812 e9- e17. doi:10.1016/j.cmi.2016.06.014

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Could a virtual Infection Prevention Service provide support in middle and low income countries? With Prof Gonzalo Bearman

Wednesday Mar 02, 2022

Could a virtual Infection Prevention Service provide support in middle and low income countries? With Prof Gonzalo Bearman

Wednesday Mar 02, 2022

In this episode, Martin Kiernan talks to Professor Gonzalo Bearman, Chair, Division of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiologist/Medical Director of VCU Healthcare and the Richard P. Wenzel Professor of Internal Medicine at the Virginia Commonwealth University Health System (full CV here)  Following on from the increase in virtual working due to the pandemic, we discuss the potential for providing healthcare facilities in low and middle income countries with virtual support and consulting. The papers that we discuss are listed here. 1. Jones, T., Marimuthu, K., Bearman, G. Virtual Infection Prevention and Control in Low- and Middle-Income Countries, International Journal of Infectious Diseases,Volume 117, 2022, Pages 93-96, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijid.2022.01.065. 2. Anderson, D., Miller, B., Chen, L., Adcock, L., Cook, E., Cromer, A., . . . Sexton, D. (2011). The Network Approach for Prevention of Healthcare-Associated Infections: Long-Term Effect of Participation in the Duke Infection Control Outreach Network. Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 32(4), 315-322. https://doi.org/10.1086/658940 3.Pryor, R., Vokes, R., Anderson, D., & Bearman, G. (2021). Virtual infection prevention—The next frontier. Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 42(11), 1374-1375. https://doi.org/10.1017/ice.2020.1404  

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Hand drying - a lot of hot air?

Wednesday Feb 23, 2022

Hand drying - a lot of hot air?

Wednesday Feb 23, 2022

In this episode, Brett Mitchell and Martin Kiernan discuss methods of drying hands after hand hygiene has been performed, with a focus on hand dryers versus paper towel. Personal details about Martin's habits are disclosed as we mull this over and present some papers. Papers presented include: 1. Suen, L. K., Lung, V. Y., Boost, M. V., Au-Yeung, C. H., & Siu, G. K. (2019). Microbiological evaluation of different hand drying methods for removing bacteria from washed hands. Scientific reports, 9(1), 1-7.  https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-50239-4 2. Reynolds, K. A., Sexton, J. D., Norman, A., & McClelland, D. J. (2021). Comparison of electric hand dryers and paper towels for hand hygiene: a critical review of the literature. Journal of applied microbiology, 130(1), 25-39.  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32794646/ 3. Best, E., Parnell, P., Couturier, J., Barbut, F., Le Bozec, A., Arnoldo, L., ... & Wilcox, M. H. (2018). Environmental contamination by bacteria in hospital washrooms according to hand-drying method: a multi-centre study. Journal of Hospital Infection, 100(4), 469-475. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30006281/

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WHO Global Outreach Alert and Response Network (GOARN) with Dr Peta-Anne Zimmerman

Wednesday Feb 16, 2022

WHO Global Outreach Alert and Response Network (GOARN) with Dr Peta-Anne Zimmerman

Wednesday Feb 16, 2022

The WHO Global Outreach Alert and Response Network (GOARN) is the topic for this podcast. We talk with Dr Peta-Anne Zimmerman about the network, what is does and how to get involved. Dr Peta-Anne Zimmerman is Senior Lecturer and Program Advisor for the Griffith University and is Board Director of the Australasian College for Infection Prevention and Control. She is also a Senior Faculty and Focal Point for the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network of the World Health Organization.   The weblink to GOARN for more information is https://extranet.who.int/goarn/

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Mouth Care Matters - Oral hygiene & healthcare associated infection

