Point prevalence survey is useful for introducing effective surveillance of healthcare-associated infections

Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The AuthorsBackground: In Finland, the surveillance of healthcare-associated infections (HAI) became obligatory by the renewed Communicable Diseases Act on the 1st March 2017. Aim: To introduce HAI surveillance protocol (HALT-2 by ECDC) in primary care hospitals in the largest hospital district in Finland, and to measure the burden of HAIs and antimicrobial use patterns for improvement. Methods: Two identical point prevalence surveys (PPS) were organized in autumn 2015 and in spring 2017. The infection control persons (ICP) in the hospitals were inducted to the HAI definitions and the study protocol to collect the data with questionnaires on the study days. The data were checked and analyzed by the areal infection control unit. The hospitals were provided feedback of the results and HAI prevention methods. Findings: In 2015, 2218 patients from 22 hospitals and in 2017, 2343 patients from 25 hospitals were studied. The prevalence of HAI was 11% in both surveys (ranges per hospital 4–24% and 4–31%, respectively). Of all HAIs, 37% originated from referring hospitals. Respiratory tract, urinary tract and skin were the most frequent sites of infection. One fourth of all patients received at least one systemic antimicrobial. The process showed that recognition of HAIs may be difficult for non-experienced ICPs. Conclusions: The HALT-2 protocol proved useful in introducing HAI surveillance and prevention in primary care hospitals with active patient transfer from other hospitals and relatively high prevalence of HAI and antimicrobial use. For annually repeated surveys, slightly shorter electronic questionnaires are essential.Peer reviewe

Hoitoon liittyvien infektioiden prevalenssi HUS-alueen terveyskeskussairaaloissa 2015

VertaisarvioituLÄHTÖKOHDAT Helsingin ja Uudenmaan sairaanhoitopiirin alueen terveyskeskussairaaloissa selvitettiin syksyllä 2015 vallitsevuus- eli prevalenssitutkimuksella hoitoon liittyvien infektioiden määrä sekä menetelmän soveltuvuus uuden tartuntatautilain mukaiseen infektioiden seurantaan. MENETELMÄT Sairaaloiden infektiontorjuntatiimit keräsivät tiedot yhdessä osastojen henkilökunnan kanssa. Hoitoon liittyvien infektioiden lisäksi kerättiin tiedot eristysten tarpeesta sekä katetrien ja mikrobilääkkeiden käytöstä. TULOKSET Tutkimukseen osallistui 22 sairaalaa 16 kunnasta. Potilaista 11 %:lla (95 %:n LV 10–13 %) oli ¬vähintään yksi hoitoon liittyvä infektio. Tutkimushetkellä 29 %:lla (95 %:n LV 26–33 %) potilaista oli käytössä vähintään yksi mikrobilääke. Potilaista 14 %:lla oli virtsatiekatetri. PÄÄTELMÄT Prevalenssitutkimus sopii hyvin hoitoon liittyvien infektioiden seurantaan, varsinkin kun se toistetaan määrävälein.Peer reviewe

Infektioner vid hälsocentralsjukhus inom HUS

English summar

Outbreak of invasive pneumococcal disease among shipyard workers, Turku, Finland, May to November 2019

We report an outbreak of invasive pneumococcal disease and pneumococcal pneumonia among shipyard workers, in Turku, Southwest Finland. In total, 31 confirmed and six probable cases were identified between 3 May and 28 November 2019. Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes 12F, 4 and 8 were isolated from blood cultures of 25 cases. Occupational hygiene measures and vaccination of ca 4,000 workers are underway to control the outbreak at the shipyard.</p

Serological and molecular findings during SARS-CoV-2 infection : the first case study in Finland, January to February 2020

The first case of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Finland was confirmed on 29 January 2020. No secondary cases were detected. We describe the clinical picture and laboratory findings 3-23 days since the first symptoms. The SARS-CoV-2/Finland/1/2020 virus strain was isolated, the genome showing a single nucleotide substitution to the reference strain from Wuhan. Neutralising antibody response appeared within 9 days along with specific IgM and IgG response, targeting particularly nucleocapsid and spike proteins.Peer reviewe