[Fever and lymphadenopathy. Report of 4 cases of tularemia]. / Fieber und Lymphadenopathie. Bericht über 4 Tularämiefälle.

We report on 4 patients with different types of tularemia acquired in Switzerland or nearby countries. All patients presented with fever, moderate to highly elevated signs of inflammation, and local lymphadenopathy. Additionally, 3 patients did not respond to empirical antimicrobial therapy with aminopenicillins. A tick bite was identified as mode of transmission in 2 patients, while 1 patient showed a possible connection to a tick bite. The route of transmission for the fourth patient remained unknown. The diagnosis of tularemia was either based on positive serology, on a positive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) from the lymph node samples or on positive blood cultures. The treatment in adult patients was ciprofloxacin 500-750 mg twice daily orally for 3 weeks. The pediatric patient was treated with gentamicin 4 mg/kg i.v. once daily for 1 week and ciprofloxacin 15 mg/kg twice daily orally for another 2 weeks. All patients recovered completely. Due to the increasing incidence of tularemia in Switzerland, this infection should be considered in patients with fever and lymph node enlargement particularly after tick bite. We recommend treatment with ciprofloxacin orally for 14-12 days.

[Initial patient assessment of infectious diseases and diagnostic steps with fever]. / Infektiologische Erstbeurteilung und erste Abklärungsschritte bei Fieber.

The initial assessment of patients with infectious diseases is challenging because of the extremely broad differential diagnosis as well as different host pathogen interactions influenced by a different immune status. The formal initial assessment, including the present and past medical history, thorough physical examination, clinical first impressions as well as routine laboratory analyses, is the basis of every preliminary diagnosis. Specific chief complaints have to be recognized in order to narrow down the differential diagnosis. In cases of life-threatening illnesses, such as septicemia, endocarditis, bacterial meningitis and severe pneumonia, the first diagnostic and therapeutic steps should be performed in a rapid sequence: bacterial blood samples, sputum and/or liquor samples are required and the initial antibiotic therapy has to be chosen empirically as the relevant bacterial spectrum related to the suspected illness must be covered. In less urgent cases it is recommended that a multi-step diagnostic approach be carried out which takes the differential diagnosis into account and prioritizes the probabilities. In the latter situation antibiotic treatment should be delayed to diagnose the infection correctly. Importantly, atypical courses must necessitate careful and critical reassessment of the diagnosis.

[Prevention of catheter-related infections]. / Vermeidung katheterassoziierter Infektionen.

Bloodstream infections due to intravascular catheterization, peritoneal catheters for dialysis, suprapubic or transurethral catheters, are one of the major sources of nosocomial infections. Therefore, the prevention of catheter-associated infections is an important issue for physicians and nursing staff working in hospitals or in outpatient settings. The risk can be minimized by diligent checking of the indications, hygienic measures, using the right materials, thorough follow-up and education of the medical and nursing staff. Thus it is possible to avoid individual suffering of patients and to reduce costs in the healthcare system.

Practical recommendations for routine cleaning and disinfection procedures in healthcare institutions: a narrative review.

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are the most common adverse outcomes due to delivery of medical care. HAIs increase morbidity and mortality, prolong hospital stay, and are associated with additional healthcare costs. Contaminated surfaces, particularly those that are touched frequently, act as reservoirs for pathogens and contribute towards pathogen transmission. Therefore, healthcare hygiene requires a comprehensive approach whereby different strategies may be implemented together, next to targeted, risk-based approaches, in order to reduce the risk of HAIs for patients. This approach includes hand hygiene in conjunction with environmental cleaning and disinfection of surfaces and clinical equipment. This review focuses on routine environmental cleaning and disinfection including areas with a moderate risk of contamination, such as general wards. As scientific evidence has not yet resulted in universally accepted guidelines nor led to universally accepted practical recommendations pertaining to surface cleaning and disinfection, this review provides expert guidance for healthcare workers in their daily practice. It also covers outbreak situations and suggests practical guidance for clinically relevant pathogens. Key elements of environmental cleaning and disinfection, including a fundamental clinical risk assessment, choice of appropriate disinfectants and cleaning equipment, definitions for standardized cleaning processes and the relevance of structured training, are reviewed in detail with a focus on practical topics and implementation.

[Postoperative wound infections: essentials for the internal medicine]. / Postoperative Wundinfektionen: Essenzielles für Internisten.

Surgical site infections are the most common nosocomial infections in surgical wards. The main risk factor is the comorbidity of patients. In addition, there are many preoperative and intraoperative factors that increase the risk of surgical site infections. Appropriate antimicrobial prophylaxis, adequate preparation of the patients by cessation of smoking and reducing weight are likely to prevent postoperative infections outside the operating theatre. The WHO has issued guidelines to prevent not only infectious, but also non-infectious complications after surgery. Surveillance of surgical site infections itself with adequate feedback to the surgeons decreases the rate by approximately 30%.

