Perception and Knowledge of Mercury by Occupationally Exposed Health Care Personnel.

Thermometers and baumanometers frequently contain mercury, a toxic heavy metal. Inadequate management of this substance can constitute an occupational hazard by exposing health care professionals to health risks including memory loss, psychosomatic symptoms, fatigue, and other signs of cognitive dysfunction as reported in several studies. PURPOSE: To assess Mexico's health care professionals' health and mercury-related knowledge and risk perception and to explore the measurement properties of a questionnaire assessing that level of knowledge. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Mixed methodology. A quantitative, cross-sectional study was conducted to measure health care professionals' knowledge of mercury and to validate an instrument using a Rasch analysis in 160 professionals. A qualitative study involving in-depth interviews was conducted to identify participants' risk perception for mercury exposure. RESULTS: The total knowledge of mercury was 19.0 ± 2.0 on a scale of 0 to 28 points. The scores for medical specialists were significantly (P < .001) higher, ranging between 20.0 ± 2.05 and 23.0 ± 1.63. In general, the level of risk perception for mercury exposure was low. The questionnaire presented a reasonable fit to the Rasch model (good item fit with a Bonferroni-adjusted P = .000714). The response categories of three items were collapsed, and two pairs of items were bundled into two super items. CONCLUSION: The levels of the knowledge of the health and safety risks and risk perception for mercury exposure in the Mexican health care professionals evaluated were low. Health care professionals should receive comprehensive training in the safe use and health risks of mercury.

Implementation of control measures against an outbreak due to Clostridioides difficile producing toxin B in a tertiary hospital in Mexico.

INTRODUCTION: To describe the outbreak of Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI), and the impact of the prevention and control measures that were implemented in the "Hospital Juárez de México" (HJM) for its control. METHODS: A cross-sectional, descriptive, observational, and retrospective study was designed. All information on the hospital outbreak and on health care-associated infections (HCAI) was obtained from the files of the Hospital Epidemiological Surveillance Unit (HESU) of the HJM. RESULTS: A total of 15 cases of CDI were detected from February 20th to May 22nd, 2018, which represented 55.6% and 44.4% for the male and female gender, respectively, with an average age of 56 years and a range of 24 to 86 years old. It was possible to identify six failures and deficiencies that involved health personnel and hospital logistics through analyses based on the situational diagnosis in the services involved and through the construction of cause-effect diagrams. Additionally, through the detection of the outbreak by means of laboratory tests and timeline, the HESU team implemented measures and prospective surveillance to control and prevent the emergence of new cases. CONCLUSIONS: The implementation of basic quality tools, control measures, and the prospective epidemiological surveillance had a positive impact on the control against the outbreak of C. difficile producing toxin B.