Impact of nurse-led interprofessional work in older patients with heart failure and multimorbidity: A retrospective cohort study.

Background: The number of patients with multimorbidity has increased due to the aging of the global population. Although the World Health Organization has indicated that multimorbidity will be a major medical problem in the future, the appropriate interventions for patients with multimorbidity are currently unknown. This study aimed to investigate whether nurse-led interprofessional work is associated with improved prognosis in heart failure patients with multimorbidity aged ≥65 years who were admitted in an acute care hospital. Methods: Patients who were admitted to the cardiovascular medicine ward of an acute care hospital in Osaka, Japan, and underwent nurse-led interprofessional work from April 1, 2017 to March 31, 2020, and from April 1, 2014 to March 31, 2016, were included in this retrospective cohort study. The patients were matched by age, sex, and New York Heart Association classification. The nurse-led interprofessional work was based on a three-step model that incorporates recommendations from international guidelines for multimorbidity. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality. Results: The mean age of the participants was 80 years, and 62 % were men. The nurse-led interprofessional work group showed a significant difference in all-cause mortality compared with the usual care group (hazard ratio, 0.45; 95 % confidence interval [CI], 0.29-0.69; P < 0.001). Compared with the usual care group, the nurse-led interprofessional work group exhibited a 7 % difference in mortality rate at 1-year post-discharge (P < 0.001). Conclusions: Nurse-led interprofessional work may reduce the all-cause mortality in older patients with heart failure and multimorbidity.

Checklist for infection control in the emergency department.

The risk of encountering human-to-human infections, including emerging infectious diseases, should be adequately and appropriately addressed in the emergency department. However, guidelines based on sufficient evidence on infection control in the emergency department have not been developed anywhere in the world. Each facility examines and implements its own countermeasures. The Japanese Association for Acute Medicine has established the "Committee for Infection Control in the Emergency Department" in cooperation with the Japanese Association for Infectious Diseases, Japanese Society for Infection Prevention and Control, Japanese Society for Emergency Medicine, and Japanese Society for Clinical Microbiology. A joint working group has been established to consider appropriate measures. This group undertook a comprehensive and multifaceted review of infection control measures for emergency outpatients and related matters, and released a checklist for infection control in emergency departments. This checklist has been prepared such that even small emergency departments with few or no emergency physicians can control infection by following the checklist, without committing any major errors. The checklist includes a control system for infection control, education, screening, and vaccination, prompt response to suspected infections, and management of the risk of infection in facilities. In addition, the timing of the check and interval at which the check is carried out are specified as categories. We hope that this checklist will contribute to improving infection control in the emergency department.

Durability of immunity by hepatitis B vaccine in Japanese health care workers depends on primary response titers and durations.

BACKGROUND: Health care workers (HCWs) are frequently exposed to hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. The efficacy and safety of immunization with the hepatitis B (HB) vaccine are well recognized, but the durability of immunity and need for booster doses in those with secondary vaccine response failure remains controversial. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study performed at Osaka University Hospital, Japan. We examined antibodies against HB surface antigen (anti-HBs) titers annually after immunization for previously non-immunized HCWs. Primary responders were categorized by their sero-positive durations as short responders (those whose anti-HBs titers declined to negative range within 3 years), and long responders (those who retained positive anti-HBs levels for 3 years and more). We re-immunized short responders with either single or 3-dose boosters, the long responders with a single booster when their titers dropped below protective levels, and examined their sero-protection rates over time thereafter. RESULTS: From 2001 to 2012, data of 264 HCWs with a median age of 25.3 were collected. The rate of anti-HBs positivity after primary vaccination were 93.0% after three doses (n = 229), 54.5% after two doses (n = 11), and 4.2% after a single dose (n = 24). Of 213 primary responders, the anti-HBs levels of 95 participants (44.6%) fell below the protective levels, including 46 short responders and 49 long responders. HCWs with higher initial anti-HBs titers after primary vaccination had significantly longer durations of sero-positivity. For short responders, 3-dose booster vaccination induced a longer duration of anti-HBs positivity compared to a single-dose booster, whereas for long responders, a single-dose booster alone could induce prolonged anti-HBs positivity. CONCLUSION: Our preliminary data suggested that it may be useful to differentiate HB vaccine responders based on their primary response durations to maintain protective levels of anti-HBs efficiently. A randomized, prospective, large-scale study is warranted to support our findings.

Novel and Simple Approach to Estimating the Actual Incidence of Blood and Body Fluid Exposure.

