Lean back and wait for the alarm? Testing an automated alarm system for nosocomial outbreaks to provide support for infection control professionals

INTRODUCTION: Outbreaks of communicable diseases in hospitals need to be quickly detected in order to enable immediate control. The increasing digitalization of hospital data processing offers potential solutions for automated outbreak detection systems (AODS). Our goal was to assess a newly developed AODS. METHODS: Our AODS was based on the diagnostic results of routine clinical microbiological examinations. The system prospectively counted detections per bacterial pathogen over time for the years 2016 and 2017. The baseline data covers data from 2013-2015. The comparative analysis was based on six different mathematical algorithms (normal/Poisson and score prediction intervals, the early aberration reporting system, negative binomial CUSUMs, and the Farrington algorithm). The clusters automatically detected were then compared with the results of our manual outbreak detection system. RESULTS: During the analysis period, 14 different hospital outbreaks were detected as a result of conventional manual outbreak detection. Based on the pathogens' overall incidence, outbreaks were divided into two categories: outbreaks with rarely detected pathogens (sporadic) and outbreaks with often detected pathogens (endemic). For outbreaks with sporadic pathogens, the detection rate of our AODS ranged from 83% to 100%. Every algorithm detected 6 of 7 outbreaks with a sporadic pathogen. The AODS identified outbreaks with an endemic pathogen were at a detection rate of 33% to 100%. For endemic pathogens, the results varied based on the epidemiological characteristics of each outbreak and pathogen. CONCLUSION: AODS for hospitals based on routine microbiological data is feasible and can provide relevant benefits for infection control teams. It offers in-time automated notification of suspected pathogen clusters especially for sporadically occurring pathogens. However, outbreaks of endemically detected pathogens need further individual pathogen-specific and setting-specific adjustments

Implementation of an automated cluster alert system into the routine work of infection control and hospital epidemiology: experiences from a tertiary care university hospital

Background: Early detection of clusters of pathogens is crucial for infection prevention and control (IPC) in hospitals. Conventional manual cluster detection is usually restricted to certain areas of the hospital and multidrug resistant organisms. Automation can increase the comprehensiveness of cluster surveillance without depleting human resources. We aimed to describe the application of an automated cluster alert system (CLAR) in the routine IPC work in a hospital. Additionally, we aimed to provide information on the clusters detected and their properties. Methods: CLAR was continuously utilized during the year 2019 at Charite university hospital. CLAR analyzed microbiological and patient-related data to calculate a pathogen-baseline for every ward. Daily, this baseline was compared to data of the previous 14 days. If the baseline was exceeded, a cluster alert was generated and sent to the IPC team. From July 2019 onwards, alerts were systematically categorized as relevant or non-relevant at the discretion of the IPC physician in charge. Results: In one year, CLAR detected 1,714 clusters. The median number of isolates per cluster was two. The most common cluster pathogens were Enterococcus faecium (n = 326, 19 %), Escherichia coli (n = 274, 16 %) and Enterococcus faecalis (n = 250, 15 %). The majority of clusters (n = 1,360, 79 %) comprised of susceptible organisms. For 906 alerts relevance assessment was performed, with 317 (35 %) alerts being classified as relevant. Conclusions: CLAR demonstrated the capability of detecting small clusters and clusters of susceptible organisms. Future improvements must aim to reduce the number of non-relevant alerts without impeding detection of relevant clusters. Digital solutions to IPC represent a considerable potential for improved patient care. Systems such as CLAR could be adapted to other hospitals and healthcare settings, and thereby serve as a means to fulfill these potentials

Risk factors for nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 infections in patients: results from a retrospective matched case–control study in a tertiary care university center

