Impact of Infection Prevention Programs on Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections Analyzed in Multicenter Study.

BACKGROUND: Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) account for a large proportion of healthcare-associated infections and have a significant impact on morbidity, length of hospital stay, and mortality. Adherence to the recommended infection prevention practices can effectively reduce the incidence of CAUTIs. This study aimed to assess the characteristics of CAUTIs and the efficacy of prevention programs across hospitals of various sizes. METHODS: Intervention programs, including training, surveillance, and monitoring, were implemented. Data on the microorganisms responsible for CAUTIs, urinary catheter utilization ratio, rate of CAUTIs per 1,000 device days, and factors associated with the use of indwelling catheters were collected from 2017 to 2019. The incidence of CAUTIs and associated data were compared between university hospitals and small- and medium-sized hospitals. RESULTS: Thirty-two hospitals participated in the study, including 21 university hospitals and 11 small- and medium-sized hospitals. The microorganisms responsible for CAUTIs and their resistance rates did not differ between the two groups. In the first quarter of 2018, the incidence rate was 2.05 infections/1,000 device-days in university hospitals and 1.44 infections/1,000 device-days in small- and medium-sized hospitals. After implementing interventions, the rate gradually decreased in the first quarter of 2019, with 1.18 infections/1,000 device-days in university hospitals and 0.79 infections/1,000 device-days in small- and medium-sized hospitals. However, by the end of the study, the infection rate increased to 1.74 infections/1,000 device-days in university hospitals and 1.80 infections/1,000 device-days in small- and medium-sized hospitals. CONCLUSION: We implemented interventions to prevent CAUTIs and evaluated their outcomes. The incidence of these infections decreased in the initial phases of the intervention when adequate support and personnel were present. The rate of these infections may be reduced by implementing active interventions such as consistent monitoring and adherence to guidelines for preventing infections.

External and internal validation of healthcare-associated infection data collected by the Korean National healthcare-associated Infections Surveillance System (KONIS).

BACKGROUND: This study analyzed the validity of healthcare-associated infection (HAI) data of the Korean National healthcare-associated Infections Surveillance System. METHODS: The validation process consisted of external (EV) and internal (IV) validation phases. Of the 193 hospitals that participated from July 2016 through June 2017, EV was performed for 10 hospitals that were selected based on the HAI rate percentile. The EV team reviewed 295 medical records for 60 HAIs and 235 non-HAI control patients. IV was performed for both the 10 EV hospitals and 11 other participating hospitals that did not report any HAIs. RESULTS: In the EV, the diagnosis of urinary tract infections had a sensitivity of 72.0% and a specificity of 99.3%. The respective sensitivities of bloodstream infection and pneumonia were 63.2% and 70.6%; the respective specificities were 98.8% and 99.6%. The agreement (ĸ) between the EV and IV for 10 hospitals was 0.754 for urinary tract infections and 0.674 for bloodstream infections (P < .001, respectively). Additionally, IV found additional cases among 11 zero-report hospitals. DISCUSSION: This study demonstrates the need for ongoing validation and continuous training to maintain the accuracy of nationwide surveillance data. CONCLUSIONS: IV should be considered a validation method to supplement EV.

Epidemiology of Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae Bacteremia in Gyeonggi Province, Republic of Korea, between 2018 and 2021.

The incidence of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) has been increasing since 2008, with Gyeonggi Province in South Korea being particularly vulnerable due to its large number of healthcare facilities. This study examines the trends of CRE occurrence in Gyeonggi Province over the past four years and the epidemiological characteristics of the infected patients. Patients with positive CRE blood cultures admitted to healthcare facilities in Gyeonggi Province from January 2018 to December 2021 were evaluated in this study. Risk factors for CRE-related death were analyzed using data from patients who died within 30 days of the last blood sampling. Older adults aged 70 years and above constituted the majority of patients with CRE bacteremia. Antibiotic use did not significantly affect mortality risk. Non-survivors were more common in tertiary hospitals and intensive care units and included patients with hypertension, malignant tumors, and multiple underlying diseases. Klebsiella pneumoniae was the most common CRE strain, with Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase being the predominant carbapenemase. Our study suggests the endemicity of CRE in Gyeonggi Province and highlights the increasing isolation of CRE strains in South Korean long-term care hospitals within the province. Further, infection control measures and government support specific to each healthcare facility type are crucial.

Are We Truly Safe? Unfolding the Final Chapters of COVID-19 Walk-Through Booths.

This research proposes a safety strategy for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) walk-through booths to optimize pandemic preparedness. These booths, designed for respiratory sample collection during the COVID-19 pandemic, effectively reduce infection risk and personal protective equipment-related fatigue among healthcare workers. However, inadequate disinfection and glove management could escalate infection transmission. Using computational fluid dynamics simulations, we analyzed droplet dispersion on booth surfaces and gloves under various wind conditions. Our findings suggest that when setting up COVID-19 walk-through booths, their location should be strategically chosen to minimize the effects of wind. All surfaces of booth gloves must be thoroughly disinfected with a certified disinfectant after nasopharyngeal swab collection. It is also recommended to wear disposable gloves over booth gloves when changing between patient examinations. In wind-affected areas, individuals nearby should not solely rely on the 2-meter distancing rule due to potential droplet spread from walk-through booths. We strongly recommend consistent and proper mask use for effective droplet blocking. Adherence to these guidelines can significantly enhance the safety and efficiency of walk-through booths, particularly in potential future pandemics.

Guidelines for Surgery of Confirmed or Suspected COVID-19 Patients.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread widely across the world since January 2020. There are many challenges when caring for patients with COVID-19, one of which is infection prevention and control. In particular, in cases where surgery must absolutely be performed, special infection control may be required in order to perform surgery without spreading infection within the hospital. We aim to present potentially useful recommendations for non-deferrable surgery for COVID-19 patients based on in vivo and in vitro research and clinical experiences from many countries.

