Articles

Gonococcal resistance can be viewed productively as part of a syndemic of antimicrobial resistance: an ecological analysis of 30 European countries

It is unclear how important bystander selection is in the genesis of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

Authors: Chris Kenyon, Sheeba S. Manoharan-Basil and Christophe Van Dijck

Effect of urine reflex culturing on rates of cultures and infections in acute and long-term care

Urine cultures are often positive in the absence of a urinary tract infection (UTI). Pyuria is generally considered necessary to diagnose a UTI.

Authors: Chelsea S. Lynch, Andrea Appleby-Sigler, Jacqueline T. Bork, Rohini Davé, Kathy Agnes, Molly Sanikop, Doris Heath, Arlene F. Clark, Kimberly Claeys, Min Zhan and Daniel J. Morgan

The impact of antimicrobial stewardship program implementation at four tertiary private hospitals: results of a five-years pre-post analysis

Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programs have shown to reduce the emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and health-care-associated infections (HAIs), and save health-care costs associated with an inappro...

Authors: Awad Al-Omari, Abbas Al Mutair, Saad Alhumaid, Samer Salih, Ahmed Alanazi, Hesham Albarsan, Maha Abourayan and Maha Al Subaie

First report of plasmid-mediated colistin resistance mcr-8.1 gene from a clinical Klebsiella pneumoniae isolate from Lebanon

Colistin is considered as a last resort treatment for infections caused by multidrug-resistant Enterobacteriaceae. Plasmid-mediated mobile colistin resistance (mcr) genes contributed to the global spread of colis...

Authors: Tamara Salloum, Balig Panossian, Ibrahim Bitar, Jaroslav Hrabak, George F. Araj and Sima Tokajian

Poor infection prevention and control standards are associated with environmental contamination with carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales and other multidrug-resistant bacteria in Swiss companion animal clinics

Intensive medical care in companion animal clinics could pose a risk for the selection and dissemination of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs). Infection prevention and control (IPC) concepts are key measur...

Authors: Janne S. Schmidt, Stefan P. Kuster, Aurélien Nigg, Valentina Dazio, Michael Brilhante, Helene Rohrbach, Odette J. Bernasconi, Thomas Büdel, Edgar I. Campos-Madueno, Stefanie Gobeli Brawand, Simone Schuller, Andrea Endimiani, Vincent Perreten and Barbara Willi

Evaluating infection prevention and control programs in Austrian acute care hospitals using the WHO Infection Prevention and Control Assessment Framework

Infection prevention and control (IPC) is crucial for patient safety. The World Health Organization (WHO) has released various tools to promote IPC. In 2018, the WHO released the Infection Prevention and Contr...

Authors: Seven Johannes Sam Aghdassi, Andrea Grisold, Agnes Wechsler-Fördös, Sonja Hansen, Peter Bischoff, Michael Behnke and Petra Gastmeier

Successful control of the first carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae outbreak in a Chinese hospital 2017–2019

Carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) is considered as a serious global threat. CRKPs occurred only sporadically in the Second Hospital of Shanxi Medical University. Our study aimed to investigate and...

Authors: Jiaying Zhu, Qi Li, Xiaoxia Li, Jianbang Kang, Yan Song, Junli Song, Donghong Yin and Jinju Duan

Critical Reliability Issues of Common Type Alcohol-Based Handrub Dispensers

Hand hygiene can only be efficient if the whole hand surface is treated with sufficient alcohol-based handrub (ABHR); therefore, the volume of handrub applied is a critical factor in patient safety. The proper...

Authors: Száva Bánsághi, Hervé Soule, Chloé Guitart, Didier Pittet and Tamás Haidegger

The epidemiology of carbapenem-non-susceptible Acinetobacter species in Europe: analysis of EARS-Net data from 2013 to 2017

Due to limited therapeutic options and their association with high mortality and morbidity, carbapenem-non-susceptible Acinetobacter spp. (CNA) are of significant public health importance. This study aimed to des...