Background: Factors contributing to the spread of SARS-CoV-2 outside the acute care hospital setting have been described in detail. However, data concerning risk factors for nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 infections in hospitalized patients remain scarce. To close this research gap and inform targeted measures for the prevention of nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 infections, we analyzed nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 cases in our hospital during a defined time period. Methods: Data on nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 infections in hospitalized patients that occurred between May 2020 and January 2021 at Charite university hospital in Berlin, Germany, were retrospectively gathered. A SARS-CoV-2 infection was considered nosocomial if the patient was admitted with a negative SARS-CoV-2 reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction test and subsequently tested positive on day five or later. As the incubation period of SARS-CoV-2 can be longer than five days, we defined a subgroup of "definite" nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 cases, with a negative test on admission and a positive test after day 10, for which we conducted a matched case-control study with a one to one ratio of cases and controls. We employed a multivariable logistic regression model to identify factors significantly increasing the likelihood of nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 infections. Results: A total of 170 patients with a nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 infection were identified. The majority of nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 patients (n = 157, 92%) had been treated at wards that reported an outbreak of nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 cases during their stay or up to 14 days later. For 76 patients with definite nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 infections, controls for the case-control study were matched. For this subgroup, the multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed documented contact to SARS-CoV-2 cases (odds ratio: 23.4 (95% confidence interval: 4.6-117.7)) and presence at a ward that experienced a SARS-CoV-2 outbreak (odds ratio: 15.9 (95% confidence interval: 2.5-100.8)) to be the principal risk factors for nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 infection. Conclusions: With known contact to SARS-CoV-2 cases and outbreak association revealed as the primary risk factors, our findings confirm known causes of SARS-CoV-2 infections and demonstrate that these also apply to the acute care hospital setting. This underscores the importance of rapidly identifying exposed patients and taking adequate preventive measures

Utilidad del score SOFA en la predicción de muerte materna en la UCI materna del INMP

Objective:  To compare the SOFA score at admission and 24 hours and evaluate its usefulness in predicting maternal death. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study of patients admitted to the Maternal ICU of the INMP was carried out from August 2014 to July 2019. Parametric and non-parametric tests were applied according to a previous evaluation of normality and a statistical significance p<0.05. Statistical analysis was performed using the statistical package STATA version 13. Results: The mean age corresponds to 28.32 years. The mean gestational age corresponded to 31.33 weeks; The mean hospital stay was 4.52 days. The area under the curve for SOFA at entry was 0.8818 and the area under the curve for SOFA at 24 hours was 0.9755.     P=0.1225. No significant differences were found between them. It was determined that the best cut-off point corresponds to a Score of 6 with a sensitivity that corresponds to 89.29% and a specificity of 79.13%. Conclusions: The SOFA Score adapts well to obstetric patients admitted to Maternal Intensive Care settings, maintaining a cut-off of 6 for admission SOFA with good sensitivity and specificity. (89.29%, 79.13%). The SOFA score is useful in maternal ICU environments and it should be used in our country.Objetivo: Comparar el score SOFA al ingreso y a las 24horas, y evaluar su utilidad en la predicción de la muerte materna. Materiales y métodos: Se realizó un estudio descriptivo de tipo transversal de las pacientes admitidas a la UCI Materna del INMP desde agosto del 2014 a Julio del 2019. Se aplicaron pruebas paramétricas o no paramétricas según evaluación previa de normalidad y se usó una significación estadística p<0.05. El análisis estadístico se realizó utilizando el paquete estadístico STATA versión 13. Resultados: La media de la edad corresponde a 28.32 años. La media de la edad gestacional correspondió a 31.33 semanas; La media de la estancia hospitalaria fue de 4.52 días. El area bajo la curva para el SOFA al ingreso fue de 0.8818 y el area bajo la curva del SOFA a las 24horas fue de 0.9755. P=0.1225. No se encontraron diferencias significativas entre ellas. Se determinó que el mejor punto de corte corresponde a un Score de 6 con una sensibilidad que corresponde a 89.29% y una especificidad de 79.13%. Conclusiones: El Score SOFA se adapta bien a las pacientes obstétricas admitidas en los ambientes de Cuidados Intensivos Materno, manteniendo un corte de 6 para el SOFA de ingreso con una buena sensibilidad y especificidad. (89.29%, 79.13%). El Score SOFA es útil para ser usado en ambientes de UCI y además debe sugerirse su uso en toda UCI obstétrica de nuestro país

