scholarly journals Nosocomial Candida glabrata Colonization: an Epidemiologic Study

1998 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 421-426 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jose A. Vazquez ◽  
Louise M. Dembry ◽  
Veronica Sanchez ◽  
Mary A. Vazquez ◽  
Jack D. Sobel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Candida Glabrata ◽  
Epidemiologic Study ◽  
Significant Risk ◽  
Marrow Transplant ◽  
University Hospital ◽  
Hospital Environment ◽  
Enzyme Analysis ◽  
Restriction Enzyme Analysis ◽  
Indirect Contact ◽  
Environmental Surfaces

Candida glabrata has emerged as an important nosocomial pathogen, yet little is known about its epidemiology. We prospectively followed 98 patients admitted to a medical intensive care unit and the bone marrow transplant unit of a university hospital. Samples from environmental surfaces and the hands of hospital personnel were also cultured. Patients with newly acquired C. glabrata strains were compared to controls who were culture negative for C. glabrata. C. glabrata was recovered from multiple sites from 24 patients and three environmental surfaces. Sixteen patients (17%) acquired C. glabrata after admission to the study units. Significant risk factors for the nosocomial acquisition ofC. glabrata were prolonged duration of hospitalization in the unit and prior antimicrobial use. Strain delineation by restriction enzyme analysis revealed 28 different strains of C. glabrata; three strain types were common to nine patients. The environmental isolates were of the same strain type and common to five patients (four patients with newly acquired strains). These results suggest the possibility of exogenous nosocomial acquisition of C. glabrata, including the possible acquisition from the hospital environment. Transmission may be by indirect contact since identical strains of C. glabrata were recovered from patients who were geographically and temporally associated.

scholarly journals A molecular characterization ofClostridium difficileisolates from humans, animals and their environments

1993 ◽  
Vol 111 (2) ◽  
pp. 257-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. O'Neill ◽  
J. E. Adams ◽  
R. A. Bowman ◽  
T. V. Riley
Keyword(s):  
Fragment Length Polymorphism ◽  
Hospital Environment ◽  
Enzyme Analysis ◽  
Restriction Enzyme Analysis ◽  
Direct Transmission ◽  
Chromosomal Dna ◽  
Veterinary Clinic ◽  
Enhanced Chemiluminescence ◽  
Typing Methods ◽  
Rflp Typing

SummaryIt is generally accepted that most patients withClostridium difficile-associated diarrhoea acquire the organism from the environment. Recently we demonstrated that household pets may constitute a significant reservoir ofC. difficilethrough gastrointestinal carriage in up to 39% of cats and dogs. These findings suggested that direct transmission from household pets, or contamination of the environment by them, may be a factor in the pathogenesis ofC. difficile-associated diarrhoea. To investigate this possibility, we examined isolates ofC. difficilefrom humans, pets and the environment by restriction enzyme analysis (REA) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) typing using enhanced chemiluminescence. Both REA and RFLP typing methods usedHindIII digests of chromosomal DNA. A total of 116 isolates ofC. difficilefrom pets (26), veterinary clinic environmental sites (33), humans (37) and hospital environmental sites (20) was examined. REA was far more discriminatory than RFLP typing and for all isolates there were 34 REA types versus 6 RFLP types. There was good correlation between the REA types found in isolates from pets and from the veterinary clinic environment, and between isolates from humans and from those found in the hospital environment. There was, however, no correlation between REA type ofC. difficilefound in pets and isolates of human origin. We conclude that there may still be a risk of humans acquiringC. difficilefrom domestic pets as these findings may be the result of geographical variation.

scholarly journals Patient Clothing as a Healing Environment: A Qualitative Interview Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (10) ◽  
pp. 5357
Author(s):  
Seon-Ju Kam ◽  
Young-Sun Yoo
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Response ◽  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Design Method ◽  
Medical Center ◽  
Emotional Responses ◽  
University Hospital ◽  
Hospital Environment ◽  
University Hospitals ◽  
Pattern Design ◽  
Qualitative Interview Study