BACKGROUND: There is no current way to determine the actual blood and body fluid exposure (BBFE) incidence in hospitals. We propose a simple, reliable, and widely available method for the accurate estimation of BBFE. METHODS: Data for BBFE for healthcare workers between 2006 and 2015 at Osaka University Hospital were retrospectively extracted from the electronic records. Annual positivity of hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibody in the source individuals and overall patient population were calculated over time. We created an estimation formula focusing on the difference in HCV positivity between the source individuals and overall patient population for the actual number of BBFEs. A linear regression model was used to evaluate the temporal change in the reported and estimated BBFEs. RESULTS: During the study period, 937 BBFEs were reported. HCV positivity between the post-BBFE cohort and overall patient population greatly differed; the incidence ratio ranged from 2.1 to 5.7. The linear regression model revealed that the reported BBFEs did not significantly change during the study period (the slope, 1.315 [95% confidence interval (C.I.): -0.849 to 3.480, p = 0.199]). The annual incidence ratio of the estimated and reported BBFEs significantly reduced over time (the slope, -0.287 [95% C.I.: -0.488 to -0.086, p = 0.011]), indicating that, although the reported number of BBFEs seemed unchanged, the estimated incidence decreased. CONCLUSIONS: We propose a novel and simple approach to estimating the actual incidence of BBFEs in hospitals using the difference in HCV positivity between the post-BBFE cohort and overall patient population.

[The new method for detecting the outbreak sign of MRSA].

Conventional outbreak detection laboratory-based made one unit from the beginning of the month to the end of the month, totaled and analyzed, cannot correctly detect outbreaks continued during two months. The real-time analysis (RTA) we devised adapts to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and avoids the problems of conventional detection. RTA analyzes all data for the last 30 days when MRSA is newly isolated 48 hours or more after hospital admission. In the three years from April 2006 to March 2009, we compared the day and number of MRSA outbreaks newly isolated 48 hours or more after hospital admission in 572 subjects using the conventional method and RTA. We also calculated the RTA infection prevention effect. The number of outbreaks detected conventionally numbered 68 cases and those detected by RTA numbered 106 cases. The number of outbreaks newly detected by RTA numbered 38 cases in three years, averaging 4.3 days earlier than conventional detection using conventional method A an average of 15.7 days earlier than conventionally which totals for every end of the month using conventional method B. The effect of infection prevention in the change of RTA from conventional method A presumably decreases MRSA infection to 14-18 persons and it in the change of RTA from conventional method B decreases MRSA infection to 18-25 persons in one year. These results suggested that outbreak detection by RTA could help prevent MRSA outbreak and decrease MRSA infection frequency.

[Our experience using "Huber Plus" needles in our infusion center].

We conducted a pilot trial to compare the operability and safety of two huber needles in the infusion center. In the present study, we used huber needles without the safety cover and one huber needle with the safety cover (Huber Plus(R)). Both huber needles were used nine times. The successful puncture rate of the first time puncture and the incidence of needle accidents with both huber needles were 100% and 0%, respectively. The evaluation of pain and uneasiness by VAS (Visual Analogue scale)revealed the superiority of the safety needle over the than non-safety needle(pain: 3.8 vs 2.6, uneasiness: 3.7 vs 0.5). To our knowledge, this is the first report of the safety of the huber needle in Japan. This system may be recommended in Japan to avoid needle stick injuries, patient pain and uneasiness.

Footwear exchange has no influence on the incidence of febrile neutropenia in patients undergoing chemotherapy for hematologic malignancies.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether footwear exchange affects the incidence of febrile neutropenia among patients undergoing chemotherapy for hematologic malignancies. DESIGN: Open trial with historical comparison. SETTING: The 12-bed high-efficiency particulate air-filtered hematology unit at Osaka University Hospital, Suita, Japan. PATIENTS: Those with hematologic malignancies who underwent chemotherapy from January 1997 through January 2003. Footwear exchange was discontinued in January 2000. METHODS: The surveillance system was based on the National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance System of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Rates of febrile neutropenia were calculated for neutropenic patient-days (ie, days with neutropenia < 500/microL). RESULTS: From January 1997 through December 1999 and from February 2000 through January 2003, 58 and 54 patients endured 237 and 184 neutropenic periods following chemotherapy, and their total neutropenic days were 3,123 and 2,503, respectively. They showed episodes of febrile neutropenia 89 and 68 times, respectively. Infection rates were 28.5 and 27.2 per 1,000 neutropenic patient-days (P = .83), respectively. CONCLUSION: The incidence of febrile neutropenia was not affected by footwear exchange. In hematology units, changing shoes does not appear to affect the rate of infections during neutropenic periods.