scholarly journals Patient attendance at a pediatric emergency referral hospital in an area with low COVID-19 incidence

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (10) ◽  
pp. e0258478
Author(s):  
Koichi Shichijo ◽  
Shunsuke Takeuchi ◽  
Takahiro Tayama ◽  
Mikiko Takei ◽  
Keisuke Fujioka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Infection Control ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Hospital Admissions ◽  
Pediatric Emergency ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Infection Control Measures ◽  
Pediatric Diseases ◽  
Syncytial Virus ◽  
Neonatal Care Unit

The purpose of this study was to clarify the effects of individual infection control measures and physical distancing on pediatric medical care in a local prefecture in Japan, where the incidence of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in pediatric patients was extremely low. We extracted data from hospital records on the number of outpatients, inpatients, infectious disease consultations, and consultations for representative pediatric diseases. We compared attendance in 2017–2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, with 2020, when COVID-19 spread to Japan. There were no COVID-19 patients in the pediatric department during the study period. The total number outpatient visits decreased by 24.4%, and the number of hospital admissions, excluding neonatal care unit admissions, decreased by approximately 35%. There was a marked reduction in the number of hospitalizations for infectious diseases such as influenza (−74.8%) and respiratory syncytial virus infection (−93.5%), and the number of hospitalizations for bronchitis/pneumonia, Kawasaki disease, and bronchial asthma decreased. In contrast, the number of clinical psychological interventions and cases reported to the child guidance center increased. In the context of pandemic infectious diseases, it is important to control the spread of problematic infectious diseases by individual infection control measures and physical distancing. However, it is necessary to maintain social life as much as possible for the mental health and physical development of children.

scholarly journals Can Copper Products and Surfaces Reduce the Spread of Infectious Microorganisms and Hospital-Acquired Infections?

Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (13) ◽  
pp. 3444
Author(s):  
Joji Abraham ◽  
Kim Dowling ◽  
Singarayer Florentine
Keyword(s):  
Infection Control ◽  
Hospital Admissions ◽  
Copper Alloys ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Mortality Rates ◽  
Pathogen Transmission ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Traditional Use ◽  
Healthcare Facilities ◽  
Infection Control Measures

Pathogen transfer and infection in the built environment are globally significant events, leading to the spread of disease and an increase in subsequent morbidity and mortality rates. There are numerous strategies followed in healthcare facilities to minimize pathogen transfer, but complete infection control has not, as yet, been achieved. However, based on traditional use in many cultures, the introduction of copper products and surfaces to significantly and positively retard pathogen transmission invites further investigation. For example, many microbes are rendered unviable upon contact exposure to copper or copper alloys, either immediately or within a short time. In addition, many disease-causing bacteria such as E. coli O157:H7, hospital superbugs, and several viruses (including SARS-CoV-2) are also susceptible to exposure to copper surfaces. It is thus suggested that replacing common touch surfaces in healthcare facilities, food industries, and public places (including public transport) with copper or alloys of copper may substantially contribute to limiting transmission. Subsequent hospital admissions and mortality rates will consequently be lowered, with a concomitant saving of lives and considerable levels of resources. This consideration is very significant in times of the COVID-19 pandemic and the upcoming epidemics, as it is becoming clear that all forms of possible infection control measures should be practiced in order to protect community well-being and promote healthy outcomes.

scholarly journals Attitudes and practices of infection control among senior dental students at college of dentistry, university of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates

2013 ◽  
Vol 07 (S 01) ◽  
pp. S015-S019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Betul Rahman ◽  
Sheela Balu Abraham ◽  
Amna Mohammed Alsalami ◽  
Fatima Eisa Alkhaja ◽  
Shaikha Ibrahim Najem
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Infection Control ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Dental Students ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Attitudes And Practices ◽  
Infection Control Measures ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Control Procedures ◽  
Students Attitudes

ABSTRACT Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate compliance, awareness and practices of infection control procedures among senior dental students at the College of Dentistry, University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Materials and Methods: The study comprised of 119 subjects of 4 th and 5 th year dental students. A questionnaire was developed with 25 open and closed-ended questions related to barrier techniques, vaccination status, infection control practices and awareness. This was distributed among the senior dental students and completed upon signing the consent form. Each questionnaire was coded to ensure the confidentiality of responses. Results: The questionnaire was distributed among 223 senior dental students at the University of Sharjah of which only 119 students (53%) responded. Compliance with the use of protective barriers was high with the exception of protective eye wear, utilized by a mere 27% of students. There was a significant difference between 4 th and 5 th year dental students′ attitudes (p < 0.05) regarding the treatment of patients with infectious diseases. Compared with 44.4% of the 5 th year students, 68.5% of the 4 th year students did not mind treating patients with infectious diseases. Owing to this, 61.9% of the 5 th year students suffered from non-sterile percutaneous and mucous membrane exposures compared with 44.6% of the 4 th year students (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Efforts are needed to improve attitudes, implement information and motivate students in the correct and routine use of infection control measures. With all infection control protocols already implemented in dental schools, the challenge remains on improving compliance with infection control recommendations.

