Infection Control Matters

Transmission of Norovirus to other room occupants with Dr Carl-Johan Frankel

In this episode, Prof Brett Mitchell talks to Dr Carl-Johan Frankel from the Department of Infection Control, Lund University, Sweden about his recent paper examining the risk of transmission of Norovirus to roomates. Does norovirus transmit readily to other occupants? The findings may well surprise you! The paper is here: https://www.journalofhospitalinfection.com/article/S0195-6701(21)00313-3/fulltext
 
Other papers referred to:
Risk of transmission to subsequent room occupants: https://www.journalofhospitalinfection.com/article/S0195-6701(15)00312-6/fulltext
Prolonged environmental survival of small round structured viruses: https://www.journalofhospitalinfection.com/article/S0195-6701(97)90230-9/pdf
 
 

Surgical Site Infection Surveillance - Who cares? With Dr Jon Otter at the IPS Conference

In another special edition from the 2021 IPS conference in Liverpool UK, Martin Kiernan talks to Dr Jon Otter, who presented a paper on improving and broadening surgical site infection surveillance. But to whom does it matter and how can IPC Teams achieve engagement with other clinical specialities and managers of healthcare providers?
Shockingly in this episode Jon admits to finding a qualitative study of interest - Tanner J, Padley W, Davey S, Murphy K, Brown B Patients’ experiences of surgical site infection. Journal of Infection Prevention 2012; 13: 164-8.(https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1757177412452677)
Another paper discussed is a further study by Prof Judith Tanner, in which bundle adherence is low, however is data feedback getting to the right place?
Tanner J, Kiernan M, Hilliam R 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: 270-4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5226025/pdf/rcsann.2016.0072.pdf

Are guidelines letting us down? With Evonne Curran and Brett Mitchell from the IPS Conference 2021

In this episode from the IPS conference, Prof Brett Mitchell is joined by Dr Evonne Curran who has worked in the field of infection prevention and control for a number of years, was a Nurse Consultant with Health Protection Scotland and is now an independent consultant. Together they discuss the relevance of guidelines to clinical practice and whether the development process is really producing guidance that is useful in the field of nfection prevention. In this podcast these papers are referred to:
Smith GC, Pell JP Parachute use to prevent death and major trauma related to gravitational challenge: systematic review of randomised controlled trials. BMJ 2003; 327: 1459-61. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC300808/pdf/32701459.pdf
Yeh RW, Valsdottir LR, Yeh MW et al. Parachute use to prevent death and major trauma when jumping from aircraft: randomized controlled trial. BMJ 2018; 363: k5094. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/30545967/
Greenhalgh T Will COVID-19 be evidence-based medicine's nemesis? PLoS Med 2020; 17: e1003266. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7326185/pdf/pmed.1003266.pdf

