Quality of life after intensive care: a systematic review of the literature.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate quality of life at least 12 months after discharge from the intensive care unit of adult critically ill patients, to evaluate the methodology used to assess long-term quality of life, and to give an overview of factors influencing quality of life. DATA SOURCES: EMBASE-PubMed, MEDLINE (OVID), SCI/Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, and personal files. DATA EXTRACTION: Data extraction was performed independently and cross-checked by two reviewers using a predefined data extraction form. Eligible studies were published between 1999 and 2009 and assessed quality of life ≥12 months after intensive care unit discharge by means of the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short Form Health Survey, the RAND 36-Item Health Survey, EuroQol-5D, and/or the Nottingham Health Profile in adult intensive care unit patients. DATA SYNTHESIS: Fifty-three articles (10 multicenters) were included, with the majority of studies performed in Europe (68%). The Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short Form Health Survey was used in 55%, and the EuroQol-5D, the Nottingham Health Profile, the RAND 36-Item Health Survey, or a combination was used in 21%, 9%, 8%, or 8%, respectively. A response rate of ≥80% was attained in 26 studies (49%). Critically ill patients had a lower quality of life than an age- and gender-matched population, but quality of life tended to improve over years. The worst reductions in quality of life were seen in cases of severe acute respiratory distress syndrome, prolonged mechanical ventilation, severe trauma, and severe sepsis. Study quality criteria, defined as a baseline quality of life assessment, the absence of major exclusion criteria, a description of nonresponders, and a comparison with a reference population were met in only four studies (8%). Results concerning the influence of severity of illness, comorbidity, preadmission quality of life, age, gender, or acquired complications were conflicting. CONCLUSIONS: Quality of life differed on diagnostic category but, overall, critically ill patients had a lower quality of life than an age- and gender-matched population. A minority of studies met the predefined methodologic quality criteria. Results concerning the influence of the patients' characteristics and illnesses on long-term quality of life were conflicting.

Prevention of nosocomial infections in intensive care patients.

BACKGROUND: Changes in patient profile, and in the health care environment, altering socioeconomic conditions and advances in science and information technology challenge the nursing profession, in particular intensive care nursing. All these changes will undoubtedly affect the way we will practice in the (near) future. A comprehensive understanding of these factors is therefore essential if nursing is to meet the challenges presented by tomorrow's critical care environment. Precisely because of the often expensive high-tech evolutions that have occurred at a rapid pace and are to be further expected, a continued focus on the basics of nursing, the core role of care, as well as maintaining confidence in the capacity to deliver safe, high-quality, and evidence-based patient care will increasingly be a challenge to critical care nurses. In particular, basic nursing skills and knowledge remain a key prerequisite in the prevention of nosocomial infections, which is a continuing major complication and threat to intensive care unit patients. However, critical care nurses' knowledge about the evidence-based consensus recommendations for infection prevention and control has been found to be rather poor. It has nevertheless been demonstrated that a meticulous implementation of such preventive bundles may result in significantly better patient and process outcomes. Moreover, many preventive strategies are considered to be easy to implement and inexpensive. As such, a first and critical step should be to increase critical care nurses' adherence to the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. AIM: In this article, an up-to-date assessment of evidence-based recommendations for the prevention of nosocomial infections, with special focus on catheter-related bloodstream infections and strategies relevant for nurses working in critical care environments, will be provided. Additionally, we will detail on a number of approaches advocated to translate the internationally accepted consensus recommendations to the needs and expectations of critical care nurses, and to consequently enhance the likelihood of successful implementation and adherence. These steps will help critical care nurses in their striving towards excellence in their profession. SUMMARY: Intensive care nurses can make a significant contribution in preventing nosocomial infections by assuming full responsibility for quality improvement measures such as evidence-based infection prevention and control protocols. However, as general knowledge of the preventive measures has been shown to be rather poor, nurses' education should include supplementary support from evidence-based recommendations.

Nurses' knowledge of evidence-based guidelines for the prevention of surgical site infection.