scholarly journals Knowledge and attitudes of dental patients towards cross-infection control measures in dental practice

1997 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 263-273
Author(s):  
Adel A. Mousa ◽  
Nadia M. Mahmoud ◽  
Azza M. Tag El Din
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Infection Control ◽  
Dental Treatment ◽  
Cross Infection ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Dental Practice ◽  
Dental Patients ◽  
Knowledge And Attitudes ◽  
Infection Control Measures ◽  
Dental Clinics

The knowledge and attitudes of 460 dental patients attending outpatient dental clinics in Alexandria, Tanta, and El-Mansoura universities were studied. Every patient was interviewed individually using a questionnaire concerning the routine use of protective gloves, masks and spectacles. The results revealed that 90% of the patients expected dentists to wear gloves, 73% expected them to wear face masks and 37% to wear spectacles. Most patients believed that gloves were for the patient’s protection while face masks and spectacles were for the dentist’s protection. About 50% of patients believed that they could contract infectious diseases during dental treatment;the more educated, the greater the concern of infection. Tanta patients were more concerned about cross infection than other patients

scholarly journals Improvement of Infection Control Measures during Dental Manipulations

2021 ◽  
pp. 19-25
Author(s):  
Alexandra Andreevna Fundovnaya ◽  
Daria Alexandrovna Noskova ◽  
Yuri Dorofeev ◽  
Irina Sergeevna Egorova ◽  
Alexander Olegovich Dubinin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Infection Control ◽  
Dental Health ◽  
The Body ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Special Role ◽  
Third Wave ◽  
Infection Control Measures ◽  
Cross Transmission ◽  
Private And Public

When performing dental manipulations, infection control plays a special role, since its violation will negate all the efforts of the dentist, as well as allow various infectious and bacterial complications to develop in the body, as a result of which the patient's health will be significantly harmed. Infection control in dentistry is especially important at the present stage, when the spread of coronavirus infection has not yet been stopped, and the world is already experiencing the third wave of COVID-19. So, today it is very important to evaluate the existing infection control measures taken in dental health organizations, both private and public, and to investigate the measures proposed in the literature to reduce the transmission of both the new coronavirus and other infectious diseases to patients. Infection control measures in dentistry are aimed at minimizing the cross-transmission of mainly blood-borne pathogens. However, the high degree of contagion of the new coronavirus, as well as the possibility of the appearance of such viruses in the future, makes specialists already think about the need to improve infection control measures in order to preserve the health of patients and make dental manipulations as safe as possible for them. This is especially important for elderly patients, in whom complications from coronavirus-like infectious diseases can be fatal. In dental practice, many people are at risk, such as the practitioner, assistants, patients, administrative staff, cleaners, and possibly accompanying people. Standard precautions are usually not sufficient during the active spread of infections, so it is important to use proper PPE and follow hand hygiene. The sequence of consultations and scheduling of appointments with patients, as well as making changes to the waiting area, are also important. To minimize aerosol contamination, mouthwash should be performed before treatment. It should be taken into account that fans with NERA filters can significantly reduce the number of aerosols and, accordingly, reduce the level of pathogenicity of viruses. The aim of the work is to consider the measures proposed in the publications aimed at improving the measures of infection control during dental manipulations.

scholarly journals Multiple Respiratory Syncytial Virus Introductions Into a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erica Billig Rose ◽  
Erica J Washington ◽  
Lijuan Wang ◽  
Isaac Benowitz ◽  
Natalie J Thornburg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Intensive Care ◽  
Respiratory Syncytial Virus ◽  
Infection Control ◽  
Respiratory Symptoms ◽  
Phylogenetic Trees ◽  
Neonatal Intensive Care ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Infection Control Measures ◽  
Young Infants ◽  
Syncytial Virus

