scholarly journals Guidelines for preventing respiratory illness in older adults aged 60 years and above living in long-term care

Author(s):  
Patricia Rios ◽  
Amruta Radhakrishnan ◽  
Sonia M. Thomas ◽  
Nazia Darvesh ◽  
Sharon E. Straus ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTBackgroundThe overall objective of this rapid review was to identify infection protection and control recommendations from published clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for adults aged 60 years and older in long-term care settingsMethodsComprehensive searches in MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, and relevant CPG publishers/repositories were carried out in early March 2020. Title/abstract and full-text screening, data abstraction, and quality appraisal (AGREE-II) were carried out by single reviewers.ResultsA total of 17 relevant CPGs were identified, published in the USA (n=8), Canada (n=6), Australia (n=2), and the United Kingdom (n=1). All of the CPGs dealt with infection control in long-term care facilities (LTCF) and addressed various types of viral respiratory infections (e.g., influenza, COVID-19, severe acute respiratory syndrome). Ten or more CPGs recommended the following infection control measures in LTCF: hand hygiene (n=13), wearing personal protective equipment (n=13), social distancing or isolation (n=13), disinfecting surfaces (n=12), droplet precautions (n=12), surveillance and evaluation (n=11), and using diagnostic testing to confirm illness (n=10). While only two or more CPGs recommended these infection control measures: policies and procedures for visitors, staff and/or residents (n=9), respiratory hygiene/cough etiquette (n=9), providing supplies (n=9), staff and/or residents education (n=8), increasing communication (n=6), consulting or notifying health professionals (n=6), appropriate ventilation practices (n=2), and cohorting equipment (n=2). Ten CPGs also addressed management of viral respiratory infections in LTCF and recommended antiviral chemoprophylaxis (n=10) and one CPG recommended early mobilization of residents.ConclusionThe recommendations from current guidelines overall seem to support environmental measures for infection prevention and antiviral chemoprophylaxis for infection management as the most appropriate first-line response to viral respiratory illness in long-term care.

2010 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 410-413 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernando Gatti de Menezes ◽  
Vanessa Maria da Silva de Poli Correa ◽  
Fábio Gazelato de Mello Franco ◽  
Miriam Ikeda Ribeiro ◽  
Maria Fátima dos Santos Cardoso ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Objective: To describe a norovirus outbreak in a Brazilian long-term care facility from July 8 to 29, 2005. Methods: In the first 48 to 72 hours after onset of symptoms in inpatients and employees, the main infection control strategies were staff education, emphasis on hand washing, implementing contact precautions up to 48-72 hours after resolution of symptoms, complete cleaning of the rooms and exclusion of symptomatic employees from work until 48-72 hours after resolution of their symptoms. Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of the norovirus infections were described based on chart review. Results: The incidence among inpatients and employees was 41.3% and 16.25%, respectively. The main symptom was diarrhea, affecting 100% of inpatients and employees. Forty-four percent of specimens were positive by RIDASCREEN® Norovirus analyses, and identified as norovirus genogroup GII. Seventy percent of inpatients were women and their age range was 51-98 years. Inpatients had in average two comorbid conditions – 87.3% with cardiovascular or chronic pulmonary condition and 47.6% with dementia. There was not relapse or death. Conclusions: The early infection-control measures associated to surveillance are required to keep long-term care facilities free of noroviruses and to protect those who are most vulnerable.


1999 ◽  
Vol 20 (05) ◽  
pp. 341-343 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina A. Greenaway ◽  
Mark A. Miller

Abstract Three patients colonized with vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus were admitted to one or more of three long-term-care facilities. Six point-prevalence surveys revealed no transmission of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus after a total of 234 days of exposure during which moderately strict infection control measures were implemented. Four of 116 environmental cultures were positive.


2005 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 239-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alicia M. Fry ◽  
Chi Chi N. Udeagu ◽  
Montse Soriano-Gabarro ◽  
Scott Fridkin ◽  
Diana Musinski ◽  
...  

AbstractObjective:We describe an effort to reduce transmission of a multidrug-resistantStreptococcus pneumoniae(MDRSP) in a long-term-care facility (LTCF).Design:Longitudinal cross-sectional study.Setting:An LTCF in New York City with ongoing disease due to an MDRSP strain among residents with AIDS since a 1995 outbreak. The MDRSP outbreak strain was susceptible to vancomycin but not to other antimicrobials tested, including fluoroquinolones.Participants:Residents and staff members of the LTCF during 1999 through 2001.Intervention:Implementing standard infection control measures, and developing and implementing "enhanced standard" infection control measures, modified respiratory droplet prevention measures to reduce inter-resident transmission.Results:Before the intervention, nasopharyngeal carriage of the MDRSP outbreak strain was detected in residents with AIDS and residents with tracheostomies who were not dependent on mechanical ventilation. The prevalence of nasopharyngeal carriage of the MDRSP outbreak strain was 7.8% among residents who had AIDS and 14.6% among residents with tracheostomies. After training sessions on standard and enhanced standard infection control measures, the staff appeared to have good knowledge and practice of the infection control measures. After the intervention, new transmission among residents with tracheostomies was prevented; however, these residents were prone to persistent tracheal carriage and needed ongoing enhanced standard infection control measures. Ongoing transmission among residents with AIDS, a socially active group, was documented, although fewer cases of disease due to the outbreak strain occurred.Conclusions:Infection control contributed to less transmission of MDRSP in the LTCF. Additional strategies are needed to reduce transmission and carriage among certain resident populations.