Patients’ emotional responses to the hospital environment can be considered as important as medical technology and equipment. Therefore, this study investigated their experiences to determine whether the pattern using hospital identity (HI) elements, a widely used design method for patient clothing in university hospitals, can affect their emotional response and contribute to healing. It aimed to identify whether controlling the motif characteristics, arrangement, and spacing in this pattern design, and the direction between motifs, could be a method to design patient clothing for healing. To investigate patients’ emotional response and suggestions for patient clothing design, an interview-based qualitative approach was used. In-depth interviews were conducted with 12 patients discharged from Kyung Hee University Hospital Medical Center (KHUMC), Seoul. The interview questions consisted of two parts. One part featured questions about participants’ emotional responses to the medical environment and their latest patient clothing experience, and the other featured questions about their emotional response to, and suggestions for, the healing expression of pattern design using HI. The results confirmed that the motif characteristics, arrangement, and spacing, and the direction between motifs, influenced patients’ positive emotions and contributed to the healing effect. Therefore, when the HI elements of a medical institution are applied in the design of patient clothing with the characteristics of a healing design, patients perceive this as providing stability and comfort. The design of patient clothing becomes a medium that not only builds the brand image of medical institutions, but also enhances the quality of medical services centered on patient healing.

scholarly journals Longitudinal Characterization and Transmission Dynamics of Antibiotic-Resistant Organisms in an ICU (LOCATE AROs)

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. s42-s43
Author(s):  
Kimberley Sukhum ◽  
Candice Cass ◽  
Meghan Wallace ◽  
Caitlin Johnson ◽  
Steven Sax ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Antibiotic Susceptibility ◽  
Environmental Samples ◽  
Susceptibility Testing ◽  
Marrow Transplant ◽  
Transmission Dynamics ◽  
Hospital Environment ◽  
Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant ◽  
Clonal Group ◽  
Communal Areas

Background: Healthcare-associated infections caused by antibiotic-resistant organisms (AROs) are a major cause of significant morbidity and mortality. To create and optimize infection prevention strategies, it is crucial to delineate the role of the environment and clinical infections. Methods: Over a 14-month period, we collected environmental samples, patient feces, and patient bloodstream infection (BSI) isolates in a newly built bone marrow transplant (BMT) intensive care unit (ICU). Samples were collected from 13 high-touch areas in the patient room and 4 communal areas. Samples were collected from the old BMT ICU, in the new BMT ICU before patients moved in, and for 1 year after patients moved in. Selective microbiologic culture was used to isolate AROs, and whole-genome sequencing (WGS) was used to determine clonality. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed using Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion assays. Using linear mixed modeling, we compared ARO recovery across time and sample area. Results: AROs were collected and cultured from environmental samples, patient feces, and BSI isolates (Fig. 1a). AROs were found both before and after a patient entered the ICU (Fig. 1b). Sink drains had significantly more AROs recovered per sample than any other surface area (P < .001) (Fig. 1c). The most common ARO isolates were Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Stenotrophomonas maltophila (Fig. 1d). The new BMT ICU had fewer AROs recovered per sample than the old BMT ICU (P < .001) and no increase in AROs recovered over the first year of opening (P > .05). Furthermore, there was no difference before versus after patients moved into the hospital (P > .05). Antibiotic susceptibility testing reveal that P. aeruginosa isolates recovered from the old ICU were resistant to more antibiotics than isolates recovered from the new ICU (Fig. 2a). ANI and clonal analyses of P. aeruginosa revealed a large cluster of clonal isolates (34 of 76) (Fig. 2b). This clonal group included isolates found before patients moved into the BMT ICU and patient blood isolates. Furthermore, this clonal group was initially found in only 1 room in the BMT ICU, and over 26 weeks, it was found in sink drains in all 6 rooms sampled (Fig. 2b). Conclusions: AROs are present before patients move into a new BMT ICU, and sink drains act as a reservoir for AROs over time. Furthermore, sink-drain P. aeruginosa isolates are clonally related to isolates found in patient BSIs. Overall, these results provide insight into ARO transmission dynamics in the hospital environment.Funding: Research reported in this publication was supported by the Washington University Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences grant UL1TR002345 from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official view of the NIH.Disclosures: None

scholarly journals A Clinicopathologic and Epidemiologic Study of Chronic White Lesions in the Oral Mucosa

