With the continuous development of medical technology, ambulatory surgery or day surgery is becoming a new and very efficient medical service model in China. However, infection prevention and control in ambulatory surgery center has not yet attracted the attention of infection control practitioners. This paper analyzes the necessity, status quo, and entry point of infection prevention and control work in ambulatory surgery centers. Recommendations in the field of risk assessment, engineering control, behavior management, surveillance, and antimicrobial stewardship are provided to infection control practitioners as well.
Healthcare-associated infection outbreaks are a serious threat to patient safety and often cause serious consequences. The use of genotyping methods to identify the source of infection and the route of transmission in outbreaks is a critical point in controlling outbreaks. Recently, the use of whole-genome sequencing (WGS) makes it faster and much more accurate. Compared with traditional methods, WGS can distinguish highly correlated pathogen lineages, track infection source accurately and help researchers understanding the propagation dynamics model, and even provide more target intervention information. The application of WGS technology in healthcare-associated infection outbreak investigation and control is reviewed in this paper, and its advantages and challenges are also evaluated.
There is a worldwide consensus that urgent action is needed to prevent and control multi-drug resistant organisms in health care settings, especially carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) and carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (CRPsA). In 2017, to focus on this topic, World Health Organization organized experts worldwide to develop guidelines for the prevention and control of CRE, CRPsA and CRAB. In this paper, we introduced the background, development process, main measures, advantages and disadvantages of the guidelines to help infection prevention and control practitioners take actions properly based on the guidelines.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is one of the important pathogens of healthcare-associated infections. In order to prevent and control the transmission of the drug-resistant organism in healthcare facilities, the Healthcare Infection Society and the Infection Prevention Society jointly conducted the guidelines for the prevention and control of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in 2021. This article introduces the guide from the background, preparation process, main prevention and control measures and further studies, and compares the guidelines with the current prevention and control measures in China, so as to provide a methodological reference for preparation of the guide for domestic infection prevention and control practitioners, and provide evidence-based prevention and control strategies for clinical practice.
After more than 30 years of localized development of infection prevention and control in China, a prevention and control system in line with China’s conditions has been established. Since the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic began, with the unprecedented attention paid to healthcare associated infection by health administrative departments at all levels, the awareness of infection prevention and control of various personnel has been continuously strengthened, which has promoted the cross-integration and development of infection prevention and control-related disciplines. However, under the normalized pandemic prevention and control, infection prevention and control work also faces enormous pressure and challenges. This paper summarizes the opportunities for infection prevention and control in the new era, analyzes the current challenges in the field of infection prevention and control, and aims to provide some ideas for the future development of infection prevention and control.
Objective To evaluate the efficiency of prevention and control strategies of carbapenem-resistant organism (CRO) in medical institutions in China using meta-analysis method. Methods PubMed, Embase, Medline (Ovid), Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chongqing VIP and Wanfang Database were systematically searched for studies on CRO prevention and control in Chinese medical institutions from the establishment of databases to 2023 for meta-analysis. Results A total of 21 studies were included, consisting of 3 randomized controlled studies and 18 non-randomized controlled studies. The meta-analysis results showed that compared with standard prevention and control measures, strengthened intervention measures (including active screening, information-based transparent supervision mode, comprehensive intervention, and bundled prevention and control strategies) could effectively reduce the CRO infection rate [relative risk (RR)=0.40, 95% confidence interval (CI) (0.25, 0.65), P<0.05]. Proactive screening could effectively reduce the CRO infection rate [RR=0.52, 95%CI (0.30, 0.91), P<0.05] and carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) infection rate [RR=0.47, 95%CI (0.24, 0.93), P<0.05]. Information-based transparent supervision could reduce the CRE infection rate by improving compliance with standard prevention and control measures [RR=0.42, 95%CI (0.28, 0.62), P<0.05]. Conclusions Compared with standard prevention and control measures, strengthened intervention measures can effectively reduce the risk of in-hospital transmission and infection of CRO. In clinical practice, bundled comprehensive intervention can be combined with information-based transparent supervision, and if necessary, proactive screening of CRO in high-risk populations should be carried out.