BACKGROUND: Prevention of surgical site infection (SSI) is an important responsibility for nurses. Knowledge of the related evidence-based recommendations is necessary to provide high-quality nursing care. AIM: Development of an evaluation tool and subsequent evaluation of intensive care unit (ICU) nurses' knowledge of the SSI prevention guideline to identify their specific educational needs, as part of a needs analysis preceding the development of an e-learning module on infection prevention. METHODS: We developed a multiple-choice knowledge test concerning evidence-based SSI prevention. After expert assessment of its face and content validity, the test was used in a survey among 809 ICU nurses. Demographics included were gender, ICU experience, number of ICU beds, and whether respondents had obtained a specialized ICU qualification. Based on the test results, an item analysis was performed. RESULTS: Face and content validity were achieved for 9 out of 10 items of the questionnaire. From the survey, we collected 650 questionnaires (response rate 80.3%). The item analysis revealed overall good results with values for item difficulty ranging from 0.1 to 0.5 for eight questions, while one question had a value of 0.02; discriminative values ranging from 0.27 to 0.53 and values for the quality of the response alternatives between 0.1 and 0.7. Overall, these results demonstrate the questionnaire's reliability. The nurses' mean score on the knowledge test was 29%. Males were shown to have better scores. CONCLUSIONS: Opportunities exist to improve ICU nurses' knowledge about SSI prevention recommendations. Current guidelines should support their ongoing training and education.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for preventing central venous catheter-related infection: results of a knowledge test among 3405 European intensive care nurses.

OBJECTIVE: To determine European intensive care unit (ICU) nurses' knowledge of guidelines for preventing central venous catheter-related infection from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. DESIGN: Multicountry survey (October 2006-March 2007). SETTING: Twenty-two European countries. PARTICIPANTS: ICU nurses. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Using a validated multiple-choice test, knowledge of ten recommendations for central venous catheter-related infection prevention was evaluated (one point per question) and assessed in relation to participants' gender, ICU experience, number of ICU beds, and acquisition of a specialized ICU qualification. We collected 3405 questionnaires (70.9% response rate); mean test score was 44.4%. Fifty-six percent knew that central venous catheters should be replaced on indication only, and 74% knew this also concerns replacement over a guidewire. Replacing pressure transducers and tubing every 4 days, and using coated devices in patients requiring a central venous catheter >5 days in settings with high infection rates only were recognized as recommended by 53% and 31%, respectively. Central venous catheters dressings in general are known to be changed on indication and at least once weekly by 43%, and 26% recognized that both polyurethane and gauze dressings are recommended. Only 14% checked 2% aqueous chlorhexidine as the recommended disinfection solution; 30% knew antibiotic ointments are not recommended because they trigger resistance. Replacing administration sets within 24 hrs after administering lipid emulsions was recognized as recommended by 90%, but only 26% knew sets should be replaced every 96 hrs when administering neither lipid emulsions nor blood products. Professional seniority and number of ICU beds showed to be independently associated with better test scores. CONCLUSIONS: Opportunities exist to optimize knowledge of central venous catheter-related infection prevention among European ICU nurses. We recommend including central venous catheter-related infection prevention guidelines in educational curricula and continuing refresher education programs.

Epidemiology of infection in critically ill patients with acute renal failure.

OBJECTIVES: Critically ill patients with infection are at increased risk for developing acute renal failure (ARF), and ARF is associated with an increased risk for infection. Both conditions are associated with prolonged length of stay (LOS) and worse outcome; however, little data exist on the epidemiology of infection in this specific cohort. Therefore, we investigated the occurrence of infection in a cohort of critically ill patients with ARF treated with renal replacement therapy (RRT). In addition, we assessed whether this infection worsened outcome. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: General intensive care unit (ICU) in an academic tertiary care center comprising a 22-bed surgical ICU, eight-bed cardiac surgery ICU, 14-bed medical ICU, and six-bed burn center. PATIENTS: Six hundred forty-seven consecutive critically ill patients with ARF treated with RRT, admitted between 2000 and 2004. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: total of 519 (80.2%), 193 (29.8%), 66 (10.2%), and ten (1.5%) patients developed one, two, three, and four episodes of infection, respectively. Of 788 episodes of infection observed, 364 (46.2%) occurred before, 318 (40.3%) during, and 106 (13.4%) after discontinuation of RRT. Pneumonia (54.3%) was most frequent, followed by intra-abdominal (11.9%) and urinary tract infections (9.7%). Infections were caused by Gram-negative organisms in 33.7%, Gram-positive organisms in 21.6%, and yeasts in 9.8%. Patients with infection had higher mortality (p = 0.04) and longer ICU and hospital LOS. They needed more vasoactive therapy and spent more time on mechanical ventilation and RRT (all p < 0.001) than patients without infection. After adjustment for potential confounders, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score, age, mechanical ventilation, and vasoactive therapy were associated with worse outcome, but infection was not. CONCLUSIONS: Infection occurred in four fifths of critically ill patients with ARF treated with RRT and was in an unadjusted analysis associated with longer LOS and higher mortality. After correction for other covariates, infection was no longer associated with in-hospital mortality.

