The Validity of Positive Coagulase-Negative Staphylococcus Cultures for the Diagnosis of Sepsis in the Neonatal Unit.

OBJECTIVE: Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (CoNS) is the most frequent pathogen causing late-onset sepsis (LOS) in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). Technical difficulties hinder blood culture (BC) collection and obtaining only one culture before initiating antibiotic therapy is a common practice. We sought to assess specific clinical information and CoNS cultures for the diagnosis of true bacteremia in the NICU. STUDY DESIGN: This historical cohort study was conducted in NICUs at the Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center of Jerusalem in Israel. Clinical and laboratory data in every CoNS bacteremia were collected and compared between bacteremia groups as follows: true positive, two positive BCs; contaminant, one positive BC out of two; undefined, one BC obtained and found positive. RESULTS: For 3.5 years, CoNS was isolated in 139 episodes. True positive was identified in 44 of 139 (31.7%), contaminant in 42 of 139 (30.2%), and the event was undefined in 53 of 139 (38.1%). Vancomycin treatment was more frequent in the true positive and undefined groups than the contaminant group (100, 90.6, and 73.8% respectively, p = 0.001); treatment was also prolonged in these two groups (p < 0.001). No clinical variables were associated with true bacteremia on multivariable analysis. CONCLUSION: Diagnosis should definitely be based on at least two positive BCs, despite objective difficulties in obtaining BCs in neonates. KEY POINTS: · CoNS is a frequent pathogen causing LOS in neonates.. · Due to technical difficulties, often only one culture is collected prior to antibiotic therapy.. · No clinical/laboratory variables were associated with the diagnosis of true CoNS bacteremia.. · Diagnosis should definitely be based on at least two positive BCs..

Vaginal delivery in SARS-CoV-2-infected pregnant women in Israel: a multicenter prospective analysis.

KEY MESSAGE: Among SARS-CoV-2-infected mothers, vaginal delivery rates were high and associated with favorable outcomes with no cases of neonatal COVID-19. PURPOSE: To investigate the mode of delivery and its impact on immediate neonatal outcome in SARS-CoV-2-infected women. METHODS: A prospective study following pregnant women diagnosed with COVID-19 who delivered between March 15th and July 4th in seven university affiliated hospitals in Israel. RESULTS: A total of 52 women with a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 delivered in the participating centers during the study period. The median gestational age at the time of delivery was 38 weeks, with 16 (30.8%) cases complicated by spontaneous preterm birth. Forty-three women (82.7%) underwent a trial of labor. The remaining 9 women underwent pre-labor cesarean delivery mostly due to obstetric indications, whereas one woman with a critical COVID-19 course underwent urgent cesarean delivery due to maternal deterioration. Among those who underwent a trial of labor (n = 43), 39 (90.7%) delivered vaginally, whereas 4 (9.3%) cases resulted in cesarean delivery. Neonatal RT-PCR nasopharyngeal swabs tested negative in all cases, and none of the infants developed pneumonia. No maternal and neonatal deaths were encountered. CONCLUSIONS: In this prospective study among SARS-CoV-2-infected mothers, vaginal delivery rates were high and associated with favorable outcomes with no cases of neonatal COVID-19. Our findings underscore that delivery management among SARS-CoV-2-infected mothers should be based on obstetric indications and may potentially reduce the high rates of cesarean delivery previously reported in this setting.

Is it financially beneficial for hospitals to prevent nosocomial infections?

BACKGROUND: Financial incentives represent a potential mechanism to encourage infection prevention by hospitals. In order to characterize the place of financial incentives, we investigated resource utilization and cost associated with hospital-acquired infections (HAI) and assessed the relative financial burden for hospital and insurer according to reimbursement policies. METHODS: We conducted a prospective matched case-control study over 18 months in a tertiary university medical center. Patients with central-line associated blood-stream infections (CLABSI), Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) or surgical site infections (SSI) were each matched to three control patients. Resource utilization, costs and reimbursement (per diem for CLABSI and CDI, diagnosis related group (DRG) reimbursement for SSI) were compared between patients and controls, from both the hospital and insurer perspective. RESULTS: HAIs were associated with increased resource consumption (more blood tests, imaging, antibiotic days, hospital days etc.). Direct costs were higher for cases vs. controls (CLABSI: $6400 vs. $2376 (p < 0.001), CDI: $1357 vs $733 (p = 0.047) and SSI: $6761 vs. $5860 (p < 0.001)). However as admissions were longer following CLABSI and CDI, costs per-day were non-significantly different (USD/day, cases vs. controls: CLABSI, 601 vs. 719, (p = 0.63); CDI, 101 vs. 93 (p = 0.5)). For CLABSI and CDI, reimbursement was per-diem and thus the financial burden ($14,608 and $5430 respectively) rested on the insurer, not the hospital. For SSI, as reimbursement was per procedure, costs rested primarily on the hospital rather than the insurer. CONCLUSION: Nosocomial infections are associated with both increased resource utilization and increased length of stay. Reimbursement strategy (per diem vs DRG) is the principal parameter affecting financial incentives to prevent hospital acquired infections and depends on the payer perspective. In the Israeli health care system, financial incentives are unlikely to represent a significant consideration in the prevention of CLABSI and CDI.

