External and internal validation of healthcare-associated infection data collected by the Korean National healthcare-associated Infections Surveillance System (KONIS).

BACKGROUND: This study analyzed the validity of healthcare-associated infection (HAI) data of the Korean National healthcare-associated Infections Surveillance System. METHODS: The validation process consisted of external (EV) and internal (IV) validation phases. Of the 193 hospitals that participated from July 2016 through June 2017, EV was performed for 10 hospitals that were selected based on the HAI rate percentile. The EV team reviewed 295 medical records for 60 HAIs and 235 non-HAI control patients. IV was performed for both the 10 EV hospitals and 11 other participating hospitals that did not report any HAIs. RESULTS: In the EV, the diagnosis of urinary tract infections had a sensitivity of 72.0% and a specificity of 99.3%. The respective sensitivities of bloodstream infection and pneumonia were 63.2% and 70.6%; the respective specificities were 98.8% and 99.6%. The agreement (ĸ) between the EV and IV for 10 hospitals was 0.754 for urinary tract infections and 0.674 for bloodstream infections (P < .001, respectively). Additionally, IV found additional cases among 11 zero-report hospitals. DISCUSSION: This study demonstrates the need for ongoing validation and continuous training to maintain the accuracy of nationwide surveillance data. CONCLUSIONS: IV should be considered a validation method to supplement EV.

Survey of Adverse Events After The First Dose of The ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 Vaccine: A Single-Center Experience in Korea.

Vaccination is an important strategy for controlling the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. We conducted a web-based cross-sectional survey based on Google Forms to collect data on adverse events (AEs) after the first dose of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine for healthcare workers (HCWs). Among the 1,676 vaccinated HCWs, 59.5% (998/1,676) responded to the survey. In total, 809 (81.1%) respondents reported experiencing AEs. There were no serious AEs, such as anaphylaxis. The most common AE was pain at the injection site (76.2%), followed by fatigue (75.9%), myalgia (74.9%), and fever (58.4%). HCWs in the younger age group experienced significantly more AEs than in the older age group.

Comparison of the Seroprevalence of Measles Antibodies among Healthcare Workers in Two Korean Hospitals in 2019.

We performed a point seroprevalence survey of measles among healthcare workers (HCWs) at two Korean teaching hospitals in 2019. A total of 2,830 HCWs underwent an antibody test. The overall seropositivity of measles was 93.1%. The seroprevalence of measles was lowest in HCWs aged 20 - 24 years (81.2%), followed by those aged 25 - 29 years (90.1%). The rates of anti-measles IgG positivity were significantly different between the two hospitals (97.0% vs. 89.4%, P <0.001). These results suggest that the seropositivity of measles in HCWs may differ depending on the hospital's vaccination policy.

The impact of a ventilator bundle on preventing ventilator-associated pneumonia: a multicenter study.

BACKGROUND: For prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), a bundle approach was applied to patients receiving mechanical ventilation in intensive care units. The incidence of VAP and the preventive efficacy of the VAP bundle were investigated. METHODS: A quasi-experimental study was conducted in adult intensive care units of 6 university hospitals with similar VAP rates. We implemented the VAP bundle between March 2011 and June 2011, then compared the rate of VAP after implementation of the VAP bundle with the rate in the previous 8 months. Our ventilator bundle included head of bed elevation, peptic ulcer disease prophylaxis, deep venous thrombosis prophylaxis, and oral decontamination with chlorhexidine 0.12%. Continuous aspiration of subglottic secretions was an option. RESULTS: Implementation of the VAP bundle reduced the VAP rate from a mean of 4.08 cases per 1,000 ventilator-days to 1.16 cases per 1,000 ventilator-days. The incidence density ratio (rate) was 0.28 (95% confidence interval, 0.275-0.292). CONCLUSIONS: Implementing the appropriate VAP bundle significantly decreased the incidence of VAP in patients with mechanical ventilation.