Patient safety culture in care homes for older people: a scoping review

Background: In recent years, there has been an increasing focus on the role of safety culture in preventing incidents such as medication errors and falls. However, research and developments in safety culture has predominantly taken place in hospital settings, with relatively less attention given to establishing a safety culture in care homes. Despite safety culture being accepted as an important quality indicator across all health and social care settings, the understanding of culture within social care settings remains far less developed than within hospitals. It is therefore important that the existing evidence base is gathered and reviewed in order to understand safety culture in care homes. Methods: A scoping review was undertaken to describe the availability of evidence related to care homes’ patient safety culture, what these studies focused on, and identify any knowledge gaps within the existing literature. Included papers were each reviewed by two authors for eligibility and to draw out information relevant to the scoping review. Results: Twenty-four empirical papers and one literature review were included within the scoping review. The collective evidence demonstrated that safety culture research is largely based in the USA, within Nursing Homes rather than Residential Home settings. Moreover, the scoping review revealed that empirical evidence has predominantly used quantitative measures, and therefore the deeper levels of culture have not been captured in the evidence base. Conclusions: Safety culture in care homes is a topic that has not been extensively researched. The review highlights a number of key gaps in the evidence base, which future research into safety culture in care home should attempt to address

Mapping the decision pathways of acute infection management in secondary care among UK medical physicians: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: The inappropriate use of antimicrobials drives antimicrobial resistance. We conducted a study to map physician decision-making processes for acute infection management in secondary care to identify potential targets for quality improvement interventions. METHODS: Physicians newly qualified to consultant level participated in semi-structured interviews. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim for analysis using NVIVO11.0 software. Grounded theory methodology was applied. Analytical categories were created using constant comparison approach to the data and participants were recruited to the study until thematic saturation was reached. RESULTS: Twenty physicians were interviewed. The decision pathway for the management of acute infections follows a Bayesian-like step-wise approach, with information processed and systematically added to prior assumptions to guide management. The main emerging themes identified as determinants of the decision-making of individual physicians were (1) perceptions of providing 'optimal' care for the patient with infection by providing rapid and often intravenous therapy; (2) perceptions that stopping/de-escalating therapy was a senior doctor decision with junior trainees not expected to contribute; and (3) expectation of interactions with local guidelines and microbiology service advice. Feedback on review of junior doctor prescribing decisions was often lacking, causing frustration and confusion on appropriate practice within this cohort. CONCLUSION: Interventions to improve infection management must incorporate mechanisms to promote distribution of responsibility for decisions made. The disparity between expectations of prescribers to start but not review/stop therapy must be urgently addressed with mechanisms to improve communication and feedback to junior prescribers to facilitate their continued development as prudent antimicrobial prescribers

Five steps to high quality antimicrobial stewardship research

The escalating threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) necessitates impactful, reproducible, and scalable antimicrobial stewardship strategies. This review addresses the critical need to enhance the quality of antimicrobial stewardship intervention research. We propose five considerations for authors planning and evaluating antimicrobial stewardship initiatives. Antimicrobial stewards should consider the following mnemonic ABCDE: (A) plan Ahead using implementation science; (B) Be clear and thoroughly describe the intervention by using the TidIER checklist; (C) Use a Checklist to comprehensively report study components; (D) Select a study Design carefully; and (E) Assess Effectiveness and implementation by selecting meaningful outcomes. Incorporating these recommendations will help strengthen the evidence base of antimicrobial stewardship literature and support optimal implementation of strategies to mitigate AMR

Estudo do esvaziamento gástrico e da distribuição intragástrica de uma dieta sólida através da cintilografia: diferenças entre os sexos Scintigraphic study of gastric emptying and intragastric distribution of a solid meal: gender differences

Ainda existem controvérsias quanto a possíveis diferenças de esvaziamento gástrico entre os sexos. Os objetivos deste estudo são: confirmar se homens e mulheres realmente diferem no esvaziamento gástrico de uma dieta sólida e investigar se esta diferença está relacionada com diferentes padrões de distribuição da dieta entre os compartimentos proximal e distal do estômago. Dezoito voluntários assintomáticos (nove do sexo masculino, com idade média de 35 ± 9 anos e nove do sexo feminino, com idade média de 41 ± 11 anos) foram estudados pela manhã, após ingestão da dieta sólida padronizada (omelete marcada com 185MBq de enxofre coloidal-99mTc). Imagens simultâneas do estômago nas projeções anterior e posterior foram adquiridas imediatamente após a ingestão da dieta e a cada 10 minutos, durante 120 minutos. Curvas de tempo versus contagem radioativa foram obtidas para o estômago total, proximal e distal. O T½ do esvaziamento gástrico foi maior para as mulheres (96,1 ± 17,2 minutos) do que para os homens (79,9 ± 17,8 minutos; P = 0,02). A análise da distribuição intragástrica da dieta mostrou que não houve diferenças entre os sexos quanto ao esvaziamento gástrico proximal, mas as mulheres apresentaram maior retenção da dieta na porção distal do estômago (P = 0,04). Nossos resultados mostram que o esvaziamento gástrico de sólidos é mais lento nas mulheres não-menopausadas assintomáticas, do que nos homens de faixa etária semelhante, provavelmente devido a maior retenção da dieta na região distal do estômago. Este fato deve ser levado em conta nos estudos de esvaziamento gástrico pela cintilografia para evitar diagnósticos errôneos de gastroparesias nas pacientes do sexo feminino.<br>Gender-related differences in gastric emptying are still controversial. The aims of this study were: to confirm the sex-related difference in gastric emptying of a solid meal and to investigate its association with different patterns of meal distribution between the proximal and distal gastric compartments. Eighteen healthy volunteers (nine males, mean age 35 ± 9 years; nine females, mean age: 41 ± 11 years) were studied in the morning, after ingestion of the solid test-meal (an omelette labeled with 185MBq of 99mTc-sulfur colloid). Simultaneous anterior and posterior images of the stomach were acquired immediately after ingestion of the meal and every 10 minutes for 120 minutes. Time versus activity curves were obtained for the whole, proximal and distal stomach. Gastric T½ was longer in women (96.1 ± 17.2 min) than in men (79.9 ± 17.8 min; P = 0.02). The analysis of the meal distribution inside the stomach showed no differences between males and females in proximal gastric emptying, but the meal retention in the distal compartment was significantly increased among women (P = 0.04). In conclusion, gastric emptying of a solid meal is slower in pre-menopausal women than in age-matched men, probably due to an increased retention of the meal in the distal compartment. This should be taken into consideration to avoid misleading diagnosis of gastroparesis for female patients

Executive Summary: 2015 Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Native Vertebral Osteomyelitis in Adultsa

These guidelines are intended for use by infectious disease specialists, orthopedic surgeons, neurosurgeons, radiologists, and other healthcare professionals who care for patients with native vertebral osteomyelitis (NVO). They include evidence and opinion-based recommendations for the diagnosis and management of patients with NVO treated with antimicrobial therapy, with or without surgical intervention