Authors: Olaniyi Ayobami, Niklas Willrich, Beneditta Suwono, Tim Eckmanns and Robby Markwart

Proposal for a EN 149 acceptable reprocessing method for FFP2 respirators in times of severe shortage

Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 to health care workers (HCW) poses a major burden in the current COVID-19 pandemic. Unprotected exposure to a COVID-19 patient is a key risk factor for HCWs. Transmission mainly occu...

Authors: Andreas F. Widmer and Gilles Richner

A silent outbreak of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium in a neonatal intensive care unit

To describe the containment of a widespread silent outbreak of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VRE-fm) in the Tel-Aviv Medical Center (TASMC) neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

Authors: Ronella Marom, Dror Mandel, Alon Haham, Irit Berger, Amit Ovental, Craig Raskind, Galia Grisaru-Soen, Amos Adler, Jonathan Lellouche, David Schwartz, Yehuda Carmeli and Vered Schechner

Effect of extended use N95 respirators and eye protection on personal protective equipment (PPE) utilization during SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in Singapore

Authors: Glorijoy Shi En Tan, Kyaw Zaw Linn, Margaret Mei Ling Soon, Shawn Vasoo, Monica Chan, Bee Fong Poh, Oon-Tek Ng, Brenda Sze-Peng Ang, Yee-Sin Leo and Kalisvar Marimuthu

Hand hygiene in surgery in Benin: opportunities and challenges

Hand Hygiene (HH) has been described as the cornerstone and starting point in all infection control. Compliance to HH is a fundamental quality indicator. The aim of this study was to investigate the HH complia...

Authors: Carine Laurence Yehouenou, Angèle Modupe Dohou, Ariane Dessièdé Fiogbe, Marius Esse, Cyriaque Degbey, Anne Simon and Olivia Dalleur

Prevention of severe infectious complications after colorectal surgery using oral non-absorbable antimicrobial prophylaxis: results of a multicenter randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial

Surgical site infections (SSIs) are common complications after colorectal surgery. Oral non-absorbable antibiotic prophylaxis (OAP) can be administered preoperatively to reduce the risk of SSIs. Its efficacy w...

Authors: Tessa Mulder, Marjolein Kluytmans-van den Bergh, Bart Vlaminckx, Daphne Roos, Anne Marie de Smet, Robert de Vos tot Nederveen Cappel, Paul Verheijen, Alexandra Brandt, Anke Smits, Eric van der Vorm, Erik Bathoorn, Boudewijn van Etten, Jacobien Veenemans, Annemarie Weersink, Margreet Vos, Nils van ’t Veer…

Will healthcare workers improve infection prevention and control behaviors as COVID-19 risk emerges and increases, in China?

COVID-19 arise global attention since their first public reporting. Infection prevention and control (IPC) is critical to combat COVID-19, especially at the early stage of pandemic outbreak. This study aimed t...

Authors: Xiaoquan Lai, Xuemei Wang, Qiuxia Yang, Xiaojun Xu, Yuqing Tang, Chenxi Liu, Li Tan, Ruying Lai, He Wang, Xinping Zhang, Qian Zhou and Hao Chen

Prevalence of Candida auris in Canadian acute care hospitals among at-risk patients, 2018

To identify the prevalence of C. auris in Canadian patients who are potentially at risk for colonization, we screened 488 patients who were either hospitalized abroad, had a carbapenemase-producing organism (CPO)...

Authors: Hector Felipe Garcia-Jeldes, Robyn Mitchell, Allison McGeer, Wallis Rudnick, Kanchana Amaratunga, Snigdha Vallabhaneni, Shawn R. Lockhart and Amrita Bharat

Challenges regarding the control of environmental sources of contamination in healthcare settings in low-and middle-income countries - a narrative review

Healthcare-associated infections (HAI) especially outbreaks of multi-drug-resistant organisms within hospitals are recognized as a major contributor to morbidity and mortality of hospitalized patients. The hea...