2017 ◽  
Vol 96 (8) ◽  
pp. E13-E17
Author(s):  
Sampurna Ghosh ◽  
Sudipta Pal ◽  
Soumya Ghatak ◽  
Somnath Saha ◽  
Surajit Biswas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oral Mucosa ◽  
Epidemiologic Study ◽  
Significant Risk ◽  
Significant Risk Factor ◽  
Premalignant Lesions ◽  
Excision Biopsy ◽  
Severe Dysplasia ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Malignant Lesions ◽  
Tobacco Chewing

Invasive oral squamous cell carcinoma is often preceded by the presence of clinically identifiable premalignant changes of the oral mucosa, including white lesions. We conducted a cross-sectional, observational study to assess the clinicopathologic and epidemiologic aspects of chronic oral mucosal white lesions to determine the necessity of early biopsy in these cases. Our study population was made up of 77 patients—50 males and 27 females, aged 15 to 70 years (mean: 42.9)—who presented with white lesions persisting for at least 4 weeks. All but 3 patients underwent a biopsy; the 3 exceptions were diagnosed with smear-proven candidiasis. Patients with moderate or severe dysplasia underwent an excision biopsy. The buccal mucosa was the single most common site of white lesions, occurring in 15 patients (19.5%), although 21 patients (27.3%) exhibited a diffuse involvement of the oral mucosa. Of the 77 patients, 59 (76.6%) had concerning findings: premalignant lesions in 45 patients (58.4%) and malignant lesions in 14 (18.2%). Also, dysplasia was seen in 8 patients (10.4%), all of whom had premalignant lesions. Tobacco chewing (p = 0.008) and betel quid chewing (p = 0.029) were significantly associated with the development of premalignant and malignant lesions; a longer duration of tobacco chewing (≥10 yr) was significantly associated with a higher risk of malignant but not premalignant lesions (p = 0.031). Finally, illiteracy was a significant risk factor for premalignant and malignant lesions (p = 0.03). Our findings support the necessity of biopsy in every case. Early detection of oral carcinoma by biopsy of all oral white lesions would not only prevent patients from undergoing disfiguring surgery and chemoradiation, but it also would increase the 5-year survival rate.

scholarly journals Group B streptococcus colonization of pregnant women and their children observed on obstetric and neonatal wards of the University Hospital in Krakow, Poland

2009 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 228-233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magdalena Strus ◽  
Dorota Pawlik ◽  
Monika Brzychczy-Włoch ◽  
Tomasz Gosiewski ◽  
Krzysztof Rytlewski ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Molecular Typing ◽  
Horizontal Transmission ◽  
Group B Streptococcus ◽  
Normal Pregnancy ◽  
University Hospital ◽  
Hospital Environment ◽  
Eastern Region ◽  
Group B ◽  
Complicated Pregnancy

The study was arranged to assess the actual rates of colonization of pregnant women and their children with group B streptococcus (GBS) in a Polish university hospital. Resistance of these cocci to macrolides and clindamycin was also tested and routes of transmission of GBS were followed in some cases using molecular typing. Colonization with GBS was checked in 340 pregnant women living in the south-eastern region of Poland (Małopolska) in the years 2004–2006. Women with a complicated pregnancy were more often colonized than those with a normal pregnancy (20.0 % versus 17.2 %). Moreover, women with a complicated pregnancy were twice as often colonized with GBS strains with the MLSB phenotype indicating resistance to macrolides and clindamycin. Regarding neonatal colonization by GBS, we found that neonates born from the colonized mothers with a complicated pregnancy were more often colonized with GBS than those from the mothers with a normal pregnancy (35 % versus 26.7 %). By molecular typing of the GBS strains isolated from mothers and their newborns we have been able to suggest the possibility of horizontal transmission of the strains from the hospital environment to newborns. Our results clearly indicate that rates of GBS colonization among pregnant women and neonates in a Polish university hospital have reached levels comparable to those reported in other European clinical centres.