Implementation of an evidence-based sepsis program in the intensive care unit: evident or not?

Severe sepsis and septic shock are among the most serious health conditions and are associated with unwelcome clinical, social, and economic outcomes. With the introduction of the Surviving Sepsis Campaign guidelines, the campaign leaders aimed to reduce mortality from severe sepsis by at least one quarter by 2009 by means of a six-point action plan, namely, building awareness among health care professionals, improving early and accurate disease recognition and diagnosis, increasing the use of appropriate treatments and interventions, education, getting better post-intensive care unit access, and developing standard processes of care. However, adherence to these recommendations is a first but crucial step in obtaining these goals. A comprehensive evaluation of both, adherence to a sepsis program and whether this results in better outcomes for patients, is therefore essential to guide informed decision-making regarding the implementation of such an evidence-based protocol.

Characteristics and costs in adults with acute poisoning admitted to the emergency department of a university hospital in Belgium.

OBJECTIVE: The aims of this study were to assess the characteristics of all acute poisoning admissions among adult emergency department (ED) patients, to identify factors associated with admission and to calculate direct medical cost. METHODS: Data of 2017 (1st January to 31st December) were collected and analyzed retrospectively using patients' medical records and hospital invoices. Factors associated with type of hospitalization were identified using appropriate statistics. RESULTS: A total of 1,214 hospital admissions were included, accounting for 3.6% of all ED admissions. Men (62.2%) and the age group 21-40 years (43.0%) accounted for the largest proportion. Substances most commonly involved were ethanol (52.9%), benzodiazepines (9.7%), cocaine (4.9%), cannabis (4.6%), antidepressants (4.6%) and psychostimulants (4.6%). A total of 4,561 treatment acts were recorded, most commonly monitoring of vital signs (63.6%) and medication and/or intravenous drip administration (62.9%). Patients were discharged home after having received care in the emergency department (ED-amb) in 54.5% of admissions, were admitted to the emergency-department-24-hours-observation unit (ED-24h) or were hospitalized (Hosp) in 24.6% and 20.9% of admissions, respectively. Factors found to be associated with hospitalization type were age, hour of admission, victim location, degree of severity, use of antidotes, involvement of antidepressants, antipsychotics, psychostimulants, benzodiazepines and ethanol. Total cost was €1,512,346 with an average of €1,287 per admission. CONCLUSION: Poisonings entail a considerable percentage of patients admitted to an ED and financial burden. In particular, ethanol poisonings account for the largest proportion of all ED admissions. Comparison of our figures with other data is hampered by the heterogeneity in inclusion criteria. Availability of a uniform template would facilitate comparison and allow better monitoring policies for prevention and cost reduction.

Belgian Poison Centre impact on healthcare expenses of unintentional poisonings: a cost-benefit analysis.