Wednesday Feb 09, 2022

Mouth Care Matters - Oral hygiene & healthcare associated infection

Wednesday Feb 09, 2022

In this episode we return to another ICM favourite topic, healthcare-associated pneumonia that is not device-associated. Martin Kiernan talks to Dr Mark Garvey, Director of Infection Prevention and Helen Woodall, Senior Dental Nurse, both of University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust about the 'Mouth Care Matters' initiative. Education of registered nurses and healthcare assistants was a key part of the strategy, which ultimately resulted in a significant reduction in infections. Note that in England a 'Trust' is an NHS healthcare provider organisation which may be made up of more than one hospital or unit. The paper outlining the initiative and results can be found here https://www.journalofinfection.com/article/S0163-4453(21)00275-9/fulltext

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Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) - uses and considerations with Adjunct A/Professor Greg Whiteley

Wednesday Feb 02, 2022

Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) - uses and considerations with Adjunct A/Professor Greg Whiteley

Wednesday Feb 02, 2022

In this podcast, Brett talks to Adjunct A/Professor Greg Whiteley about adenosine triphosphate (ATP). We chat about its use in healthcare as a way to evaluate environmental cleanliness.   Greg is an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Faculty of Medicine and Health at the University of Sydney, and is also an adjunct Fellow in the School of Medicine at Western Sydney University. Greg is also the Executive Chairman of Whiteley Corporation, a manufacturer of Therapeutic Goods based in the Hunter Region of New South Wales. His particular expertise is in the measurement of cleanliness, particularly based on rapid ATP testing where he is internationally renowned, published and is a regular keynote conference speaker.

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Airborne Transmission - would air filtration reduce a range of infections and why is there reluctance to recognise it? With Matt Butler, Christine Peters and Evonne Curran

Thursday Jan 27, 2022

Airborne Transmission - would air filtration reduce a range of infections and why is there reluctance to recognise it? With Matt Butler, Christine Peters and Evonne Curran

Thursday Jan 27, 2022

In this, the first episode of 2022, Martin Kiernan talks to Dr Matt Butler, Consultant Geriatrician (Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge, UK), Dr Christine Peters, Consultant Microbiologist (NHS Greater Glasgow, Scotland) and Dr Evonne Curran, now an independent IPC Consultant. We start off by discussing how Matt came to design a study that looks at the effect of air filtration on a range of infections, including respiratory viruses and more 'common' pathogens like Clostridium difficile. We also discuss why it had taken so long for airborne transmission to be accepted as a mode of transmission. Books recommended by Evonne in the podcast are listed below.   Think Again: The power of knowing what you don't know by Adam Grant (https://www.adamgrant.net/book/think-again/) ISBN: 9780753553886 Seeing what others don't by Gary Klein ISBN: 9781857886788 Paper by Andrew Conway-Morris referred to in the podcast: Andrew Conway Morris, Katherine Sharrocks, Rachel Bousfield, Leanne Kermack, Mailis Maes, Ellen Higginson, Sally Forrest, Joana Pereira-Dias, Claire Cormie, Tim Old, Sophie Brooks, Islam Hamed, Alicia Koenig, Andrew Turner, Paul White, R Andres Floto, Gordon Dougan, Effrossyni Gkrania-Klotsas, Theodore Gouliouris, Stephen Baker, Vilas Navapurkar, The Removal of Airborne Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and Other Microbial Bioaerosols by Air Filtration on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Surge Units, Clinical Infectious Diseases, 2021;, ciab933, https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciab933

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The 2021 Christmas Special!

Wednesday Dec 15, 2021

The 2021 Christmas Special!

Wednesday Dec 15, 2021

In this largely unedited Christmas special podcast, Martin, Phil and Brett reflect on podcasts undertaken in 2021 and the year that was. This podcast is a little longer as we "chinwag" about a range of different topics and issues and have a laugh along the way. We hope you enjoy.