The Effect of Repeated Versus Initial Procalcitonin Measurements on Diagnosis of Infection in the Intensive Care Setting: A Prospective Observational Study.

Procalcitonin (PCT) measurement has been proposed to direct antibiotic use. We examined whether repeated PCT measurements (0, 6, and/or 12 hours) versus the initial measurement only (time 0) increased the sensitivity and specificity of PCT for diagnosing infection in intensive care unit patients. Infection was identified in 67/176 (38%) patients. The sensitivity of repeated versus the initial PCT measurement (with a cutoff value 0.5 ng/mL) was 52/67 (77%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 66%-87%) vs 46/67 (69%; 95% CI, 56%-79%; P = .04) and specificity 60/109 (55%; 95% CI, 45%-65%) vs 59/109 (54%; 95% CI, 44%-64%; P = 1.0). Repeat PCT evaluations over 12 hours did not provide a clinically significant improvement in diagnostic accuracy when compared to the initial single test.

Breast Implant Q Fever as a Source of In-Hospital Transmission.

Herein, we describe the first case of mammary implant infection caused by Coxiella burnetii, resulting in delayed diagnosis and treatment and an in-hospital cross-transmission of Q fever to medical personnel.

An intervention to control an ICU outbreak of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii: long-term impact for the ICU and hospital.

BACKGROUND: Following a fatal intensive care unit (ICU) outbreak of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumanii (CRAB) in 2015, an aggressive infection control intervention was instituted. We outline the intervention and long-term changes in the incidence and prevalence of CRAB. METHODS: The infection control intervention included unit closure (3 days), environmental cleaning, hand hygiene interventions, and environmental culturing. CRAB acquisition and prevalence and colistin use were compared for the 1 year before and 2 years after the intervention. RESULTS: Following the intervention, ICU CRAB acquisition decreased significantly from 54.6 (preintervention) to 1.9 (year 1) to 5.6 cases (year 2)/1000 admissions (p < 0.01 for comparisons with preintervention period.). Unexpectedly, ICU CRAB admission prevalence also decreased from 56.5 to 5.8 to 13 cases/1000 admissions (p < 0.001) despite the infection control intervention's being directed at the ICU alone. In parallel, hospital CRAB prevalence decreased from 4.4 to 2.4 to 2.5 cases/1000 admissions (p < 0.001), possibly as a result of decreased discharge of CRAB carriers from the ICU to the wards (58.5 to 1.9 to 7.4 cases/1000 admissions; p < 0.001). ICU colistin consumption decreased from 200 to 132 to 75 defined daily dose (DDD)/1000 patient-days (p < 0.05). Hospital colistin consumption decreased from 21.2 to 19.4 to 14.1 DDD/1000 patient-days (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The ICU infection control intervention was highly effective, long-lasting, and associated with a decrease in last-line antibiotic use. The intervention was associated with the unexpected finding that hospital CRAB prevalence also decreased.

Using anaerobic blood cultures for infants younger than 90 days rarely showed anaerobic infections but increased yields of bacterial growth.