Clinical practice guideline for surgical antimicrobial prophylaxis

La infección del sitio quirúrgico (ISQ) es una de las principales causas de infecciones asociadas a la atención en salud (IAAS), con un impacto significativo en la mortalidad y morbilidad del paciente quirúrgico, así como en los costos asociados a la atención en salud. El adecuado uso de la profilaxis quirúrgica antimicrobiana es un aspecto fundamental en la reducción del riesgo de ISQ, dado que su utilización inapropiada o indiscriminada puede representar un riesgo para los pacientes y contribuir al desarrollo de resistencia a los antimicrobianos, por lo que resulta de importancia generar directrices que permitan orientar el uso adecuado de antimicrobianos en la profilaxis del paciente quirúrgico, con el objetivo de obtener mejores desenlaces clínicos y propender por un uso racional de antibióticos. La presente guía contiene recomendaciones para profilaxis antibiótica de pacientes sometidos a procedimiento quirúrgico, basadas en la evidencia, realizadas mediante el proceso de adaptación de guías de práctica clínica para el contexto colombiano.Q4Pacientes sometidos a Profilaxis quirúrgica antimicrobianaSurgical site infection (SSI) is one of the main causes of healthcare associated infections (HAI), with a significant impact on the mortality and morbidity of the surgi-cal patient, as well as on the costs associated with health care. The adequate use of surgical antimicrobial prophylaxis being a fundamental aspect in reducing the risk of SSI, taking into account that the inappropriate or indiscriminate use of antibiotics in surgical prophylaxis may represent a risk for patients and contribute to the development of antimicrobial resistance, so it is important to generate guidelines that guide the appropriate antimicrobial prophylaxis in the surgical patient, with the aim of obtaining better clinical outcomes and promoting a rational use of antibiotics. This guide contains recommendations for antibiotic prophylaxis in patients undergoing a surgical procedure, based on evidence, carried out through the process of adapting clinical practice guidelines for the Colombian context.https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5392-7083https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2568-4667Revista Nacional - IndexadaCN

Compartiendo saberes de educación y humanidades

Los capítulos referentes a este libro tratan diversos temas tales como: 1) la construcción de los estudiantes de la licenciatura en químico farmacéutico biólogo el juicio valorativo y personaI deI significado en su desarroIIo profesionaI desde eI punto de vista axiológico, 2) se realiza un estudio en el Plantel Cuauhtémoc con Ia finaIidad de orientar a Ia comunidad estudiantiI aI tratamiento deI probIema de los residuos sólidos desde su etapa de diagnóstico hasta una propuesta de solución de la problemática, 3) se analiza como a nivel básico se construye el conocimiento y la participación del género en los estudiantes, en donde se observa que el papel del docente es un promotor importante, 4) es un tema que actualmente está causando mucho interés tanto en la educación como el la población en general, las redes sociales que actuaImente ese consideran un medio de comunicación con mucha influencia dentro de la sociedad, 5) se adentra al campo de la psicología y la tanatología ante los recursos resilientes que presentan las familias ante la muerte de un hijo, 6) es una investigación dedicada a identificar Ias diferentes percepciones que tienen las mujeres y los hombres en relación a la felicidad y la desdicha dentro del matrimonio, 7) es un análisis Transgeneracional para aportar las referencias familiares que permiten la permanencia del abuso sexual infantil en tres generaciones, de las cuales en la última generación se rompe ese secreto avallazador al romper el silencio, 8) es un ensayo acerca del juego terapéutico desde el punto de vista psicoanalítico, en el que se advierte ese juego en el que entra el paciente con el psicoanalista, 9) la metodología de la observación para la integración de la pericial en psicología, en donde se denotan desde la parte jurídica como se fundamente esta pericial y fortalece el logro del dictamen para tener un buen dictamen, 10) es una propuesta de construcción y validez del instrumento BP-22 Bienestar Psicológico en el ámbito de la educación superior, 11) se identifica a Ios procesos eIectoraIes como complicados, de tal manera que abre un panorama al marketing de los partidos políticos para conducir la voluntad ciudadana, y además ayuda al posicionamiento de los partidos, 12) aporta una base sobre Ios procesos identificatorios en eI movimiento estudiantiI de Ia UNAM deI año de I999, pIanteándoIo desde dos ejes de análisis: las identidades universitarias y el apartado del texto, que permiten configurar eI movimiento estudiantiI como un acontecimiento capaz de generar articulaciones nuevas de solidaridad. AI finaI deI Iibro se encuentran Ias síntesis curricuIares de cada uno de los autores, que aportaron sus investigaciones para la integración y generación de nuevos aportes científicos.Como su nombre lo indica COMPARTIENDO SABERES DE EDUCACIÓN Y HUMANIDADES, es un Iibro que denota eI deseo de integrar conocimiento para la comunidad estudiantil, llevarlos al interés de la investigación a través de la participación de los investigadores de diferentes áreas como: la educación, las ciencias sociales y las humanidades. Que les permite tener no solo un espacio en la difusión de los avances de sus estudios, sino que además permite el generar el interés de quién lo lee en diferentes formas de investigación, se encuentran estudios tanto cualitativos como cuantitativos, desde descriptivos hasta un nivel de intervención en la práctica de estas áreas.Universidad Autónoma del Estado de méxic