scholarly journals Predictors of Survival in Atypical Meningiomas

Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 1970
Author(s):  
Michele Da Broi ◽  
Paola Borrelli ◽  
Torstein R. Meling
Keyword(s):  
Neurological Outcome ◽  
Significant Risk ◽  
Significant Risk Factor ◽  
University Hospital ◽  
Neurological Deficits ◽  
Karnofsky Performance Scale ◽  
Free Survival ◽  
Neurological Outcomes ◽  
Progression Of Disease ◽  
Atypical Meningiomas

Introduction: Predictors of survival and progression of disease in atypical meningiomas are less well documented in the literature compared to benign meningiomas. Higher grade meningiomas tend to recur often and one of the most critical aspects is how to best deal with relapses. Methods: A total of 77 consecutive patients who underwent craniotomy for atypical meningioma between 1990–2010 at Oslo University Hospital (OUH) were reviewed. Results: Median age at surgery was 62.21 [interquartile range (IQR): 22.87] years. Fifty-one patients (66.2%) had neurological deficits at presentation. Fifty-four patients (70.1%) underwent gross total resection (GTR). Thirty-nine patients (50.7%) had improved/stable neurological outcomes at 6–12 months. Twenty-two patients (28.6%) underwent retreatment, of whom 20 (26.0%) were subjected to resection followed by adjuvant radiotherapy. Overall survival (OS) was significantly longer in patients <65 years (p < 0.001), with preoperative Karnofsky performance scale (KPS) score of ≥ 70 (p = 0.006), and who required no retreatment (p = 0.033). GTR significantly prolonged the retreatment-free survival rate (p < 0.001). STR carried almost a six-fold greater risk of neurological outcome deterioration (p = 0.044). Conclusions: GTR significantly prolonged retreatment-free survival but had no significant impact on OS. STR was a significant risk factor for deteriorated neurological outcome. Age, preoperative KPS, and retreatment were all strong predictors of OS. Median time-to-retreatment (TTR) did not shorten significantly throughout repeated surgeries.

An Outbreak of Pyodermas Among Neonates Caused by Ultrasound Gel Contaminated With Methicillin-SusceptibleStaphylococcus Aureus

2000 ◽  
Vol 21 (12) ◽  
pp. 761-764 ◽  
Author(s):  
Klaus Weist ◽  
Constanze Wendt ◽  
Lyle R. Petersen ◽  
Hans Versmold ◽  
Henning Rüden
Keyword(s):  
Hip Joint ◽  
Case Control Study ◽  
Tertiary Care ◽  
Significant Risk ◽  
Significant Risk Factor ◽  
Case Control ◽  
University Hospital ◽  
Good Physical Condition ◽  
Rapd Pcr ◽  
Control Study

Objective:To investigate an outbreak of methicillin-susceptibleStaphylococcus aureus(MSSA); infections in a neonatal clinic.Design:Prospective chart review, environmental sampling, and genotyping by two independent methods: pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and randomly amplified polymorphic DNA polymerase chain reaction (RAPD-PCR). A case-control study was performed with 31 controls from the same clinic.Setting:A German 1,350-bed tertiary-care teaching university hospital.Results:There was a significant increase in the incidence of pyodermas with MSSA 10 neonates in good physical condition with no infection immediately after birth developed pyodermas. A shared spatula and ultrasound gel were the only identified infection sources. The gel contained MSSA and was used for hip-joint sonographies in all neonates. PFGE and RAPD-PCR patterns from 6 neonates and from the gel were indistinguishable and thus genetically related clones. The case-control study revealed no significant risk factor with the exception of cesarean section (P=.006). The attack rate by days of hip-joint sonography between April 15 and April 27, 1994, was 11.8% to 40%.Conclusions:Inappropriate hygienic measures in connection with lubricants during routine ultrasound scanning may lead to nosocomialS aureusinfections of the skin. To our knowledge this source ofS aureusinfections has not previously been described.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document