Year in Infection Control - papers selected by Prof Andreas Voss at ICPIC 2021

In this final episode at ICPIC 2021 (Geneva), Martin Kiernan talks to Professor Andreas Voss  from the Radboud University Medical Centre (Radboudumc) and Canisus-Wilhelmina Ziekenhuis in the Netherlands. Andreas is always a sought after speaker for his engaging style whilst getting to the heart of the matter. To get the most from this podcast, you might need to look at the papers we mention below.
Endoscopes
Benowitz I, Moulton-Meissner HA, Epstein L, Arduino MJ. Gastrointestinal Flexible Endoscopes: Infection Control Risks, Lessons Learned from Outbreaks, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Guidance. Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Clinics of North America. 2020;30(4):723-33 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1052515720300702?via%3Dihub
Sinks
De Geyter D, Blommaert L, Verbraeken N, Sevenois M, Huyghens L, Martini H, et al. The sink as a potential source of transmission of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae in the intensive care unit. Antimicrob Resist Infect Control. 2017;6:24. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34111433
Decreased other infections (STD and Norovirus)
Nelson B. The positive effects of covid-19. BMJ. 2020;369:m1785. http://www.bmj.com/content/369/bmj.m1785.abstract
Bruggink LD, Garcia-Clapes A, Tran T, Druce JD, Thorley BR. Decreased incidence of enterovirus and norovirus infections during the COVID-19 pandemic, Victoria, Australia, 2020. Commun Dis Intell (2018). 2021 Jan 29;45. doi: 10.33321/cdi.2021.45.5. PMID: 33573536.
Impact on ocular health
Bahkir, Fayiqa Ahamed; Grandee, Srinivasan Subramanian Impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on digital device-related ocular health, Indian Journal of Ophthalmology: November 2020 - Volume 68 - Issue 11 - p 2378-2383 doi: 10.4103/ijo.IJO_2306_20
Dog-assisted therapy
Edner A, Lindstrom-Nilsson M, Melhus A. Low risk of transmission of pathogenic bacteria between children and the assistance dog during animal-assisted therapy if strict rules are followed. J Hosp Infect. 2021;115:5-9.
https://www.journalofhospitalinfection.com/article/S0195-6701(21)00178-X/fulltext
Lace up masks
Wang X, Lin F, Wang Z, Hu J, Li X, Zhu B, et al. The defects of lace-up surgical masks and related solutions in operating rooms. J Hosp Infect. 2021;115:64-70. https://www.journalofhospitalinfection.com/article/S0195-6701(21)00237-1/fulltext#relatedArticles
Migrane and mask wearing
Bharatendu C, Ong JJY, Goh Y, Tan BYQ, Chan ACY, Tang JZY, et al. Powered Air Purifying Respirator (PAPR) restores the N95 face mask induced cerebral hemodynamic alterations among Healthcare Workers during COVID-19 Outbreak. J Neurol Sci. 2020;417:117078.
https://www.jns-journal.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0022-510X%2820%2930415-9
A nose for pneumonia
Chen, C.-Y., Lin, W.-C. & Yang, H.-Y. Diagnosis of ventilator-associated pneumonia using electronic nose sensor array signals: solutions to improve the application of machine learning in respiratory research. Respir Res 2020;21:45 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12931-020-1285-6
Social media for epidemiologists
Hammer CC, Boender TS, Thomas DR. Social media for field epidemiologists (#SoMe4epi): How to use Twitter during the #COVID19 pandemic. Int J Infect Dis. 2021.
https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1201-9712(21)00437-9
Use of Emoji in communication
Lotfinejad, N., Assadi, R., Aelami, M. H. & Pittet, D. Emojis in public health and how they might be used for hand hygiene and infection prevention and control. Antimicrob Resist Infect Control 2020;9:27. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13756-020-0692-2 
On Call IPC Services
Humphreys H. Infection prevention and control advice out-of-hours. J Hosp Infect. 2020;105(4):795-6.
https://www.journalofhospitalinfection.com/article/S0195-6701(20)30262-0/fulltext
Handshake/Fist Bump
Sklansky M, Nadkarni N, Ramirez-Avila L. Banning the handshake from the health care setting. JAMA. 2014;311(24):2477-8.
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/1873637
Mela S, Whitworth DE. The fist bump: a more hygienic alternative to the handshake. Am J Infect Control. 2014;42(8):916-7.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25087144
 
Elbow or hand
Liu H, Gao L, Sun C. Elbow instead of hand: is it more helpful or harmful? J Public Health (Oxf). 2020.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32529204

Time to clean: Calculating the staffing requirement with An Caluwaerts

In another special edition from ICPIC, Martin talks to An Caluwaerts, IPC Specialist from Kliniek Sint Jan, Brussels. This was a poster presentation that was selected as part of a poster walk and it is a practical piece of work that describes the process of calculating the number of staff (and hours) needed to clean a standard hospital ward. A copy of the poster can be downloaded below.
 
