Menthol essential oil is a practical choice for intensifying the production of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus): Effects on the growth and health performances

Increasing the stocking density of aquatic organisms becomes an urgent procedure in the current aquaculture practices. Concurrently, this study investigated the possibility of growing Nile tilapia under high stocking density while fortifying their feed with menthol essential oil (EO). Fish with the initial average weight of 17.19 ± 0.051 g/fish were allotted in eighteen tanks (80-L), representing six groups. The first and fourth groups stocked with 10 fish/tank (low density, LD), the second and fifth groups stocked with 20 fish/tank (medium density, MD), and the third and sixth groups stocked with 30 fish/tank (high density, HD). The first three groups received the basal diet without menthol EO, while the remaining groups received a menthol EO mixed diet. The values of water total ammonia nitrogen (TAN), ammonia‑nitrogen (NH3−N), and ammonium‑nitrogen (NH4+-N) increased in the HD group, followed by MD, and the lowest levels were seen in the LD group either with or without dietary menthol EO. There is a marked effect of stocking density and menthol EO on the final weight, weight gain, specific growth rate traits, and feed efficiency ratio (p \u3c 0.05). Further, the stocking density and menthol EO were significant factors (p \u3c 0.05) on the serum triglycerides, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, total protein, albumin, globulin, uric acid, urea, and creatinine levels. The cortisol levels were markedly (p \u3c 0.05) increased in fish fed the basal diet and reared in HD but decreased in fish fed menthol EO and grown in LD and MD conditions. Nevertheless, the glucose level is sharply increased with increasing the stocking density in a linear trend (p \u3c 0.05). The antioxidative-related factors (SOD, CAT, and GPx) were markedly impacted by menthol EO and stocking density and showed the highest activities by menthol EO. The histological study showed inflammatory features in the gills and liver of fish under HD conditions, while dietary menthol EO relieved the inflammation induced by high malonaldehyde concentration. Altogether, dietary menthol EO resulted in enhanced growth rate, health status, and antioxidative capacity in LD, MD, and HD conditions, referring to high immune status and well-being of Nile tilapia

Impact of the International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium (INICC)’s multidimensional approach on rates of ventilator-associated pneumonia in intensive care units in 22 hospitals of 14 cities of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

To analyze the impact of the International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium (INICC) Multidimensional Approach (IMA) and use of INICC Surveillance Online System (ISOS) on ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) rates in Saudi Arabia from September 2013 to February 2017. A multicenter, prospective, before–after surveillance study on 14,961 patients in 37 intensive care units (ICUs) of 22 hospitals. During baseline, we performed outcome surveillance of VAP applying the definitions of the CDC/NHSN. During intervention, we implemented the IMA and the ISOS, which included: (1) a bundle of infection prevention practice interventions, (2) education, (3) outcome surveillance, (4) process surveillance, (5) feedback on VAP rates and consequences and (6) performance feedback of process surveillance. Bivariate and multivariate regression analyses were performed using generalized linear mixed models to estimate the effect of intervention. The baseline rate of 7.84 VAPs per 1000 mechanical-ventilator (MV)-days―with 20,927 MV-days and 164 VAPs―, was reduced to 4.74 VAPs per 1000 MV-days―with 118,929 MV-days and 771 VAPs―, accounting for a 39% rate reduction (IDR 0.61; 95% CI 0.5–0.7; P 0.001). Implementing the IMA was associated with significant reductions in VAP rates in ICUs of Saudi Arabia

International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium report, data summary of 50 countries for 2010-2015: Device-associated module

•We report INICC device-associated module data of 50 countries from 2010-2015.•We collected prospective data from 861,284 patients in 703 ICUs for 3,506,562 days.•DA-HAI rates and bacterial resistance were higher in the INICC ICUs than in CDC-NHSN's.•Device utilization ratio in the INICC ICUs was similar to CDC-NHSN's. Background: We report the results of International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium (INICC) surveillance study from January 2010-December 2015 in 703 intensive care units (ICUs) in Latin America, Europe, Eastern Mediterranean, Southeast Asia, and Western Pacific. Methods: During the 6-year study period, using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Healthcare Safety Network (CDC-NHSN) definitions for device-associated health care-associated infection (DA-HAI), we collected prospective data from 861,284 patients hospitalized in INICC hospital ICUs for an aggregate of 3,506,562 days. Results: Although device use in INICC ICUs was similar to that reported from CDC-NHSN ICUs, DA-HAI rates were higher in the INICC ICUs: in the INICC medical-surgical ICUs, the pooled rate of central line-associated bloodstream infection, 4.1 per 1,000 central line-days, was nearly 5-fold higher than the 0.8 per 1,000 central line-days reported from comparable US ICUs, the overall rate of ventilator-associated pneumonia was also higher, 13.1 versus 0.9 per 1,000 ventilator-days, as was the rate of catheter-associated urinary tract infection, 5.07 versus 1.7 per 1,000 catheter-days. From blood cultures samples, frequencies of resistance of Pseudomonas isolates to amikacin (29.87% vs 10%) and to imipenem (44.3% vs 26.1%), and of Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates to ceftazidime (73.2% vs 28.8%) and to imipenem (43.27% vs 12.8%) were also higher in the INICC ICUs compared with CDC-NHSN ICUs. Conclusions: Although DA-HAIs in INICC ICU patients continue to be higher than the rates reported in CDC-NSHN ICUs representing the developed world, we have observed a significant trend toward the reduction of DA-HAI rates in INICC ICUs as shown in each international report. It is INICC's main goal to continue facilitating education, training, and basic and cost-effective tools and resources, such as standardized forms and an online platform, to tackle this problem effectively and systematically