Abstract Background Outbreaks of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) are of concern because of the risk of severe disease in young infants. We describe an outbreak of RSV in a NICU and use whole genome sequencing (WGS) to better understand the relatedness of viruses among patients. Methods An investigation was conducted to identify patients and describe their clinical course. Infection control measures were implemented to prevent further spread. Respiratory specimens from outbreak-related patients and the community were tested using WGS. Phylogenetic trees were constructed to understand relatedness of the viruses. Results Seven patients developed respiratory symptoms within an 11-day span in December 2017 and were diagnosed with RSV; 6 patients (86%) were preterm and 1 had chronic lung disease. Three patients required additional respiratory support after symptom onset, and none died. Six of 7 patients were part of the same cluster based on &gt; 99.99% nucleotide agreement with each other and 3 unique single-nucleotide polymorphisms were identified in viruses sequenced from those patients. The seventh patient was admitted from the community with respiratory symptoms and had a genetically distinct virus that was not related to the other 6. Implementation of enhanced infection control measures likely limited the spread. Conclusions Using WGS, we found 2 distinct introductions of RSV into a NICU, highlighting the risk of healthcare-associated infections during RSV season. Early recognition and infection control measures likely limited spread, emphasizing the importance of considering RSV in the differential diagnosis of respiratory infections in healthcare settings.

scholarly journals Trends in the Utilization of the Pediatric Emergency Department during the COVID-19 Outbreak

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rupali Drewek ◽  
Lucia mirea ◽  
Sophia Williams
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
Respiratory Tract Infections ◽  
Hospital Admissions ◽  
Pediatric Emergency ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Lower Respiratory Tract Infections ◽  
Infection Control Measures ◽  
Ed Visits ◽  
Tract Infections

Background: Despite numerous prior interventions to reduce unnecessary visits to the emergency department (ED), overutilization and overreliance on EDs continue to negatively impact quality of care and cost. Objective: Motivated by finding solutions to ED overuse, we evaluated the effect of COVID19 on pediatric ED utilization, specifically focusing on patients with pulmonary diagnoses. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted to review visits to the pediatric ED at Phoenix Children’s Hospital. The baseline pre-COVID19 period ranged from 01/01/2016 to 03/14/2019. Post-COVID19 data were collected from 03/15/2020 to 07/31/2020. Study subjects included all patients between 0-18 years of age. Data was collected biweekly for the number of ED visits, admission to hospital from ED, presenting diagnosis and pulmonary consults. Results: The average number of biweekly ED visits decreased significantly from 3437 during baseline to 2061 post-COVID19, while the percent of hospital admissions increased from 0.14% to 0.18% (p< 0.01). A significant decrease was also observed in the biweekly average number of pulmonology consults (527 to 250), and the percent of pulmonology consults (0.15% to 0.11%), presenting diagnosis of asthma (130 to 59), tracheostomy (7 to 6), cystic fibrosis (7 to 5), cough/wheeze (66 to 41) and bronchiolitis/upper and lower respiratory tract infections (300 to 126). No changes were detected in chronic respiratory failure, respiratory distress or hypoxemia. Conclusion: Many factors including telehealth, improved infection control measures, social responsibility, and fear of getting sick may have played a role in the reduction in our ED visits during the COVID pandemic.

scholarly journals The Influence of Infectious Diseases on Dentistry

2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 225-231
Author(s):  
Anil Reddy ◽  
Shankar Gouda Patil ◽  
Raghunath Puttaiah
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Infection Control ◽  
Disease Control ◽  
Emerging Diseases ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Infection Control Measures ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACT Dentistry, predominantly a surgical field with frequent exposure to blood and body fluids, is a high-risk occupation with respect to occupationally acquiring infectious diseases. On the same note, patients are also at risk of being infected, if adequate infection control measures are not strictly followed. Traditionally, based on the routes of disease transmission, we can categorize diseases that are bloodborne, airborne and also through fomites. Within these traditional categories also fall the new and emerging diseases that have had serious public health consequences of morbidity and mortality. As a health care provider, dentists must understand the impact of these diseases, and strictly implement practical disease control measures during provision of dental care and reduce the spread within the clinical arena. Common diseases of public health concern that need to be addressed are bloodborne diseases, such as hepatitis A, E, B, C, D and G, HIV; respiratory diseases such as tuberculosis, influenza, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), AH1N1 influenza and immunizable childhood diseases. Apart from infection control measures, we must implement public health policy measures, such as immunization of current and prospective health care personnel (students in the dental profession) against immunizable diseases, utilize disease screening measures, postexposure disease control measures and utilize standard and additional precautions, the latter as required in certain instances.

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