AIM: The use of anaerobic blood cultures in infants suspected of bacteraemia is controversial. Our children's hospital uses both aerobic and anaerobic media, regardless of the risk of anaerobic infection, and the aim of this study was to re-evaluate the use of anaerobic cultures in infants. METHODS: We collected retrospective data from 2002 to 2016 on all blood cultures taken from infants younger than 90 days in the Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Centre, Jerusalem, Israel. The incidence and characteristics of infants with positive anaerobic blood cultures were assessed. RESULTS: During the study period, 51 035 blood cultures were drawn from 44 304 infants. Of these, 1496 (2.9%) were clinically significant positive cultures. Pathogenic obligatory anaerobic bacteraemia was extremely rare, with only 37 positive cultures (0.07%) from all of the cultures drawn. No specific risk factors for obligatory anaerobic bacteraemia could be defined, but as many as 174 (11.6%) clinically significant isolates were only detected in the anaerobic culture bottle. CONCLUSION: True anaerobic bacteraemia was extremely rare in neonates. Nevertheless, using anaerobic culture media may increase the overall yield of bacterial culture growth by isolating anaerobic-facultative bacteria. This should be weighed up against increasing the volume of blood used for the aerobic culture.

Patient Self-Assessment of Surgical Site Infection is Inaccurate.

BACKGROUND: Availability of surgical site infection (SSI) surveillance rates challenges clinicians, healthcare administrators and leaders and the public. The purpose of this report is to demonstrate the consequences patient self-assessment strategies have on SSI reporting rates. METHODS: We performed SSI surveillance among patients undergoing general surgery procedures, including telephone follow-up 30 days after surgery. Additionally we undertook a separate validation study in which we compared patient self-assessments of SSI with surgeon assessment. Finally, we performed a meta-analysis of similar validation studies of patient self-assessment strategies. RESULTS: There were 22/266 in-hospital SSIs diagnosed (8.3%), and additional 16 cases were detected through the 30-day follow-up. In total, the SSI rate was 16.8% (95% CI 10.1-18.5). In the validation survey, we found patient telephone surveillance to have a sensitivity of 66% (95% CI 40-93%) and a specificity of 90% (95% CI 86-94%). The meta-analysis included five additional studies. The overall sensitivity was 83.3% (95% CI 79-88%), and the overall specificity was 97.4% (95% CI 97-98%). Simulation of the meta-analysis results divulged that when the true infection rate is 1%, reported rates would be 4%; a true rate of 50%, the reported rates would be 43%. CONCLUSION: Patient self-assessment strategies in order to fulfill 30-day SSI surveillance misestimate SSI rates and lead to an erroneous overall appreciation of inter-institutional variation. Self-assessment strategies overestimate SSIs rate of institutions with high-quality performance and underestimate rates of poor performance. We propose such strategies be abandoned. Alternative strategies of patient follow-up strategies should be evaluated in order to provide valid and reliable information regarding institutional performance in preventing patient harm.

Infants under two months of age with urinary tract infections are showing increasing resistance to empirical and oral antibiotics.

AIM: Data on antimicrobial resistance in uropathogens in infants up to the age of three months are limited. This study characterised resistance patterns in Gram-negative uropathogens in infants up to the age of two months. METHODS: Previously healthy young infants with urinary tract infections (UTIs) were studied retrospectively. Antimicrobial susceptibility was evaluated. Multidrug resistance (MDR) was defined as resistance to at least three antibiotic classes. Clinical, laboratory and outcome data were compared between infants with UTIs caused by bacteria sensitive and resistant to empirical and to oral therapy. RESULTS: We evaluated 306 UTI episodes with 314 pathogens. The following resistance rates were observed: ampicillin 73.7%, cefazoline 22.1%, ampicillin/clavulanate 21.8%, cefuroxime 7.8%, gentamicin 7%; MDR 11.8%; resistant to empirical treatment 7.3% and resistant to available oral antibiotics 8.6%. Our study showed that pathogens resistant to empirical and oral therapy were more frequently isolated in non-Jewish (Arab) infants and in those of ≥30 days of age. Resistance to empirical treatment and oral antibiotics also resulted in longer mean hospital stays. CONCLUSION: Resistance to antibiotics challenges empirical therapy and compromises oral treatment options in young infants with UTIs. Antimicrobial resistance patterns should be monitored in infants to determine appropriate empirical antibiotic therapy protocols.

[PREDICTION OF LATE ONSET SEPSIS IN VERY LOW BIRTH WEIGHT INFANTS BY A SOFTWARE APPLICATION--ARE WE THERE YET?].

