Evaluation of pattern of bacterial contamination of outpatient department table surfaces in relation to cleaning and disinfection practices in a tertiary care hospital in Ahmedabad.

BACKGROUND: Outpatient department (OPD) table surfaces frequently touched by patients and health-care workers in hospitals harbor potential pathogens and may act as source of infectious agents. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to determine the pattern of bacterial contamination of surfaces of OPD tables in relation to existing cleaning/disinfection practices. METHODS: The descriptive study was conducted during July 2018-September 2018. A total of 128 swabs were collected from 32 OPD table surfaces immediately after cleaning or disinfection and then at 30 min, 2 h, and 4 h interval after cleaning or disinfection. Type and concentration of cleaner or disinfectant, number of cleaning strokes on table, and time of last washing of cleaning cloth with detergent were also noted from each location. Isolation, identification, and antibiotic susceptibility testing of the isolates were performed by standard microbiological techniques. RESULTS: A total of 337 bacterial isolates were recovered from 126 samples. Multidrug resistant Staphylococci, Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas, Klebsiella, and Escherichia coli were isolated. The mean bacterial colony count increased with time (P < 0.0001). Hand rub use, cleaning of OPD table surfaces with disinfectant, and more number of strokes with cleaning cloth resulted in decrease in colony count of bacteria isolated. CONCLUSION: High bacterial contamination of frequently touched OPD table surfaces with variety of potential pathogens like Staphylococcus, Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas, Klebsiella, and E. coli was detected. Hand hygiene among health-care workers and regular and frequent cleaning and disinfection of OPD table surfaces are highly recommended to prevent cross-transmission.

Identification of prevalent dengue serotypes by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and correlation with severity of dengue as per the recent World Health Organization classification (2009).

Context: A definite link between distinct dengue serotypes and severe clinical manifestations has not been established yet. The WHO classification (2009) of dengue is more competent in diagnosing severe cases compared to traditional (1997) classification. Aims: This study aimed to identify prevalent dengue serotypes and to correlate the severity of dengue with the dengue virus (DENV) serotypes in target population as per the recent WHO classification (2009). Settings and Design: A retrospective comparative observational study was conducted from 1st January 2015 to 31st December 2015. Subjects and Methods: We tested 242 dengue NS-1 antigen ELISA-positive cases for serotyping by dengue reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Severity of each dengue case confirmed by RT-PCR was determined as per the recent WHO classification (2009). Results: On the basis of RT-PCR, dengue infection was confirmed in 135 (55.78%) patients. DEN-3 was the most common serotype found in 71 (52.6%) patients, followed by DEN-2 serotype with 44 (32.6%) patients. Nearly 2.22% cases of DEN-2 and 2.96% cases of DEN-3 serotype were having dengue with warning signs. Severe dengue was found in 2.22% cases of DEN-2 and 5.18% cases of DEN-3 serotypes. Thrombocytopenia, haemorrhagic manifestations and atypical presentations were found most commonly in DEN-3 followed by DEN-2 serotype. Coinfection with more than one serotype was observed in our study, with the most common coinfection pattern being DEN-2 and DEN-3 serotypes. Conclusions: DENV-3 and DENV-2 serotypes are prevalent in the region and are associated with a more serious clinical profile than other serotypes.

Evaluation of concurrent malaria and dengue infections among febrile patients.

CONTEXT: Despite a wide overlap between endemic areas for two important vector-borne infections, malaria and dengue, published reports of co-infections are scarce till date. AIMS: To find the incidence of dengue and malaria co-infection as well as to ascertain the severity of such dengue and malaria co-infection based on clinical and haematological parameters. SETTING AND DESIGN: Observational, retrospective cross-sectional study was designed including patients who consulted the tertiary care hospital of Ahmedabad seeking treatment for fever compatible with malaria and/or dengue. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A total of 8364 serum samples from clinically suspected cases of fever compatible with malaria and/or dengue were collected. All samples were tested for dengue NS-1 antigen before 5 days of onset of illness and for dengue IgM after 5 days of onset of illness. In all samples, malaria diagnosis was based on the identification of Plasmodium parasites on a thin and thick blood films microscopy. RESULTS: Only 10.27% (859) patients with fever were tested positive for dengue and 5.1% (434) were tested positive for malaria. 3.14% (27) dengue cases show concurrent infection with malarial parasites. Hepatomegaly and jaundice 37.03% (10), haemorrhagic manifestations 18.51% (5) and kidney failure 3.7% (1), haemoglobin <12 g/dl 100% (27) and thrombocytopenia (platelet count <150,000/cmm) 96.29% (26) were common in malaria and dengue co-infections and were much more common in Plasmodium falciparum infections. CONCLUSION: All febrile patients must be tested for malaria and dengue, both otherwise one of them will be missed in case of concurrent infections which could lead to severe diseases with complications.