Authors: Folasade T. Ogunsola and Shaheen Mehtar

Impact of hand hygiene intervention: a comparative study in health care facilities in Dodoma region, Tanzania using WHO methodology

Compliance with guidelines on hand hygiene (HH) is pivotal to prevent and control health-care associated infections and contributes to mitigating antimicrobial resistance. A baseline assessment in Dodoma regio...

Authors: Karin Wiedenmayer, Vicky-Sidney Msamba, Fiona Chilunda, James Charles Kiologwe and Jeremiah Seni

One Health in hospitals: how understanding the dynamics of people, animals, and the hospital built-environment can be used to better inform interventions for antimicrobial-resistant gram-positive infections

Despite improvements in hospital infection prevention and control, healthcare associated infections (HAIs) remain a challenge with significant patient morbidity, mortality, and cost for the healthcare system. ...

Authors: Kathryn R. Dalton, Clare Rock, Karen C. Carroll and Meghan F. Davis

ATP measurement as an objective method to measure environmental contamination in 9 hospitals in the Dutch/Belgian border area

The objective of this study was to determine the level of environmental contamination in hospitals in the Dutch/Belgian border area, using ATP measurements.

Authors: Andreas van Arkel, Ina Willemsen, Linda Kilsdonk-Bode, Sindy Vlamings-Wagenaars, Anne van Oudheusden, Pascal De Waegemaeker, Isabel Leroux-Roels, Martine Verelst, Evelien Maas, Anita van Oosten, Patricia Willemse, Esther van Asselen, Ella Klomp-Berens, Karen Franssen, Elise Van Cauwenberg and Jan Kluytmans

Clinical characteristics and risk factors of polymicrobial Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infections

Although Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infections (SA-BSI) are a common and important infection, polymicrobial SA-BSI are infrequently reported. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical character...

Authors: Cheng Zheng, Shufang Zhang, Qingqing Chen, Li Zhong, Tiancha Huang, Xijiang Zhang, Kai Zhang, Hongwei Zhou, Jiachang Cai, Linlin Du, Changming Wang, Wei Cui and Gensheng Zhang

The effect of a 5-year hand hygiene initiative based on the WHO multimodal hand hygiene improvement strategy: an interrupted time-series study

A World Health Organization (WHO) guideline-based multimodal hand hygiene (HH) initiative was introduced hospital-wide to a nonteaching Japanese hospital for 5 years. The objective of this study was to assess ...

Authors: Yumi Suzuki, Motoko Morino, Ichizo Morita and Shigenori Yamamoto

Early discontinuation of empirical antibiotic treatment in neutropenic patients with acute myeloid leukaemia and high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome

Current guidelines advocate empirical antibiotic treatment (EAT) in haematological patients with febrile neutropenia. However, the optimal duration of EAT is unknown. In 2011, we have introduced a protocol, pr...

Authors: F. A. Niessen, M. S. M. van Mourik, A. H. W. Bruns, R. A. P. Raijmakers, M. C. H. de Groot and T. van der Bruggen

First detection of autochthonous extensively drug-resistant NDM-1 Pseudomonas aeruginosa ST235 from a patient with bloodstream infection in Italy, October 2019

Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) is one of the most common and serious causes of healthcare-associated bacteremia. The emergence and dissemination of multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) PA s...

Authors: Daniela Loconsole, Marisa Accogli, Monica Monaco, Maria Del Grosso, Anna Lisa De Robertis, Anna Morea, Loredana Capozzi, Laura Del Sambro, Annarosa Simone, Vincenzo De Letteriis, Michele Quarto, Antonio Parisi and Maria Chironna

A national survey of public awareness of antimicrobial resistance in Nigeria

One of the objectives of the Global Action Plan by the World Health Organization (WHO) to contain antimicrobial resistance (AMR), is to improve global awareness through effective communication and education. C...