INTRODUCTION: Early prediction of late onset sepsis is imperative in order to improve survival and reduce long-term complications. Since clinical deterioration is detrimental, empiric antibiotic treatment is initiated once sepsis is suspected. Symptoms that may indicate invasive infection are non-specific. Previous risk scores offered to improve clinical decision-making but provided low predictive values. AIMS: To evaluate the quantitative early alert of software application compared to clinical judgment by the treating physician, and the "gold standard" of positive blood and/or positive cerebrospinal fluid. METHODS: Weight, heart and respiratory rates, episodes of bradycardia and desaturation, and temperature were collected for each neonate and loaded daily into the system for a period of 30 days by a registered nurse. The medical team and the registered nurse were blind to the system alerts. Analysis of the correlation between the software alerts, the clinical suspicion of sepsis and bacteremia was conducted. RESULTS: Forty-five very low birth weight consecutively born infants who did not have early onset sepsis and survived, were evaluated, of whom 17 infants had culture proven bloodstream infection. The software positive predictive value was 6%, 23%, 31%, at 12, 24, 48, hours respectively for alerts approximately to positive cultures. The positive predictive value of clinical suspicion of LOS was 28% but increased from 25% with low levels of clinical suspicion to 34% with high levels of clinical suspicion. DISCUSSION: The software application did not improve sepsis prediction. However, further trials may develop a more accurate algorithm that will alert the physician to be more attentive to infants in special cases.

Infections caused by Fusobacterium in children: a 14-year single-center experience.

PURPOSE: This study aimed at reviewing our experience with infections caused by Fusobacterium in children. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of medical records of children admitted to Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center from 2000 to 2013, in whom Fusobacterium spp. was identified in any specimen. RESULTS: A total of 22 patients (males = 12) at a mean ± SE age of 5 ± 1 (range 1-17) years, were identified. The most common complication was abscess formation (n = 11, 50 %). Eight children (36.4 %) had intracranial complications, including brain abscess (n = 4), meningitis (n = 4) and cerebral sinus vein thrombosis (CSVT, n = 5). Seventeen children (77 %) had bacteremia. Primary site of infection was otogenic (n = 9), oropharyngeal (n = 7), respiratory (n = 2), sinuses (n = 2), intra-abdominal (n = 1) and mucositis (n = 1). Fourteen cases were caused by Fusobacterium necrophorum, including four cases with CSVT, 7/8 cases of mastoiditis, four of them with subperiosteal abscess formation; all four cases with meningitis and two brain abscesses. Fifteen (68 %) patients required surgical intervention and 3 (14 %) received anti-coagulation therapy. Excluding one patient with overwhelming sepsis with fatal outcome, all patients recovered. CONCLUSIONS: Fusobacterium infections in children can cause a diverse spectrum of disease and is associated with high rates of abscess formation and intracranial complications. Although Fusobacterium nucleatum is abundant in the oral cavity, F. necrophorum is the main pathogen that causes severe infections in healthy children.

How effective are monthly departmental tracer surveys? A 5-year retrospective study of 138 surveys in 96 departments.

BACKGROUND: Repeat department-wide surveys are commonly employed for infection control. There remains debate concerning their cost-effectivess. The aim of the study was to measure the impact of repeat department-wide surveys in major in-patient departments (IPDs) and ambulatory facilities (AFs) in a tertiary care hospital. This was a retrospective study of 138 surveys condcuted in 96 departments over a 5-year period. METHODS: Two itemized questionnaires were designed to assess the most frequently inadequately adhered to infection control measures: one for IPD (with 21 items) and the other for AF (with 17 items). RESULTS: A total of 72 surveys were conducted in 49 IPDs, of which 39 (54%) were repeat surveys, and 66 surveys in 47 AFs, of which 33 (50%) were repeat surveys. The baseline rate of adherence/department was 71% ± 14 for the IPD, with an increase from the first to the last survey to 82% ± 13 (P = .037). In 15/21 measured infection control items, adherence improved. Adherence to infection control items was lower at baseline in the AFs than in the IPDs (63 ± 27), with an increase to 76 ± 20 (non significant). Although adherence improved for 9 items, it deteriorated in another 8, producing an overall statistically unchanged outcome. CONCLUSION: Repeat whole-department surveys contribute moderately to increased adherence to infection control guidelines. AFs demonstrate lower rates of adherence to infection control guidelines and are less receptive to educational measures.

No change in antibiotic susceptibility patterns in the neonatal ICU over two decades.