Overview of recent TJ-II stellarator results

The main results obtained in the TJ-II stellarator in the last two years are reported. The most important topics investigated have been modelling and validation of impurity transport, validation of gyrokinetic simulations, turbulence characterisation, effect of magnetic configuration on transport, fuelling with pellet injection, fast particles and liquid metal plasma facing components. As regards impurity transport research, a number of working lines exploring several recently discovered effects have been developed: the effect of tangential drifts on stellarator neoclassical transport, the impurity flux driven by electric fields tangent to magnetic surfaces and attempts of experimental validation with Doppler reflectometry of the variation of the radial electric field on the flux surface. Concerning gyrokinetic simulations, two validation activities have been performed, the comparison with measurements of zonal flow relaxation in pellet-induced fast transients and the comparison with experimental poloidal variation of fluctuations amplitude. The impact of radial electric fields on turbulence spreading in the edge and scrape-off layer has been also experimentally characterized using a 2D Langmuir probe array. Another remarkable piece of work has been the investigation of the radial propagation of small temperature perturbations using transfer entropy. Research on the physics and modelling of plasma core fuelling with pellet and tracer-encapsulated solid-pellet injection has produced also relevant results. Neutral beam injection driven Alfvénic activity and its possible control by electron cyclotron current drive has been examined as well in TJ-II. Finally, recent results on alternative plasma facing components based on liquid metals are also presentedThis work has been carried out within the framework of the EUROfusion Consortium and has received funding from the Euratom research and training programme 2014–2018 under Grant Agreement No. 633053. It has been partially funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Inovación y Universidades of Spain under projects ENE2013-48109-P, ENE2015-70142-P and FIS2017-88892-P. It has also received funds from the Spanish Government via mobility grant PRX17/00425. The authors thankfully acknowledge the computer resources at MareNostrum and the technical support provided by the Barcelona S.C. It has been supported as well by The Science and Technology Center in Ukraine (STCU), Project P-507F

Evolving trends in the management of acute appendicitis during COVID-19 waves. The ACIE appy II study

Background: In 2020, ACIE Appy study showed that COVID-19 pandemic heavily affected the management of patients with acute appendicitis (AA) worldwide, with an increased rate of non-operative management (NOM) strategies and a trend toward open surgery due to concern of virus transmission by laparoscopy and controversial recommendations on this issue. The aim of this study was to survey again the same group of surgeons to assess if any difference in management attitudes of AA had occurred in the later stages of the outbreak. Methods: From August 15 to September 30, 2021, an online questionnaire was sent to all 709 participants of the ACIE Appy study. The questionnaire included questions on personal protective equipment (PPE), local policies and screening for SARS-CoV-2 infection, NOM, surgical approach and disease presentations in 2021. The results were compared with the results from the previous study. Results: A total of 476 answers were collected (response rate 67.1%). Screening policies were significatively improved with most patients screened regardless of symptoms (89.5% vs. 37.4%) with PCR and antigenic test as the preferred test (74.1% vs. 26.3%). More patients tested positive before surgery and commercial systems were the preferred ones to filter smoke plumes during laparoscopy. Laparoscopic appendicectomy was the first option in the treatment of AA, with a declined use of NOM. Conclusion: Management of AA has improved in the last waves of pandemic. Increased evidence regarding SARS-COV-2 infection along with a timely healthcare systems response has been translated into tailored attitudes and a better care for patients with AA worldwide

The Fifteenth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Surveys: First Release of MaNGA-derived Quantities, Data Visualization Tools, and Stellar Library

Twenty years have passed since first light for the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Here, we release data taken by the fourth phase of SDSS (SDSS-IV) across its first three years of operation (2014 July–2017 July). This is the third data release for SDSS-IV, and the 15th from SDSS (Data Release Fifteen; DR15). New data come from MaNGA—we release 4824 data cubes, as well as the first stellar spectra in the MaNGA Stellar Library (MaStar), the first set of survey-supported analysis products (e.g., stellar and gas kinematics, emission-line and other maps) from the MaNGA Data Analysis Pipeline, and a new data visualization and access tool we call "Marvin." The next data release, DR16, will include new data from both APOGEE-2 and eBOSS; those surveys release no new data here, but we document updates and corrections to their data processing pipelines. The release is cumulative; it also includes the most recent reductions and calibrations of all data taken by SDSS since first light. In this paper, we describe the location and format of the data and tools and cite technical references describing how it was obtained and processed. The SDSS website (www.sdss.org) has also been updated, providing links to data downloads, tutorials, and examples of data use. Although SDSS-IV will continue to collect astronomical data until 2020, and will be followed by SDSS-V (2020–2025), we end this paper by describing plans to ensure the sustainability of the SDSS data archive for many years beyond the collection of data