Authors: Emelda E. Chukwu, David A. Oladele, Oluwatoyin B. Awoderu, Ebelechukwu E. Afocha, Rahman G. Lawal, Ismail Abdus-salam, Folasade T. Ogunsola and Rosemary A. Audu

Acquisition of multidrug-resistant Enterobacterales during international travel: a systematic review of clinical and microbiological characteristics and meta-analyses of risk factors

International tourism increased from 25 million tourist arrivals in 1950 to over 1.3 billion in 2017. These travelers can be exposed to (multi) resistant microorganisms, may become colonized, and bring them ba...

Authors: Anne F. Voor in ‘t holt, Kees Mourik, Berend Beishuizen, Adriënne S. van der Schoor, Annelies Verbon, Margreet C. Vos and Juliëtte A. Severin

In vitro evaluation of double carbapenem and colistin combinations against OXA-48, NDM carbapenemase-producing colistin-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae strains

Treatment of pandrug-resistant isolates often necessitates combination therapy. Checkerboard synergy and time-killing assay tests were performed to evaluate the benefits of a triple combination with meropenem,...

Authors: Fatma Erdem, Ayham Abulaila, Zerrin Aktas and Oral Oncul

Implementing a combined infection prevention and control with antimicrobial stewardship joint program to prevent caesarean section surgical site infections and antimicrobial resistance: a Tanzanian tertiary hospital experience

Surgical site infections are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality after caesarean section, especially in Low and Middle Income Countries. We hypothesized that a combined infection prevention and control ...

Authors: Elisa Gentilotti, Pasquale De Nardo, Boniface Nguhuni, Alessandro Piscini, Caroline Damian, Francesco Vairo, Zainab Chaula, Paola Mencarini, Peter Torokaa, Alimuddin Zumla, Emanuele Nicastri and Giuseppe Ippolito

Rumors and incorrect reports are more deadly than the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2)

Authors: Rostam Jalali and Masoud Mohammadi

Emergence of β-lactamase- and carbapenemase- producing Enterobacteriaceae at integrated fish farms

Epidemiological studies suggested that determinants for antibiotic resistance have originated in aquaculture. Recently, the integrated agriculture-aquaculture system has been implemented, where fish are raised...

Authors: Dalia Hamza, Sohad Dorgham, Elshaimaa Ismael, Sherein Ismail Abd El-Moez, Mahmoud Elhariri, Rehab Elhelw and Eman Hamza

Predicting the occurrence of multidrug-resistant organism colonization or infection in ICU patients: development and validation of a novel multivariate prediction model

Multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) have emerged as an important cause of poor prognoses of patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). This study aimed to establish an easy-to-use nomogram for predicting the...

Authors: Li Wang, Xiaolong Huang, Jiating Zhou, Yajing Wang, Weizhang Zhong, Qing Yu, Weiping Wang, Zhiqiao Ye, Qiaoyan Lin, Xing Hong, Ping Zeng and Minwei Zhang

Implementation of the WHO hand hygiene strategy in Faranah regional hospital, Guinea

Healthcare-associated infections are the most frequent adverse events in healthcare worldwide, with limited available evidence suggesting highest burden in resource-limited settings. Recent Ebola epidemics emp...

Authors: S. A. Müller, A. O. K. Diallo, R. Wood, M. Bayo, T. Eckmanns, O. Tounkara, M. Arvand, M. Diallo and M. Borchert

Outbreak investigation of Serratia marcescens neurosurgical site infections associated with a contaminated shaving razors

Surgical site infection (SSI) is the most common healthcare-associated infection. We report an outbreak of neurosurgical site infections caused by Serratia marcescens after craniotomy in a tertiary care hospital.

Authors: Eun Jin Kim, Wan Beom Park, Jung-Ki Yoon, Won-Sang Cho, Su Jung Kim, Young Rok Oh, Kang Il Jun, Chang Kyung Kang, Pyeong Gyun Choe, Jong-Il Kim, Eun Hwa Choi, Myoung Don Oh and Nam Joong Kim

Point-prevalence survey of hospital acquired infections in three acute care hospitals in Northern Nigeria

Effective infection prevention and control strategies require reliable data describing the epidemiology of hospital acquired infections (HAIs), and this is currently lacking in Nigeria. The objective of this s...