OBJECTIVES: To identify trends in early-onset sepsis and late-onset sepsis neonatal rates and to evaluate the appropriateness of the empirical antibiotic protocols. DESIGN: A 17-yr (1993-2009) analysis of positive blood and cerebrospinal fluid cultures. SETTING: The two neonatal ICUs at the Hadassah- Hebrew University Medical Center. RESULTS: During this period, 991 infants had at least one episode of either bacteremia or meningitis. The overall incidence of early-onset sepsis was 0.64 per 1,000 live births with a nonsignificant trend over the study period (p = 0.37). The overall incidence of late-onset sepsis was 7.5 per 100 admissions with a significant positive trend in the incidence rates (p = 0.021). The incidence of late-onset sepsis was 7.5 per 100 admissions with a significant positive trend in the prevalence rates (p = 0.021). The prevalence of early-onset group B Streptococcus bacteremia decreased significantly throughout the study period. Among late-onset sepsis, Gram-positive and fungi infection rates were stable over time, while Gram-negative infection rates showed a significant positive trend (p = 0.007). No significant change in the susceptibility rate of the isolated Gram-negative bacteria in late-onset sepsis for the common antibacterial drugs was found. About 85% and 90% of the isolated organisms were susceptible to our early-onset sepsis (ampicillin and gentamicin) and late-onset sepsis (vancomycin and cefotaxime) protocols, respectively, and these rates were stable over the study period (p = .1 and .55, respectively). Sepsis-related mortality was higher among Gram- negative sepsis cases resistant to our empiric antibiotic protocol. CONCLUSIONS: Our empiric antibiotic protocols are appropriate despite their continuous use over the last 17 yrs. This may have been achieved by the use of a controlled antibiotic program and infection control efforts.

[The effect of an intervention on rates of central vascular catheter-related bloodstream infection in intensive care units at the Hadassah Medical Center].

INTRODUCTION: Catheter-related bloodstream infection (CR-BSI) is a significant source for morbidity and mortality in addition to increased hospital costs. Patients in intensive care units (ICUs) have a greater risk for CR-BSI. Continuous monitoring and control of intravascular central catheters insertion (CCI) by using checklists have a key role in reducing the rate of infections and improving patient health care quality and safety. OBJECTIVES: To determine the rate of CR-BSI, and to evaluate the adherence of ICU teams to infection control guidelines during CCI prior to and following an intervention program in ICU patients. METHODS: The present study was conducted in six ICUs at the Hadassah Medical Center, during a period of 15 months. The rate of CR-BSI was determined in 320 patients with central catheters during the first period of the study. Assessment of adherence to infection control guidelines during CCI was carried out by observations. Educational intervention consisted of the introduction of physician guidelines for CCI, implementing a checklist to ensure adherence to the guidelines and lectures for the teams, beginning in the second period of the study. During the third period of the study, the rate of CR-BSI was determined in 336 patients with central catheters in the same ICUs, by the same research methods. RESULTS: Following the intervention, a significant reduction in the rate of CR-BSI was observed in the study population from 9.66 to 3.63 infections per 1000 catheter days, with 62.4% risk reduction for CR-BSI, (P < 0.001). Improvements were also recorded in the CCI process and the rate of compliance of the ICUs team with infection control guidelines. CONCLUSIONS: The implementation of a simple and inexpensive intervention reduced the rate of CR-BSI, leading to improved process of insertion of these catheters. DISCUSSION: The continuous monitoring of the rate of CR-BSI and using checklists in every CCI process may reduce the morbidity, mortality, hospital stay, and lower hospital costs associated with centrally placed vascular catheters.

Sources of primary bloodstream infections in internal medicine patients - a cohort study.

PURPOSE: To describe the sources of bloodstream infections (BSIs) in internal-medicine patients, on admission and during hospitalization, and to determine the proportion of BSIs in which no secondary cause could be defined (i.e., primary-BSI). METHODS: We analyzed all BSIs at the internal-medicine wards of the two campuses of the Hadassah Hebrew-University Medical Center, during 2017-2018. We defined the BSI source of each event (secondary, Central-line associated BSI (CLABSI) or primary non-CLABSI) and compared BSIs present on admission (POA) to hospital acquired (HA). RESULTS: There were 595 patient-unique BSI events, 316 (53.1%) POA-BSI and 279 (46.9%) HA-BSI. Overall, 309 (51.9%) were secondary, 194 (32.6%) primary non-CLABSI and 92 (15.5%) CLABSI. Primary non-CLABSI in the POA-BSI group was 20.6% vs. 46.2% in the HA-BSI group (p = 0.001). The length of hospital stay (LOS) of the HA-BSI group was longer than in the POA-BSI group (mean LOS, 19 days vs. 13.6 days, p = 0.01) and mortality rate was higher (48.7% vs. 19%, p = 0.001). Staphylococcus aureus was more common in primary non-CLABSI than in CLABSI and secondary BSI (29.5%, 12.8% and 16.2%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The proportion of primary non-CLABSI among HA-BSI events is very high (46.2%). The absence of any plausible source for these BSIs, and the fact that in our hospital more than 90% of patients in medicine wards have peripheral lines, suggests that these may be a possible source for primary non-CLABSIs. Measures to prevent peripheral-line associated BSI (PLABSI), like those implemented successfully for the prevention of CLABSI, should be considered.

