The Journal of hospital infection
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The high demand for personal protective equipment during the novel coronavirus outbreak has prompted the need to develop strategies to conserve supply. Little is known regarding decontamination interventions to allow for surgical mask reuse. ⋯ There is limited evidence on the safety or efficacy of surgical mask decontamination. Given the heterogeneous methods used in studies to date, we are unable to draw conclusions on the most efficacious and safe intervention for decontaminating surgical masks.
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Healthcare worker (HCW)-associated coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is of global concern due to the potential for nosocomial spread and depletion of staff numbers. However, the literature on transmission routes and risk factors for COVID-19 in HCWs is limited. ⋯ Sustained transmission of SARS-CoV-2 among our hospital staff did not occur, beyond the community outbreak, even in the absence of strict infection control measures in non-clinical areas. Current PPE appears to be effective when used appropriately. Our findings emphasize the importance of testing both clinical and non-clinical staff groups during a pandemic.
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Evidence-based interventions are needed to treat burn wound infection (BWI). Evidence syntheses have been limited by heterogeneity of indicators used to report BWI across trials. Consistent reporting of BWI would be facilitated by an agreed minimum set of indicators. The Infection Consensus in Burns study aimed to achieve expert consensus about a core indicator set (CIS) for BWI. ⋯ To facilitate evidence synthesis, a single-country systematic, expert-informed approach was taken to develop a CIS to be reported consistently across trials reporting BWI as an outcome. Future work requires verification of the CIS with international experts.
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Healthcare workers (HCWs) are especially vulnerable to infection by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). ⋯ The results suggest that HCW-HCW transmission accounted for part of the cases. In spite of a low prevalence of comorbidities and a mild clinical course in most cases, COVID-19 caused long periods of sick leave.