Authors: Usman Abubakar

Screening for triazole resistance in clinically significant Aspergillus species; report from Pakistan

Burden of aspergillosis is reported to be significant from developing countries including those in South Asia. The estimated burden in Pakistan is also high on the background of tuberculosis and chronic lung d...

Authors: Safia Moin, Joveria Farooqi, Kauser Jabeen, Sidra Laiq and Afia Zafar

Clinical impact of endemic NDM-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae in intensive care units of the national referral hospital in Jakarta, Indonesia

A prospective observational study was performed to assess the epidemiology and clinical impact of carbapenem-non-susceptible Klebsiella pneumoniae (CNKP) in intensive care units (ICUs) of the national referral ho...

Authors: Yulia Rosa Saharman, Anis Karuniawati, Rudyanto Sedono, Dita Aditianingsih, Wil H. F. Goessens, Corné H. W. Klaassen, Henri A. Verbrugh and Juliëtte A. Severin

The potential negative impact of antibiotic pack on antibiotic stewardship in primary care in Switzerland: a modelling study

In Switzerland, oral antibiotics are dispensed in packs rather than by exact pill-count. We investigated whether available packs support compliance with recommended primary care treatment regimens for common i...

Authors: Julia Füri, Andreas Widmer, Delia Bornand, Christoph Berger, Benedikt Huttner and Julia Anna Bielicki

Correction to: Implementation and impact of pediatric antimicrobial stewardship programs: a systematic scoping review

The original article [1] contains an error in Fig. 1 whereby the number of selected articles of the first box is incorrect.

Authors: D. Donà, E. Barbieri, M. Daverio, R. Lundin, C. Giaquinto, T. Zaoutis and M. Sharland

Bacteremia in critical care units at Bugando Medical Centre, Mwanza, Tanzania: the role of colonization and contaminated cots and mothers’ hands in cross-transmission of multidrug resistant Gram-negative bacteria

Multidrug resistance (MDR) is a major clinical problem in tertiary hospitals in Tanzania and jeopardizes the life of neonates in critical care units (CCUs). To better understand methods for prevention of MDR i...

Authors: Vitus Silago, Dory Kovacs, Delfina R. Msanga, Jeremiah Seni, Louise Matthews, Katarina Oravcová, Ruth N. Zadoks, Athumani M. Lupindu, Abubakar S. Hoza and Stephen E. Mshana

The great nursing brain drain and its effects on patient safety

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared 2020 the “Year of the Nurse and Midwife”. On May 5th of this year, for the annual celebration of the SAVE LIVES: Clean Your Hands campaign, the WHO will focus o...

Authors: Alexandra Peters, Rafael Palomo and Didier Pittet

The global prevalence of Daptomycin, Tigecycline, Quinupristin/Dalfopristin, and Linezolid-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase–negative staphylococci strains: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (MRCoNS) are among the main causes of nosocomial infections, which have caused major problems in rece...

Authors: Aref Shariati, Masoud Dadashi, Zahra Chegini, Alex van Belkum, Mehdi Mirzaii, Seyed Sajjad Khoramrooz and Davood Darban-Sarokhalil

Persuasive antimicrobial stewardship intervention in the context of a KPC outbreak: a controlled interrupted time series analysis

Antimicrobial resistance is a major public health threat. Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) is one of the key strategies to overcome resistance, but robust evidence on the effect of specific interventions is lac...