KSNM/KSID/KOSHIC Guidance for Nuclear Medicine Department Against the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic.

The dramatic spread of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has profound impacts on every continent and life. Due to human-to-human transmission of COVID-19, nuclear medicine staffs also cannot escape the risk of infection from workplaces. Every staff in the nuclear medicine department must prepare for and respond to COVID-19 pandemic which tailored to the characteristics of our profession. This article provided the guidance prepared by the Korean Society of Nuclear Medicine (KSNM) in cooperation with the Korean Society of Infectious Disease (KSID) and Korean Society for Healthcare-Associated Infection Control and Prevention (KOSHIC) in managing the COVID-19 pandemic for the nuclear medicine department. We hope that this guidance will support every practice in nuclear medicine during this chaotic period.

An Application of Item Response Theory to Scoring Patient Safety Culture Survey Data.

Patient safety culture is important in preventing medical errors. Thus, many instruments have been developed to measure it. Yet, few studies focus on the data processing step. This study, by analyzing the Chinese version of the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire dataset that contained 37,163 questionnaires collected in Taiwan, found critical issues related to the currently used mean scoring method: The instrument, like other popular ones, uses a 5-point Likert scale, and because it is an ordinal scale, the mean scores cannot be calculated. Instead, Item Response Theory (IRT) was applied. The construct validity was satisfactory and the item properties of the instrument were estimated from confirmatory factor analysis. The IRT-based domain scores and mean domain scores of each respondent were estimated and compared. As for resolution, the mean approach yielded only around 20 unique values on a 0 to 100 scale for each domain; the IRT method yielded at least 440 unique values. Meanwhile, IRT scores ranged widely at each unique mean score, meaning that the precision of the mean approach was less reliable. The theoretical soundness and empirical strength of IRT suggest that healthcare institutions should adopt IRT as a new scoring method, which is the core step of processing collected data.

Ensuring Taiwan patient safety culture survey is free from differential item functioning.

BACKGROUND: Differential item functioning (DIF) means the interference of some demographic characteristic or grouping of the tight relationship between trait levels. DIF threatens precise interpretations of survey results and makes them unreliable. The aim of this study was to examine whether the succinct version of Taiwan Patient Safety Culture (TPSC-S) survey is free from DIF and to mitigate its impact if needed. METHODS: The TPSC-S survey results of 2964 respondents in a public hospital in Taiwan were analyzed. The existence, type, and effect size of DIF were examined for each TPSC-S item using a proportional-odds logistic regression method between characteristic groups, including gender, work experience, job types, management roles, employment status, and safety reporting experiences. RESULTS: The study results revealed that several items of TPSC-S showed statistically significant DIF between characteristic groups. Nevertheless, the magnitude of these DIF was small, and their influence to TPSC-S survey was not significant. The domain-level DIF impact was completely insignificant for all characteristic groups. CONCLUSION: This study revealed that the 24-item TPSC-S survey was free from DIF in six characteristic groups. The difference in survey scores between groups stems from the real difference that hospital safety managers want to measure.

Ten-year surveillance of central line-associated bloodstream infections in South Korea: Surveillance not enough, action needed.

BACKGROUND: Central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) are preventable health care-associated infections that can lead to increased mortality. Therefore, we investigated trends in CLABSI rates, and the factors associated with changing trends over a 10-year period using the Korean National Healthcare-associated Infections Surveillance System (KONIS). METHODS: We investigated annual CLABSI rates from 2006 to 2015 in 190 KONIS-participating intensive care units (ICUs) from 107 participating hospitals. We collected data associated with hospital and ICU characteristics and analyzed trends using generalized autoregressive moving average models. RESULTS: The CLABSI pooled mean rate decreased from 3.40 in 2006 to 2.20 in 2015 (per 1,000 catheter-days). The trend analysis also showed a significant decreasing trend in CLABSI rates in unadjusted models (annual increase, -0.137; P < .001). After adjusting for hospital and ICU characteristics, significant decreasing trends were identified (annual increase, -0.109; P < .001). However, there were no significant changes in subgroups with non-university-affiliated hospitals, hospitals in metropolitan areas near Seoul, small hospitals (300-699 beds), or surgical ICUs. CONCLUSIONS: In South Korea, CLABSI rates have shown significant reductions in the past 10 years with participation in the KONIS. However, CLABSI rates may be reduced by encouraging more hospitals to participate in the KONIS and by improved policy support for hospitals lacking infection control resources.

Qualitative content analysis of psychologic discomfort and coping process after needlestick injuries among health care workers.

BACKGROUND: This study was designed to survey psychologic discomfort and coping processes of health care workers that suffered needlestick injuries (NSIs). METHODS: This qualitative analysis was performed with 15 health care workers who experienced NSIs. Data were collected using face-to-face interviews. The study subjects were asked the following: please describe the psychologic discomfort that you experienced after the NSI incidence. Data were evaluated by qualitative content analysis. RESULTS: Types of psychologic discomfort after NSI among health care workers included anxiety, anger, and feelings of guilt. Some personnel adopted active coping strategies, such as seeking first aid or reporting the incident to a monitoring system, whereas others used passive coping methods, such as avoidance of reporting the incident, vague expectancy to have no problems, and reliance on religious beliefs. Recommended support strategies to improve the prevention of NSIs were augmenting employee education and increasing recognition of techniques for avoiding NSIs. CONCLUSION: Medical institutions need to provide employees with repeated education so that they are familiar with guidelines for preventing NSIs and to stimulate their alertness to the risk of injuries at any time, in any place, and to anybody.