Current opinion in infectious diseases
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Curr. Opin. Infect. Dis. · Aug 2019
ReviewControversy around airborne versus droplet transmission of respiratory viruses: implication for infection prevention.
Health agencies recommend transmission-based precautions, including contact, droplet and airborne precautions, to mitigate transmission of respiratory viruses in healthcare settings. There is particular controversy over the importance of aerosol transmission and whether airborne precautions should be recommended for some respiratory viruses. Here, we review the current recommendations of transmission-based precautions and the latest evidence on the aerosol transmission of respiratory viruses. ⋯ Studies that use transmission events as outcome to demonstrate human-to-human transmission over the aerosol route or quantitative measurement of infectious respiratory viruses in the air are needed to evaluate the infectiousness of respiratory viruses over the aerosol route. When a respiratory virus in concern only leads to disease with low severity, airborne precautions are not likely to be justified.
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Curr. Opin. Infect. Dis. · Aug 2019
New and novel rapid diagnostics that are impacting infection prevention and antimicrobial stewardship.
The current review summarizes advances in rapid diagnostic testing that impacts infection prevention and antimicrobial stewardship programs. ⋯ Tests with broad diagnostic scope and swift turnaround time are rapidly entering the market. Many impact infection prevention and ASP programs. Collaboration with the microbiology laboratory is crucial to ensure that new tests successfully optimize patient care.