The Potential for Transmission of Hospital-Acquired Infections by Non-critical Medical Devices: The Role of Thermometers and Blood Pressure Cuffs

The crisis of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the most serious issues facing us today. The scale of the problem is illustrated by the recent commitment of Heads of State at the UN to coordinate efforts to curb the spread of AMR infections. In this review, we explore the biochemistry behind the headlines of a few stories that were recently published in the public media. We focus on examples from three different issues related to AMR: (i) hospital-acquired infections, (ii) the spread of resistance through animals and/or the environment and (iii) the role of antimicrobial soaps and other products containing disinfectants in the dissemination of AMR. Although these stories stem from three very different settings, the underlying message in all of them is the same: there is a direct relationship between the use of antimicrobials and the development of resistance. In addition, one type of antimicrobial could select for cross-resistance to another type and/or for multidrug resistance. Therefore, we argue the case for increased stewardship to not only cover clinical use of antibiotics, but also the use of antimicrobials in agriculture and stewardship of our crucially important biocides such as chlorhexidine.

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Vaccines and Immunotherapy for Staphylococcal Infections

The International Journal of Artificial Organs ◽

10.1177/039139880502801113 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 28 (11) ◽

pp. 1157-1162 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

J.M. Patti

Keyword(s):

Medical Devices ◽

Healthcare Costs ◽

Immunocompromised Patients ◽

Novel Therapies ◽

Antibiotic Resistant ◽

Hospital Acquired Infections ◽

Staphylococcal Infections ◽

Surgical Implants ◽

Bacterial Adhesins ◽

Hospital Acquired

Nosocomial or hospital-acquired infections are associated with prolonged hospitalizations and increased healthcare costs. Infections associated with surgical implants are becoming more difficult and more costly to manage, as they require repeated surgical procedures and a longer period of time to treat patients. Continued advances in the use of medical devices, an increase in the number of immunocompromised patients, and a steady rise in the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms has renewed interest in the development of novel therapies that can be used to prevent and treat nosocomial infections. This review provides an overview of bacterial adhesins and focuses on novel immunological therapies developed to treat staphylococcal infections.

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Microbial Environmental Pollution in ICUs: Results, Trends, and Suggestions from a Long-Lasting Surveillance

Atmosphere ◽

10.3390/atmos12091174 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (9) ◽

pp. 1174

Author(s):

Daniela D’Alessandro ◽

Massimo Fabiani ◽

Letizia Appolloni

Keyword(s):

Underlying Disease ◽

Hospital Acquired Infections ◽

Hospital Environments ◽

Life Threatening ◽

Surgical Icus ◽

Microbial Strains ◽

Opportunistic Pathogenic ◽

Hospital Acquired ◽

Microbiological Surveillance

Intensive care units (ICUs) are special areas in hospitals for patients with severe and life-threatening diseases. ICUs are of several categories, such as neonatal ICUs, cardiac ICUs, neurological ICUs, surgical ICUs, etc. The ICUs’ patients may show a high susceptibility for hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) depending on underlying disease, duration of stay and treatment. ICUs are considered potential reservoirs for (opportunistic) pathogenic microbial strains and the risk of acquiring infection in these hospital environments is higher than in others. Several studies show the role of inanimate surface and equipment contamination in the transmission of pathogens to ICU patients. The aim of this study is to describe the results of 124 sampling campaigns performed during 12 years of microbiological surveillance of five ICUs of different categories, for an overall number of 714 samples (232 from air and 482 from surface), to analyze their trends and to elaborate suggestions to improve ICUs’ environmental quality and patients’ safety.

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