[Isolation precautions in respiratory tract infections]. / Isolationsmassnahmen bei Infektionen der Luftwege.

Respiratory tract infections belong to the most important infections in children and adults. One third of all infection-related hospitalizations are due to respiratory tract infections. Upper respiratory tract infections are one of the most important reasons for absence from school or work. The majority of respiratory tract infections are of viral origin. Viral infections are usually highly contagious. They are transmitted mainly by droplets, but also by direct or indirect contact via contaminated objects. Isolation precautions in respiratory tract infections are important to protect health-care workers from infection and prevent nosocomial transmission in the hospital and ambulatory care setting. Unlike for the hospital setting there are no detailed recommendations available for isolation precautions in the ambulatory care setting. Isolation precautions for outpatients are described in this article.

Guidance document for prevention of Clostridium difficile infection in acute healthcare settings.

SCOPE: Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is the most important infective cause of healthcare-associated diarrhoea in high income countries and one of the most important healthcare-associated pathogens in both Europe and the United States. It is associated with high morbidity and mortality resulting in both societal and financial burden. A significant proportion of this burden is potentially preventable by a combination of targeted infection prevention and control measures and antimicrobial stewardship. The aim of this guidance document is to provide an update on recommendations for prevention of CDI in acute care settings to provide guidance to those responsible for institutional infection prevention and control programmes. METHODS: An expert group was set up by the European society of clinical microbiology and infectious diseases (ESCMID) Study Group for C. difficile (ESGCD), which performed a systematic review of the literature on prevention of CDI in adults hospitalized in acute care settings and derived respective recommendations according to the GRADE approach. Recommendations are stratified for both outbreak and endemic settings. QUESTIONS ADDRESSED BY THE GUIDELINE AND RECOMMENDATIONS: This guidance document provides thirty-six statements on strategies to prevent CDI in acute care settings, including 18 strong recommendations. No recommendation was provided for three questions.

Patient engagement with surgical site infection prevention: an expert panel perspective.

Despite remarkable developments in the use of surgical techniques, ergonomic advancements in the operating room, and implementation of bundles, surgical site infections (SSIs) remain a substantial burden, associated with increased morbidity, mortality and healthcare costs. National and international recommendations to prevent SSIs have been published, including recent guidelines by the World Health Organization, but implementation into clinical practice remains an unresolved issue. SSI improvement programs require an integrative approach with measures taken during the pre-, intra- and postoperative care from the numerous stakeholders involved. The current SSI prevention strategies have focused mainly on the role of healthcare workers (HCWs) and procedure related risk factors. The importance and influence of patient participation is becoming an increasingly important concept and advocated as a means to improve patient safety. Novel interventions supporting an active participative role within SSI prevention programs have not been assessed. Empowering patients with information they require to engage in the process of SSI prevention could play a major role for the implementation of recommendations. Based on available scientific evidence, a panel of experts evaluated options for patient involvement in order to provide pragmatic recommendations for pre-, intra- and postoperative activities for the prevention of SSIs. Recommendations were based on existing guidelines and expert opinion. As a result, 9 recommendations for the surgical patient are presented here, including a practice brief in the form of a patient information leaflet. HCWs can use this information to educate patients and allow patient engagement.

The training curriculum in hospital infection control.

Standardised training curricula for infection control nurses (ICNs) and recognition of the specialty exist in many European countries, but infection control physician (ICP) is not a specialty recognised by the UEMS. To gather information on curricula for ICPs, members of the ESCMID Study Group on Nosocomial Infections received a questionnaire. There is discussion about which 'professions' should be included in an infection control team. Within the 12 countries included, the average full-time equivalents (FTEs) for ICPs and ICNs per 1000 beds were 1.2 and 3.4, respectively. In addition to ICNs and ICPs, an infection control team should also include a data manager, an epidemiologist, secretarial/administrative support, and possibly, surveillance technicians. Overall, the composition of an ideal infection control team was estimated to be 9.3 FTE per 1000 beds. The background of ICPs can be clinical microbiology or infectious diseases. Among the participants, it was predominantly clinical microbiology. The ideal training curriculum for the ICP should include 6 years of postgraduate training. Of these, at least 2 years should be 'clinical training' (e.g., internal medicine) to acquire experience in the management of high-risk patients. Furthermore, training with regard to infection control and hospital epidemiology should be offered as a 'common trunk' for those being trained in clinical microbiology or infectious diseases. Important issues that remain are: implementation/standardisation of training curricula for doctors, recognition of ICP as a separate specialty or sub-specialty of clinical microbiology and/or infectious diseases, validation of on-the-job training facilities in terms of the number of doctors and nurses who can give training and the category of patients/problems present, and mandatory postgraduate education/continuing medical education specific for infection control for doctors and nurses in the field.

No time for handwashing!? Handwashing versus alcoholic rub: can we afford 100% compliance?

