Infection control and hospital epidemiology : the official journal of the Society of Hospital Epidemiologists of America
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Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol · Aug 2021
Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection among healthcare workers in Hubei Province, China.
To evaluate the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection among healthcare workers (HCWs) in Hubei Province, China. ⋯ Compared with COVID-19 cases in other occupational groups, HCWs with COVID-19 have half the risk of death, although they have been shown to have higher rates of fatigue and myalgia.
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Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol · Jul 2021
Evaluation of the negative predictive value of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus nasal swab screening in patients with acute myeloid leukemia.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) nasal swabs are utilized to guide the discontinuation of empiric MRSA therapy. In multiple studies, MRSA nasal swabs have been shown to have a negative predictive value (NPV) of ~99% in non-oncology patients with pneumonia and other infections. We evaluated the performance characteristics of a negative MRSA nasal swab in the acute myeloid leukemia (AML) populaion to determine its NPV. ⋯ A negative MRSA nasal swab has a 99% NPV for subsequent MRSA infections in AML patients with no prior history of MRSA colonization or infection. Based on these findings, a negative MRSA nasal swab can help guide de-escalation of empiric MRSA antibiotic therapy.
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Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol · Jul 2021
Surveillance and identification of clusters of healthcare workers with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): Multidimensional interventions at a comprehensive cancer center.
Cases of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) were first reported in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. In this report, we describe 3 clusters of COVID-19 infections among healthcare workers (HCWs), not associated with patient exposure, and the interventions undertaken to halt ongoing exposure and transmission at our cancer center. ⋯ To our knowledge, this is the first report of a hospital-based cluster of COVID-19 infections among HCWs in a cancer hospital describing our steps to mitigate further transmission.
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Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol · Jul 2021
Severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection among hospital workers in a severely affected institution in Madrid, Spain: A surveillance cross-sectional study.
To analyze the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in workers of a hospital located in one of the most affected areas in Spain. ⋯ Overall, >36% of our workers became infected with SARS-CoV-2, and the rate of asymptomatic infections accounted for almost 32% of all SARS-CoV-2 infections. We detected differences in the rates of infection between HCWs and nHCWs. The use of PPE and previous contact with COVID-19 patients were associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection.
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Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol · Jun 2021
Effectiveness of germicidal ultraviolet light to inactivate coronaviruses on personal protective equipment to reduce nosocomial transmission.
To circumvent the need for rationing personal protective equipment (PPE), we explored whether germicidal ultraviolet light (GUV) could be used to inactivate human coronaviruses on PPE, enabling safe reuse. ⋯ We demonstrate that diverse human coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2, are susceptible to GUV inactivation, and 2 scalable portable GUV devices were effective in inactivating coronaviruses on N95 respirators. Thus, GUV treatment with commercially scalable devices may be an effective method to decontaminate PPE, allowing their safe reuse.