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25 years of Contact Precautions, but benefit or harm and what is the evidence? With Prof Jennie Wilson

Thursday Dec 09, 2021

25 years of Contact Precautions, but benefit or harm and what is the evidence? With Prof Jennie Wilson

Thursday Dec 09, 2021

In this week’s episode, Martin Kiernan talks to Professor Jennie Wilson of the Richard Wells Research Centre at the University of West London and current Infection Prevention Society President. We discuss her recent editorial, co-written with Associate Professor Jacqui Prieto from the University of Southampton. After 25 years of contact precautions, first introduced as putative best practice, the evidence to support this intervention has not appeared and there are suggestions that harms may be being caused through poor implementation. Contact precautions add PPE and physical isolation to Standard Precautions, however does this lead to over, and inappropriate use of PPE that is not required?   Papers cited during the podcast include: Wilson J, Prieto J. Re-visiting contact precautions – 25 years on. Journal of Infection Prevention. 2021;22:242-4. Doi: 1177/17571774211059988 Bearman G, Abbas S, Masroor N, Sanogo K, Vanhoozer G, Cooper K, et al. Impact of Discontinuing Contact Precautions for Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus: An Interrupted Time Series Analysis. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2018;39:676-82. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29580304  

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About us and contact

Feel free to contact us with suggestions on topics and or speakers. Use Twitter to contact any one or all of us:

Brett Mitchell @1healthau (Twitter link)

Martin Keirnan @emrsa15 (Twitter link)

Deb Friedman @friedmanndeb 

Phil Russo: @PLR_aus (Twitter link)

 

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Martin Kiernan: Martin is a highly experienced nurse who has worked in the field of infection prevention and control since 1990 in the acute hospital community and, more recently, in academic and industry settings with GAMA Healthcare. Martin Kiernan’s reputation as a research collaborator is recognised both nationally and internationally.  Martin’s involvement in professional organisations such as the Infection Prevention Society and the Healthcare Infection Society has enhanced his reputation as a key opinion leader, teacher, leader, and researcher. As a result, he has been invited to act in leadership and mentoring roles to support his colleagues throughout the world in terms of infection prevention.

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Professor Brett Mitchell:  Brett is a Professor of Nursing with over 150 peer reviewed journal and oral conference presentations, authored several books, and has been an invited speaker at numerous infection prevention and control conferences in Australia and internationally. He is a Fellow of the Australasian College for Infection Prevention and Control and the Australian College of Nursing. Professor Mitchell is also Editor-in-Chief of Infection, Disease and Health. Professor Mitchell has experience leading nursing teams, research teams and infection prevention and control teams in both Australia and the United Kingdom. Further details: https://www.newcastle.edu.au/profile/brett-mitchell 

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Associate Professor Deborah Friedman
: Deb is the Medical Director of the Infection Prevention Control and Response (IPCAR) Team at the Victorian Department of Health, an infectious diseases specialist at Barwon Health in Geelong and an Associate Professor at Deakin University. She received her Infectious Diseases Fellowship at Duke University Medical Center, and her research in the area of infections that develop in hospitalised patients,defined the term healthcare-associated infection. She worked on the newly established VICNISS Surveillance Program in Victoria, received her MD in the area of Infection Control and hospital-acquired infections and completed a Masters of Public Health. She has authored over 90 publications and is an appointed member ofthe Healthcare infection control special interest group (HICSIG), the coordinator of training for the Australian Advanced training Committee (ATC) for infectious Diseases, and deputy  chair of the infection prevention and control panel for the National COVID 19 clinical evidence taskforce.

 

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Associate Professor Philip Russo: Phil has a joint position in Cabrini Health and Monash University and leads the the Cabrini Monash University Department of Nursing Research. A/Prof. Russo is the Past President of the Australasian College for Infection Prevention and Control (ACIPC). Throughout his career, he has worked in both state and national positions, notably leading the establishment of the VICNISS Surveillance Program in Victoria followed by overseeing the successful implementation of the National Hand Hygiene Initiative sponsored by the Australian Commission for Safety and Quality in Health Care. From 2001-2012, he was invited to be a member of the World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre on Patient Safety technical working group to work on developing the guidelines for Hand Hygiene in Outpatient and Home-based Care and Long-term Care. Further details:  https://research.monash.edu/en/persons/philip-russo

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