OBJECTIVES: This study evaluates the impact of the Belgian Poison Centre (BPC) on national healthcare expenses for calls from the public for unintentional poisonings. METHODS: The probability of either calling the BPC, consulting a general practitioner (GP) or consulting an emergency department (ED) was examined in a telephone survey (February-March 2016). Callers were asked what they would have done in case of unavailability of the BPC. The proportion and cost for ED-ambulatory care, ED 24-h observation or hospitalisation were calculated from individual invoices. A cost-benefit analysis was performed. RESULTS: Unintentional cases (n = 485) from 1045 calls to the BPC were included. After having called the BPC, 92.1% did not seek further medical help, 4.2% consulted a GP and 3.7% went to an ED. In the absence of the BPC, 13.8% would not have sought any further help, 49.3% would have consulted a GP and 36.9% would have gone to the hospital. The cost-benefit ratio of the availability of the BPC as versus its absence was estimated at 5.70. CONCLUSIONS: Financial savings can be made if people first call the BPC for unintentional poisonings.

Impact of recent intravenous chemotherapy on outcome in severe sepsis and septic shock patients with hematological malignancies.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the characteristics and outcome of patients with hematological malignancies referred to the ICU with severe sepsis and septic shock who had or had not received recent intravenous chemotherapy, defined as within 3 weeks prior to ICU admission. DESIGN AND SETTING: Retrospective observational cohort study on prospectively collected data in a medical ICU of a university hospital. PATIENTS: 186 ICU patients with hematological malignancies with severe sepsis or septic shock (2000-2006). MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: There were 77 patients admitted with severe sepsis and 109 with septic shock; 91 (49%) had received recent intravenous chemotherapy. Patients with recent chemotherapy more often had a high-grade malignancy and were more often neutropenic, less often had pulmonary infiltrates, and less often required mechanical ventilation. ICU, 28-day, in-hospital, and 6-month mortality rates were 33% vs. 48.4%, 40.7% vs. 57.4%, 45.1% vs. 58.9%, and 50.5% vs. 63.2% in patients with and without recent chemotherapy, respectively. Logistic regression identified four variables independently associated with 28-day mortality: SOFA score at ICU admission, pulmonary site of infection, and fungal infection were associated with worse outcome whereas previous intravenous chemotherapy was protective at borderline significance. After adjustment with a propensity score for recent chemotherapy, chemotherapy was not associated with outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Patients referred to the ICU with severe sepsis and septic shock complicating active chemotherapeutic treatment have better prognosis than commonly perceived.

Daily cost of antimicrobial therapy in patients with Intensive Care Unit-acquired, laboratory-confirmed bloodstream infection.

This study analysed daily antimicrobial costs of Intensive Care Unit (ICU)-acquired, laboratory-confirmed bloodstream infection (BSI) per patient admitted to the ICU of a university hospital, based on prospectively collected data over a 4-year period (2003-2006). Costs were calculated based on the price of the agent(s) initiated on the first day of appropriate treatment and according to: (i) focus of infection; (ii) pathogen; and (iii) antimicrobial agent. The study included 310 adult patients who developed 446 BSI episodes. Mean overall daily antimicrobial cost was euro114.25. Daily antimicrobial cost was most expensive for BSIs with unknown focus (euro137.70), followed by catheter-related (euro122.73), pulmonary (euro112.80), abdominal (euro98.00), wound (euro89.21), urinary (euro87.85) and other inciting focuses (euro81.59). Coagulase-negative staphylococci were the most prevalent pathogens isolated. Treatment of BSIs caused by Candida spp. was the most costly. The daily antimicrobial costs per infected patient with multidrug-resistant BSI was ca. 50% higher compared with those without (euro165.09 vs. euro82.67; P<0.001). Among the total of 852 prescriptions, beta-lactam antibiotics accounted for approximately one-third of the overall daily cost of antimicrobial agents. The antibiotic cost associated with ICU-acquired, laboratory-confirmed BSI is significant and should be reduced by implementing infection control measures and preventive strategies.

Determinants and impact of multidrug antibiotic resistance in pathogens causing ventilator-associated-pneumonia.