Authors: Nuno Rocha-Pereira, Paulo Figueiredo Dias, Sofia Correia, Shirin Shahriari, João Neves, José Teixeira, José Artur Paiva, Carlos Lima Alves and Ana Azevedo

“Nurses and midwives: clean care is in your hands”: the 5th May 2020 World Health Organization SAVE LIVES: Clean Your Hands campaign

In honor of Florence Nightingale’s 200th birthday, the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared 2020 the “Year of the Nurse and Midwife”. On May 5th of this year, for the annual celebration of the SAVE LIV...

Authors: Alexandra Peters, Nasim Lotfinejad, Chloé Guitart, Alice Simniceanu, Maria Clara Padoveze, Tcheun Borzykowski, Benedetta Allegranzi and Didier Pittet

Secular trend analysis of antibiotic utilisation in China’s hospitals 2011–2018, a retrospective analysis of procurement data

This study was aimed to explore the secular trends of antibiotic utilisation in China’s hospitals over an 8-year period.

Authors: Haishaerjiang Wushouer, Yue Zhou, Xi Zhang, Mengyuan Fu, Daiming Fan, Luwen Shi and Xiaodong Guan

Emerging coexistence of three PMQR genes on a multiple resistance plasmid with a new surrounding genetic structure of qnrS2 in E. coli in China

Quinolones are commonly used for treatment of infections by bacteria of the Enterobacteriaceae family. However, the rising resistance to quinolones worldwide poses a major clinical and public health risk. This st...

Authors: Ying Tao, Kaixin Zhou, Lianyan Xie, Yanping Xu, Lizhong Han, Yuxing Ni, Jieming Qu and Jingyong Sun

Sustained effects of a multimodal campaign aiming at hand hygiene improvement on compliance and healthcare-associated infections in a large gynaecology/obstetrics tertiary-care centre in Vietnam

Hung Vuong Hospital (HVH) is a 900-bed maternity hospital in Ho-Chi-Minh-City, Vietnam. Due to low compliance, a quasi-experimental, observational study was conducted with the aim to improve hand hygiene.

Authors: Hang Thi Phan, Walter Zingg, Hang Thi Thuy Tran, Anh Pham Phuong Dinh and Didier Pittet

Candida tropicalis is the most prevalent yeast species causing candidemia in Algeria: the urgent need for antifungal stewardship and infection control measures

Despite being associated with a high mortality and economic burden, data regarding candidemia are scant in Algeria. The aim of this study was to unveil the epidemiology of candidemia in Algeria, evaluate the a...

Authors: Youcef Megri, Amir Arastehfar, Teun Boekhout, Farnaz Daneshnia, Caroline Hörtnagl, Bettina Sartori, Ahmed Hafez, Weihua Pan, Cornelia Lass-Flörl and Boussad Hamrioui

Different screening frequencies of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae in patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: which one is better?

A consensus has been reached that carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) screening in immunosuppressed individuals can reduce the incidence of CRE bloodstream infection (BSI).

Authors: Ting-Ting Yang, Xue-Ping Luo, Qing Yang, Hong-Chao Chen, Yi Luo, Yan-Min Zhao, Yi-Shan Ye, Xiao-Yu Lai, Jian Yu, Ya-Min Tan, Guo-Qing Wei, He Huang and Ji-Min Shi

Development of amoxicillin resistance in Escherichia coli after exposure to remnants of a non-related phagemid-containing E. coli: an exploratory study

To determine the effect of exposure to remnants of a phagemid-containing E. coli, killed by treatment with a propanol-based hand rub, on antimicrobial resistance in E. coli isolates.

Authors: Joep J. J. M. Stohr, Marjolein F. Q. Kluytmans-van den Bergh, Carlo J. M. M. Verhulst, John W. A. Rossen and Jan A. J. W. Kluytmans

The prevalence and molecular mechanisms of mupirocin resistance in Staphylococcus aureus isolates from a Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa

Antimicrobial resistance is an increasingly serious problem in public health globally. Monitoring resistance levels within healthcare and community settings is critical to combat its ongoing increase. This stu...

Authors: Shima M. Abdulgader, Tshepiso Lentswe, Andrew Whitelaw and Mae Newton-Foot