DETERMINING STAFFING LEVELS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANING: TIME MEASUREMENTS IN NON-CRITICAL CARE UNITS IN AN ACUTE CARE HOSPITAL IN BRUSSELS
 
 

From whole genome sequencing to sinks with Dr Amy Mathers

In another episode from the 2021 ICPIC Conference, Martin Kiernan talks to Dr Amy Mathers, who moderated and spoke at a session on whole genome sequencing and also the issue of plasmid-mediated outbreaks. World-reknowned for her work on drains and sinks at the University of Virginia (see http://uvasinklab.org/), here are just a couple of the research outputs.
 
Intensive Care Unit Wastewater Interventions to Prevent Transmission of Multispecies Klebsiella pneumoniae Carbapenemase–Producing organisms
https://academic.oup.com/cid/advance-article/doi/10.1093/cid/ciy052/4834952
 
Spread from the Sink to the Patient: In Situ Study Using Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP)-Expressing Escherichia coli To Model Bacterial Dispersion from Hand-Washing Sink-Trap Reservoirs
http://aem.asm.org/content/early/2017/02/13/AEM.03327-16.abstract
 
 
 

Publish or we are all damned: The effect of COVID on journal publications with John McConnell of the Lancet

In this episode from the 2021 ICPIC Conference, Martin Kiernan talks to John McConnell, Editor-in-Chief of the Lancet Infectious Diseases about his keynote yesterday about the impact (and vice-versa) of the COVID pandemic on publishing both in peer-reviewed journals and in pre-print forms.
An enormous increase in the number of submissions and diversification in countries submitting are amongst the areas that we discuss. Ultimately, the research and publication process has been critical in the dissemination of the most useful data that have shaped interventions and treatments.

Looking to ICPIC Conference 2021 with Prof Didier Pittet and Prof Stephan Harbarth

In this special episode, Martin Kiernan talks to the ICPIC 2021 Conference organisers, Profs Didier Pittet and Stephan Harbarth about the upcoming meeting to be held in Geneva. With over 400 delegates attending in person from all over Europe and further afield, this will be the first major meeting to have a significant face-to-face element since the onset of the COVID pandemic.
We discuss COVID safety, programme highlights and whether hybrid design will be the future of conferences. Details of the conference and the programme can be found here https://conference.icpic.com/
We hope to bring a few daily highlights during the meeting, so watch out for special episodes.

Cleaning up the air using air cleaners and purifiers with Jason Monty

In this episode Brett and Phil discuss improving the quality of air to reduce the risk of infection from airborne pathogens with Professor Jason Monty. We discuss air cleaner and purifiers, their role, what to consider when purchasing and practical considerations for their use.
Prof Monty is Head of Department and a Professor with the Fluid Mechanics Group in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at The University of Melbourne. Jason is an expert in experimental fluid mechanics and hydrodynamics and is experienced with field measurements of atmospheric turbulence. In recent times, Jason has worked with clinicians in improving air quality to reduce the risk of infection from COVID-19.
 
Link to publications
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/infection-control-and-hospital-epidemiology/article/abs/use-of-portable-air-cleaners-to-reduce-aerosol-transmission-on-a-hospital-coronavirus-disease-2019-covid19-ward/17C5199D3903ABD465017C34AA741826 
Which air cleaners work best to remove aerosols that contain viruses?
https://findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/news/28835-which-air-cleaners-work-best-to-remove-aerosols-that-contain-viruses%3F

CAUTI - decades of little progress?

In this episode Brett Mitchell and Martin Kiernan chew the fat over the fact that, despite knowing that it makes up a great proportion of HCAIs globally, progress can be measured in a series of small victories without actually winning the war. We discuss a new systematic review that suggests benefit from meatal cleansing with antiseptics (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8190044/pdf/bmjopen-2020-046817.pdf) as well as barriers to progress in this important issue https://www.journalofhospitalinfection.com/article/S0195-6701(21)00149-3/fulltext
We will return to this topic again!