INTRODUCTION: The idea that multidrug resistance (MDR) to antibiotics in pathogens causing ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is an independent risk factor for adverse outcome is still debated. We aimed to identify the determinants of MDR versus non-MDR microbial aetiology in VAP and assessed whether MDR versus non-MDR VAP was independently associated with increased 30-day mortality. METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of a prospectively registered cohort of adult patients with microbiologically confirmed VAP, diagnosed at a university hospital intensive care unit during a three-year period. Determinants of MDR as compared with non-MDR microbial aetiology and impact of MDR versus non-MDR aetiology on mortality were investigated using multivariate logistic and competing risk regression analysis. RESULTS: MDR pathogens were involved in 52 of 192 episodes of VAP (27%): methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in 12 (6%), extended-spectrum beta-lactamase producing Enterobacteriaceae in 28 (15%), MDR Pseudomonas aeruginosa and other non-fermenting pathogens in 12 (6%). Multivariable logistic regression identified the Charlson index of comorbidity (odds ratio (OR) = 1.38, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.08 to 1.75, p = 0.01) and previous exposure to more than two different antibiotic classes (OR = 5.11, 95% CI = 1.38 to 18.89, p = 0.01) as predictors of MDR aetiology. Thirty-day mortality after VAP diagnosis caused by MDR versus non-MDR was 37% and 20% (p = 0.02), respectively. A multivariate competing risk regression analysis showed that renal replacement therapy before VAP (standardised hazard ratio (SHR) = 2.69, 95% CI = 1.47 to 4.94, p = 0.01), the Charlson index of comorbidity (SHR = 1.21, 95% CI = 1.03 to 1.41, p = 0.03) and septic shock on admission to the intensive care unit (SHR = 1.86, 95% CI = 1.03 to 3.35, p = 0.03), but not MDR aetiology of VAP, were independent predictors of mortality. CONCLUSIONS: The risk of MDR pathogens causing VAP was mainly determined by comorbidity and prior exposure to more than two antibiotics. The increased mortality of VAP caused by MDR as compared with non-MDR pathogens was explained by more severe comorbidity and organ failure before VAP.

Health implications of antimicrobial resistance for patients with acute kidney injury and bloodstream infection.

Studies have produced conflicting findings on outcomes for patients with antimicrobial-resistant infection. This study evaluated whether infection with an antimicrobial-resistant organism affects outcome in critically ill patients with acute kidney injury treated with renal replacement therapy and whose clinical course is complicated with a nosocomial bloodstream infection. We found that infection with an antimicrobial-resistant organism did not adversely affect clinical outcome in this specific cohort, which already has a high mortality rate.

Dynamics of C-reactive protein and white blood cell count in critically ill patients with nosocomial Gram positive vs. Gram negative bacteremia: a historical cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Nosocomial bacteremia is associated with a poor prognosis. Early adequate therapy has been shown to improve outcome. Consequently, rapid detection of a beginning sepsis is therefore of the utmost importance. This historical cohort study was designed to evaluate if different patterns can be observed in either C-reactive protein (CRP) and white blood cell count (WCC) between Gram positive bacteremia (GPB) vs. Gram negative bacteremia (GNB), and to assess the potential benefit of serial measurements of both biomarkers in terms of early antimicrobial therapy initiation. METHODS: A historical study (2003-2004) was conducted, including all adult intensive care unit patients with a nosocomial bacteremia. CRP and WCC count measurements were recorded daily from two days prior (d(-2)) until one day after onset of bacteremia (d(+1)). Delta (Delta) CRP and Delta WCC levels from the level at d-2 onward were calculated. RESULTS: CRP levels and WCC counts were substantially higher in patients with GNB. Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that GNB and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II score were independently associated with a CRP increase of 5 mg/dL from d-2 to d+1, and both were also independently associated with an increase of WCC levels from d(-2) to d(+1) of 5,000 x 10(3) cells/mm3. CONCLUSION: Increased levels of CRP and WCC are suggestive for GNB, while almost unchanged CRP and WCC levels are observed in patients with GPB. However, despite the different patterns observed, antimicrobial treatment as such cannot be guided based on both biomarkers.

The Value of E-Learning for the Prevention of Healthcare-Associated Infections.