Objective To construct a quality evaluation index system for healthcare-associated infection (HAI) management, and conduct an empirical evaluation on the quality of HAI management in clinical departments. Methods The literature research method and panel discussion method were adopted to initially form the framework of HAI management quality evaluation index system, and the Delphi method and the analytic hierarchy process were used to establish the index system and determine the weights from January to December 2018. Eight comprehensive evaluation methods, such as osculating value method and technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution method, were used to evaluate the quality of HAI management in clinical departments of West China Hospital, Sichuan University in 2018. Kendall’s coefficient of concordance (W) was used to assess the consistency of the results. The clinical departments were ranked by the standardized total scores, which were the means of the normalized scores of the eight methods. Results A quality evaluation index system for HAI management with 3 first-level indicators and 15 second-level indicators was established finally. The results of the eight comprehensive evaluation methods for the quality evaluation of HAI management in 39 clinical departments of West China Hospital, Sichuan University were consistent (W=0.952, χ2=259.800, P<0.001). The standardized total score of Department 18 was 100, which ranked the first place. Conclusion The HAI management quality evaluation index system constructed in this study could be used in clinical departments to evaluate the quality of HAI management in combination with comprehensive evaluation methods.
Objective To explore the overall outcome and its factors of patients with carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa bloodstream infection (CRPA-BSI). Methods A single-center, retrospective cohort study was carried out. The demographic and clinical data of all emergency patients and inpatients in West China Hospital of Sichuan University from 2017 to 2021 were collected. Firstly, the prognosis of patients with CRPA-BSI was compared with those with carbapenem-sensitive Pseudomonas aeruginosa bloodstream infection (CSPA-BSI). Then Cox regression was used to analyze the factors affecting the prognosis of CRPA-BSI patients. Results A total of 53 patients with CRPA-BSI and 175 patients with CSPA-BSI were enrolled, and they were 1∶1 matched according to the age-adjusted Charlson Comorbidity Index (aCCI) to control for confounding factors. When aCCI was similar, the incidence of poor prognosis in CRPA-BSI patients was significantly higher than that in CSPA-BSI patients [41.5% vs. 18.9%; relative risk=2.20, 95% confidence interval (CI) (1.16, 4.19), P=0.011]. The median length of hospital stay in the CRPA-BSI group was 3 d longer than that in the CSPA-BSI group but the difference was not statistically significant (29 vs. 26 d, P=0.388). With regard to prognostic factors, univariate Cox regression analyses showed that the highest temperature ≤39℃ (P=0.014), hepatobiliary and pancreatic diseases (P=0.011), days of central venous catheterization (P=0.025), days of indwelling urinary catheters (P=0.037), adjustment of medication duration according to drug sensitivity results (P=0.015) and Pitt bacteremia score (P=0.007) were related to the poor prognosis of CRPA-BSI patients. Multiple Cox regression analysis showed that hepatobiliary and pancreatic disease [hazard ratio (HR)=3.434, 95%CI (1.271, 9.276), P=0.015] and Pitt bacteremia score [HR=1.264, 95%CI (1.057, 1.510), P=0.010] were independently associated with poor outcome in CRPA-BSI patients. Conclusions The prognosis of CRPA-BSI patients is worsen than that of CSPA-BSI patients. Hepatobiliary and pancreatic diseases significantly increase the risk of poor outcome in CRPA-BSI patients. Pitt bacteremia score is a predictor of prognosis in patients with CRPA-BSI.
Healthcare-associated infection management has advanced rapidly in recent years. With the development of more standards and guidelines, infection control measures become more standardized and evidence-based. Evidence-based measures are increasingly applied in infection control, which promote more studies on the prevention and control of healthcare-associated infections. Furthermore, more new ideas of infection control have emerged, with old ones being challenged. The hand hygiene reform, multidrug-resistant organisms, and surgical site infections become the hot topics in recent years. In addition, whole-genome sequencing also provides more bases for understanding pathogen transmission in hospitals. Based on the high-quality studies published in recent years, this opinion review discusses these hot topics in the prevention and control of healthcare-associated infections.
In recent years, the prevalence of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) has been remarkably increasing. Infections caused by CRE have significantly increased the burden on patients both medically and economically, and the CRE often leads to outbreaks of healthcare-associated infections. It has now become a global public health concern. Consequently, international organizations and academic societies/associations, including the World Health Organization, have developed corresponding prevention and control guidelines. This article provides a detailed introduction to the background, principles, key understandings, and implementation recommendations of China’s Standard for Prevention and Control of Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (WS/T 826－2023). The aim is to enhance the recognition of healthcare workers and medical administrators to prevent and control CRE and to provide detailed technical guidance for healthcare facilities in responding to the spread of CRE, thus ensuring medical quality and patient safety.