2006 ◽  
Vol 27 (12) ◽  
pp. 1377-1384 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn E. Arnold ◽  
Jody L. Schweitzer ◽  
Barbara Wallace ◽  
Monique Salter ◽  
Ruth Neeman ◽  
...  

Objective.To describe investigation of a tightly clustered outbreak of invasive group A streptococcal (GAS) disease associated with a high mortality rate in a long-term care facility (LTCF).Design.Cross-sectional carriage survey and epidemiologic investigation of LTCF resident and employee cohorts.Setting.A 104-bed community LTCF between March 1 and April 7, 2004.Patients.A cohort of LTCF residents with assigned beds at the time of the outbreak.Interventions.Reinforcement of standard infection control measures and receipt of chemoprophylaxis by GAS carriers.Results.Four confirmed and 2 probable GAS cases occurred between March 16 and April 1, 2004. Four case patients died. The final case occurred during the investigation, before the patient was determined to be a GAS carrier. No case occurred during the 6 months after the intervention. Disease was caused by typeemm3GAS; 16.5% of residents and 2.4% of employees carried the outbreak strain. Disease was clustered in 1 quadrant of the LTCF and associated with nonintact skin. GAS disease or carriage was associated with having frequent personal visitors.Conclusions.Widespread carriage of a virulent GAS strain likely resulted from inadequate infection control measures. Enhanced infection control and targeted prophylaxis for GAS carriers appeared to end the outbreak. In addition to employees, regular visitors to LTCFs should be trained in hand hygiene and infection control because of the potential for extended relationships over time, leading to interaction with multiple residents, and disease transmission in such residential settings. Specific attention to prevention of skin breaks and proper wound care may prevent disease. The occurrence of a sixth case during the investigation suggests urgency in addressing severe, large, or tightly clustered outbreaks of GAS infection in LTCFs.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dinesh Aggarwal ◽  
Richard Myers ◽  
William L. Hamilton ◽  
Tehmina Bharucha ◽  
Niamh Tumelty ◽  
...  

A review was undertaken of all genomic epidemiology studies on COVID-19 in long term care facilities (LTCF) that have been published to date. It was found that staff and residents were usually infected with identical, or near identical, SARS-CoV-2 genomes. Outbreaks usually involved one predominant lineage, and the same lineages persisted in LTCFs despite infection control measures. Outbreaks were most commonly due to single or few introductions followed by spread rather than a series of seeding events from the community into LTCFs. Sequencing of samples taken consecutively from the same cases showed persistence of the same genome sequence indicating that the sequencing technique was robust over time. When combined with local epidemiology, genomics facilitated likely transmission sources to be better characterised. Transmission between LTCFs was detected in multiple studies. The mortality rate amongst residents was high in all cases, regardless of the lineage. Bioinformatics methods were inadequate in one third of the studies reviewed, and reproducing the analyses was difficult as sequencing data were not available in many cases.


2012 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raouf M. Afifi ◽  
Sherif Omar ◽  
Ahmed El Raggal

The aim of this work was to describe and analyze an outbreak of novel 2009 influenza A (H1N1) among residents of a long-term care facility (LTCF) in Prince Mansour Military Hospital (PMMH), Taif, Saudi Arabia. These patients had been admitted to the LTCF months or years before the outbreak for several reasons, e.g. cerebral palsy, neurological deficits due to road traffic accidents with resultant handicap, chronic diseases associated with old age. An observational study was carried out to demonstrate and analyze the epidemiological characteristics (demographic factors, risk factors, and outcomes) associated with the outbreak in order to clarify which prevention and control measures had been taken and which recommendations were followed. During the period October 28 to November 11 2010, 21 LTCF residents were suspected to be clinically involved: fever ≥38ºC with influenza-like illness (ILI). Age ranged from 9-91 years (mean 46±24.13); 62% were males. Among them, 12 (57%) were influenza A (H1N1) positive by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RTPCR). Mortality involved 2 (17%) of the A (H1N1) laboratory confirmed individuals. Implementation of the recommended infection control measures mitigated the transmission of infection to new individuals. The fulfillment of strict infection control measures could limit H1N1 infection among LTCFPMMH patients. Routine influenza, including specific H1N1 immunization of all LTCF residents together with their healthcare staff, should be mandatory in those settings serving immunocompromised patients.


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