BACKGROUND Healthcare workers (HCWs) lack familiarity with evidence-based guidelines for the prevention of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). There is good evidence that effective educational interventions help to facilitate guideline implementation, so we investigated whether e-learning could enhance HCW knowledge of HAI prevention guidelines. METHODS We developed an electronic course (e-course) and tested its usability and content validity. An international sample of voluntary learners submitted to a pretest (T0) that determined their baseline knowledge of guidelines, and they subsequently studied the e-course. Immediately after studying the course, posttest 1 (T1) assessed the immediate learning effect. After 3 months, during which participants had no access to the course, a second posttest (T2) evaluated the residual learning effect. RESULTS A total of 3,587 HCWs representing 79 nationalities enrolled: 2,590 HCWs (72%) completed T0; 1,410 HCWs (39%) completed T1; and 1,011 HCWs (28%) completed T2. The median study time was 193 minutes (interquartile range [IQR], 96-306 minutes) The median scores were 52% (IQR, 44%-62%) for T0, 80% (IQR, 68%-88%) for T1, and 74% (IQR, 64%-84%) for T2. The immediate learning effect (T0 vs T1) was +24% (IQR, 12%-34%; P300 minutes yielded the greatest residual effect (24%). CONCLUSIONS Moderate time invested in e-learning yielded significant immediate and residual learning effects. Decision makers could consider promoting e-learning as a supporting tool in HAI prevention. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2016;37:1052-1059.

What determines health-related quality of life among people living with HIV: an updated review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: As infection with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) has evolved to a chronic disease, perceived health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is becoming a prominent and important patient-reported outcome measure in HIV care. Literature discusses different factors influencing HRQoL in this population, however, currently no consensus exists about the main determinants. In this review a clear, up-to-date overview of the determinants influencing HRQOL among people living with HIV is provided. METHODS: All studies published before July 2013 that identified determinants of HRQoL among people living with HIV in high-income countries, were considered in this narrative review. PubMed, Web of Science and The Cochrane Library were consulted using the keywords 'determinants', 'quality of life', 'HIV' and 'AIDS'. To be included, studies should have reported overall health and/or physical/mental health scores on a validated instrument and performed multivariable regression analyses to identify determinants that independently influence perceived HRQoL. RESULTS: In total, 49 studies were included for further analysis and they used a variety of HRQoL instruments: Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 or variants, Medical Outcomes Study-HIV, HIV Cost and Services Utilization Study measure, Multidimensional Quality of Life Questionnaire, HIV targeted quality of life instrument, Functional Assessment of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection, HIV Overview of Problems Evaluation System, EuroQol, Fanning Quality of Life scale, Health Index and PROQOL-HIV. In this review, the discussed determinants were thematically divided into socio-demographic, clinical, psychological and behavioural factors. Employment, immunological status, presence of symptoms, depression, social support and adherence to antiretroviral therapy were most frequently and consistently reported to be associated with HRQoL among people living with HIV. CONCLUSIONS: HRQoL among people living with HIV is influenced by several determinants. These determinants independently, but simultaneously impact perceived HRQoL. Most HRQoL instruments do not capture all key determinants. We recommend that the choice for an instrument should depend on the purpose of the HRQoL assessment.

Sexual experience and HIV-related knowledge among Belgian university students: a questionnaire study.

BACKGROUND: Adolescents are a risk group for acquiring sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV. Correct knowledge about transmission mechanisms is a prerequisite to taking appropriate precautions to avoid infection. This study aimed at assessing the level of HIV-related knowledge among university students as a first step in developing targeted interventions. We used a self-developed HIV knowledge questionnaire, supplemented with socio-demographic and sexual behaviour questions. The questionnaire was composed of 59 items from different existing questionnaires. It included general statements and statements about prevention, transmission and treatment of HIV. RESULTS: There were 357 (79.7%) female and 93 (20.3%) male participants and their median age was 20 (IQR 19-21). On average 42/59 (71.2%) questions were answered correctly, 5/59 (8.5%) were answered incorrectly and 12/59 (20.3%) were unknown . The best and worse scores were seen on the prevention questions and the treatment questions, respectively. HIV-related knowledge is higher in older students and in students with a health-related education. Students with sexual experience, with five or more partners and students who have been tested on STDs have a higher HIV-related knowledge. CONCLUSIONS: Knowledge on prevention and transmission of HIV is fairly good among university students and knowledge is higher among students with more sexual experience. They still have some misconceptions (e.g. HIV is spread by mosquitoes) and they are ignorant of a substantial number of statements (e.g. risk for infection through oral sex).