Handwashing is the most important and least expensive measure to prevent transmission of nosocomial infections. However, compliance rarely exceeds 40% under study conditions. Alcoholic hand disinfection (AHD) generally is used in Europe. In contrast, handwashing with medicated soap is practiced most frequently in the United States. Healthcare workers often explain the failure to comply with handwashing or AHD as due to the limited time available for this practice. We calculated a time consumption for handwashing and AHD in a representative model intensive-care unit with 12 healthcare workers, based on different compliance levels (40%, 60%, and 100%), duration of handwashing (40-80 seconds), and AHD (20 seconds). Comparing the extremes of our model, given 100% compliance, handwashing consumes 16 hours of nursing time per day shift, whereas AHD from a bedside dispenser requires only 3 hours (P = .01). We conclude that 100% compliance with handwashing may interfere with patient care and parltly explains the low compliance. In contrast, AHD, with its rapid activity, superior efficacy, and minimal time commitment, allows 100% healthcare-worker compliance without interfering with the quality of patient care.

Hospital infection control in Europe: evaluation of present practice and future goals.

The objective of this study was to assess current infection control practice in Europe and its structure, future research priorities, and how infection control should be organised. A questionnaire was sent to 223 hospital infection control physicians throughout Europe, of whom 54 in 18 countries responded. With respect to future research priorities in infection control in Europe, the largest proportion (69%) of the infection control specialists sampled expressed the need for standardisation of surveillance systems for international comparison of nosocomial infection rates. The results of this survey might help to create a basis for standardised guidelines which take into account European-wide interests.

Surgical hand hygiene: scrub or rub?

Surgical hand hygiene is standard care prior to any surgical procedure. Per-operative glove punctures are observed in almost 30% of all interventions, and a risk factor for postoperative infections. In the past, washing hands with antimicrobial soap and water (surgical scrub) was the norm, mainly with chlorhexidine or iodine. More recently, alcohol-based hand rub has been successfully introduced, showing greater effectiveness, less irritation to the hands, and requiring less time than washing hands. All products should have a remnant effect that delays microbial growth under the gloved hand. Some of the alcohol-based compounds are effective (as determined by the European Norm EN 12791) within 90 s whereas others require 3-5 min, similar to the scrub. The short procedure relies heavily on proper technique and timing, since lowering the exposure time to <90 s leads to significantly lower effectiveness of bacterial killing. Today, surgical hand hygiene should meet EN 12791 in Europe, or other standards, such as the US Food and Drug Administration tentative final monograph norm in the USA. It is best performed by using an alcohol-based hand rub, but a scrub with chlorhexidine-containing soap also meets these standards.

Surgical hand preparation: state-of-the-art.

Surgical hand preparation has been recommended since the nineteenth century as a measure to reduce infection resulting from surgery. We review the evidence and major objectives of surgical hand preparation, as well as the criteria for the choice of products currently in use. Test and validation procedures for selecting products for surgical hand preparation in North America and Europe are compared. Surgical hand antisepsis using medicated soap and alcohol-based hand-rub formulations is discussed, including the technical aspects, time required for the procedure, drying time, potential for side-effects, and the parameters for the selection of the most appropriate formulations. Brushes are not recommended for surgical hand preparation. Rapid antimicrobial action, wider spectrum of activity, lower side-effects, and the absence of the risk of hand contamination by the rinsing water, clearly favour the use of alcohol-based hand rubs for surgical hand preparation, even in countries with limited resources where the provision of water is scarce or of doubtful quality.

[Attitude of psychiatric personnel on the treatment of patients, psychometrics and results]. / Uber die Einstellung des psychiatrischen Pflegepersonals zur Behandlung von Patienten, Messverfahren und Ergebnisse.

UNLABELLED: The therapeutic attitude of psychiatric nurses towards inpatients of a mental hospital was studied. Is there a correlation of nurses' attitude and their view of the patients' behaviour, social attractiveness, and prognosis? Are there differences in the therapeutic attitude in regard to different diagnostic groups? A questionnaire was constructed. Probands were 70 female, 40 male nurses. For every proband there was taken a patient: 70 female, 40 male patients (34 schizophrenics, 15 depressive patients, 15 psychogeriatric patients). The data were evaluated by path analysis and analysis of variance. THE RESULTS: Patients with more social interest and more psychotic symptomatology were rated as more socially attractive. The more pathologic patient's behaviour in the wards was judged the worse was the supposed prognosis. Dysphoric-morose patients and patients with low social attractiveness provoke an authoritarian and controlling attitude. Patients held as social competent stimulate nurses' attitude towards promotion of dependence and autonomy. The lower social competence and the worse prognosis is taken the more the attitude is inclined to protective control and isolation. The therapeutic value of personal humane communication and direct social contacts is taken for less important when patients seem to be socially inattractive and incompetent. We did not find any difference in the nurses' attitude in regard to schizophrenic or depressive patients. Schizophrenic patients did stimulate more intentions towards propagation of independence and autonomic activity than psychogeriatric patients do. Between male and female nurses we did not find any difference in their attitudes to the (same sex) patients.