KPC-9, a novel carbapenemase from clinical specimens in Israel.

A bla(KPC-9) carbapenemase variant was discovered in isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli from a single patient. It differed from bla(KPC-3) by one amino acid substitution (Val239Ala). The K. pneumoniae isolate was typed as ST258, as was the epidemic Israeli KPC-3 clone. bla(KPC-9) was found on a plasmid indistinguishable from pKpQIL that carries bla(KPC-3) in the epidemic clone. Compared to KPC-3, KPC-9 conferred less resistance to carbapenems and higher resistance to ceftazidime.

Comparison of two carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae clones: from a contained outbreak in a paediatric population and from a national epidemic.

OBJECTIVES: A refractory epidemic of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) emerged in the adult population at our hospital in 2005, as in most Israeli hospitals. Contemporaneously, a different clone of CRKP caused an easily contained outbreak in a paediatric long-term care facility (LTCF) in Jerusalem. While previously identified host-related risk factors for colonization by these organisms undoubtedly contributed to these outbreaks, it is very likely that bacterial factors might be crucial in explaining the striking differences in transmissibility between the implicated strains. We therefore sought bacterial factors associated with these different epidemiological behaviours. METHODS: Seven CRKP isolated at our hospital and the LTCF during 2008-09 were examined by antimicrobial susceptibility testing and PFGE, and further analyses of these two clones was done using multilocus sequence typing and competition experiments. Plasmids were analysed by conjugation, restriction mapping, PCR and sequencing. RESULTS: Both clones were multidrug resistant and harboured identical plasmids carrying the bla(KPC-3) gene. The hyper-transmissible epidemic clone carried additional antibiotic resistance genes and hosted an additional plasmid. The clone from the LTCF did not demonstrate hyper-transmissible properties despite its presence in an institution of a type commonly plagued by the epidemic clone. Competition assays showed the more easily contained strain to be fitter. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that neither the presence of the plasmid carrying the bla(KPC-3) gene nor relative survival fitness account for the hyper-transmissibility of the epidemic strain. The role of patient age in susceptibility to colonization by the epidemic strain should be investigated.

A feasibility study of the use of medical clowns as hand-hygiene promoters in hospitals.

Healthcare-acquired infections (HAI) pose vast health and economic burdens. Proper hand-hygiene is effective for reducing healthcare-acquired infections (HAI) incidence, yet staff compliance is generally low. This study assessed the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary effect of employing medical clowns to enhance hand-hygiene among physicians and nurses. Staff perception of the intervention and its impact on hand-hygiene was assessed via self-report questionnaires. Nearly 1,500 hand-hygiene compliance observations were conducted in accordance with WHO guidelines before, during and after the intervention. In each of three hospitals in Israel, two departments were selected-one in which medical clowns routinely operate and one clown-naive department. Professional medical clowns acted as hand-hygiene promoters employing humorous tactics to encourage hand-sanitizing based on the WHO "5 Moments" model. The clown appeared in each department seven times during the 2-week intervention phase. Pre-intervention hand-hygiene compliance ranged from just over 50% to 80% across hospitals and departments. Overall, about 70% of nurses (N = 132) and 80% of physicians (N = 49) felt the intervention improved personal and departmental hand-hygiene, with large inter-department variation. Pre- to post-intervention hand-hygiene compliance increased by 4% -25% (3.5-14.8 percentage points) in four departments, three of which had low baseline compliance levels. Results of this feasibility study suggest that employing medical clowns as hand-hygiene promoters as a novel approach toward HAI prevention is feasible and welcome by hospital staff.