ABSTRACT
@#The highly infectious COVID-19 pandemic has in a way or the other affected everyone. Health care workers particularly anaesthesists who deal with airway manipulation are at an increased risk of being infected. Invasive procedures such as intubation and extubation performed mostly by anaesthetists are classified as procedures with high risk of aerosol generating particles where respiratory droplets containing the virus can easily spread to the surroundings. Various methods of preoxygenation, intubation and extubation have been further discussed and improvised with the aim of reducing the spread of aerosolization and making intubation safe. The purpose of this review is to identify the new techniques that are safe and effective in reducing aerosolization of respiratory droplets during the process of intubation and extubation. Anaesthetists are often not familiar with these new techniques and protocols. Thus far, no scientific data has been made available to support the superiority of each technique. Further research is needed to investigate each technique in the future.
ABSTRACT
@#We report a rare case of Ochrobactrum anthropi bacteremia in a previously healthy young man who was admitted for severe dengue. O. anthropi is a rarely encountered Gram negative organism which is resistant to commonly used beta-lactam antibiotics. This organism is usually interpreted as a contaminant as it is ubiquitous in the environment. Isolation of this organism upon admission suggested a community-acquired infection. He had persistent bacteremia and had to be treated with a prolonged course of meropenem and ciprofloxacin. This case report highlights the importance of early diagnosis and prompt treatment of this otherwise contaminant as previous reports showed this organism can be an opportunistic pathogen which may lead to severe infection.