Demographic characteristics of patients and their assessment of selected hygienic practices of hospital personnel in the context of safety climate of hospitalization

BackgroundHand hygiene (HH) is a key factor in hospital infection prevention and patient safety. The objectives of this article were to examine patients' observations concerning compliance with selected procedures for hospital hygiene among medical personnel and assess the correlation between patients' key demographic characteristics and their awareness and sense of safety associated with hospitalization.MethodsThe study was conducted in January 2012 on a sample of 491 subjects by means of a standardized 10-minute computer-assisted telephone interview survey.ResultsThere was a statistically significant correlation between the sense of safety associated with hospitalization declared by patients and their observation of HH practices among health care personnel. A positive correlation was also found between the respondents experiencing personal complications in the form of health care–associated infections themselves or among their family members and the sense of safety associated with hospital treatment.ConclusionsPerforming HH among hospital staff is one of the factors affecting patients' increased sense of safety during their hospitalization; therefore, HH contributes to the perception of good quality of service provided. Knowledge of the risk of HH does not affect the patients' sense of safety, in contrast with their real-life experiences

Bacteria contamination of touch surfaces in Polish hospital wards

Background: The objective of the study has been to evaluate the pathogenic bacteria contamination of touch surfaces in hospital wards. Material and Methods: Samples were taken from frequently touched surfaces in the hospital environment in 13 units of various types. Culturing was carried out on solid blood agar and in growth broth (tryptic soy broth – TSB). Species identification was performed using the analytical profile index (API) biochemical testing and confirmed with matrix assisted laser desorption ionization time-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) system. Results: The total of 161 samples were taken for the study. Fifty-two of them, after 24 h of culture on a solid medium, demonstrated bacterial growth and further 60 samples had growth after prior multiplication in TSB. Overall, 69.6% of samples exhibited growth of 19 bacterial species. Pathogenic species – representing indicator organisms of efficiency of hospital cleaning – was demonstrated by 21.4% of samples. Among them Acinetobacter spp., Enterocococci spp. and Staphylococcus aureus were identified. Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) were predominant. The proportion of various groups of bacteria significantly varied in respective hospitals, and in various types of wards. Disturbing observation is a large proportion of resistance of isolated CNS strains as a potential reservoir of resistance genes. Conclusions: The results show that touch surfaces in hospital units are contaminated by both potentially pathogenic and pathogenic bacterial species. In connection with the reported, also in Poland, frequent omission or incorrect execution of hand hygiene by hospital staff, and probably patients, touch surfaces still constitute important reservoir of pathogenic bacteria. Improving hand hygiene compliance of health-care workers with recommendations is necessary for increasing biological safety of hospital environment. Med Pr 2017;68(3):459–46

Polish infection control nurses : self-assessment of their duties and professional autonomy in different types of hospitals

Background The objective of the study is self-assessment of Polish infection control nurses (ICNs) in terms of the structure of professional tasks and autonomy of decision-making. Material and Methods A questionnaire survey was filled out by 208 ICNs (around 21% of all Polish ICNs) in 15 provinces located in Poland. The research encompassed ICNs surveillance healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in 2014. Results The work time that ICNs devote to professional tasks and decision autonomy on the scale of 1–100% was as follows: 34% (67% of decision autonomy) was dedicated to detecting and registering HAIs, 12% (71%) – internal control, 10% (58%) – devising and implementing infection prevention practices, 10% (68%) – staff trainings, 8% (65%) – identification and study of outbreaks, 7% (58%) – promoting hand hygiene, 6% (51%) – consults with infected patients, 4% (57%) – consults on decontamination, 4% (54%) – consults on maintaining cleanliness, 3% (51%) – isolation and application of personal protective measures, 2% – other tasks. Infection prevention and control nurses estimated, on average, that their autonomy of decisions concerning the professional tasks performed amounted to 60%. Conclusions Infection control nurses in Poland have difficulty in achieving balance between tasks they perform and the authority they exercise. The ICN professional task structure is dominated by duties associated with monitoring hospital infections, however, the greatest decision autonomy is visible regarding internal control. Decision-making concentrated on internal control may hinder building a positive image of an ICN. We should strive to firmly establish professional tasks and rights of ICNs in legislation concerning performing the duties of a nurse and midwife. Med Pr 2018;69(6):605–61

Analysis of productivity, longevity and culling causes of Jersey and Polish holstein-friesian (PHF) cows

The analyzed population comprised 970 Polish holstein-friesian cows (PHF) and 372 Jersey cows. The database provided pedigree information on dams and their productivity. Differences between breeds in terms of longevity and culling reasons were investigated. For the group of PHF cows, the average age of culling was 5.2 years, while for Jersey cows, it was 4.81 years. In the PHF group, for the main cause of culling, about 39.5% of all cases, was classified as "other", that is unspecified causes. In the group of Jersey cows, very similar levels were recorded for four culling reasons: "sterility and reproductive system disfunction" and "infectious diseases"; each at about 17%, "low yields" at 16.5% and "metabolic disorders and diseases of the alimentary tract" at 15.6%.Key words: Longevity, lifetime production, Jersey cows, Polish holstein-friesian cows

Healthcare workers' occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens : a 5-year observation in selected hospitals of the Małopolska province

Objectives: The study presents data concerning occupational exposures among the staff of 5 hospitals in the Małopolska province in 2008–2012, taking into account the frequency and circumstances of exposure formation, occupational groups of hospital workers, as well as diversification of the reported rates in subsequent years between the hospitals and in each of them. An additional objective of the analysis was to assess the practical usefulness of the reported data for planning and evaluation of the effectiveness of procedures serving to minimize the risk of healthcare workers’ exposure to pathogens transmitted through blood. Material and Methods: Data were derived from occupational exposure registries kept by 5 hospitals of varying sizes and operational profiles from the Małopolska province from the years 2008–2012. Results: Seven hundred and seventy-five cases of exposure were found in a group of 3165 potentially exposed workers in the analyzed period. Most cases were observed in nurses (68%) and these were mainly various types of needlestick injuries (78%). Exposure rates with respect to all workers ranged from 2.6% to 8.3% in individual hospitals, but the differences in their values registered in the hospitals in subsequent years did not bear any statistical significance, in a way similar to the rates calculated separately for each occupational group. Conclusions: There was no upward or downward trend in the number of reported cases of exposure to bloodborne pathogens in the studied period in any of the hospitals. Statistically significant differences in the percentages of exposures were reported between individual hospitals in some years of the analyzed period, which confirms the need for registries in individual units in order to plan and evaluate the effectiveness of preventative measures

The Stability of park composition

Abstract: The stability of park composition. The research dealt with 85 antique garden layouts in the Piotrkowska Region. The aim of this work is an examination of a dependence of permanence in a park composition with reference to ownership form which it covers. As a research hypothesis it has been assumed that the continuity of a park ownership form infl uences the park function while it decides about the permanence of layout composition. In the work methods of historical analysis were applied as well as methods of formal and spatial analysis. Among the examined garden layouts 74 objects were broken out and changed their function but only 7 retained continuity of ownership. Having analyzed the grade of composition retention three groups of objects are selected: parks with retained axis composition -29 objects that is about 34% of all examined layouts, parks with traces of historical composition -17 objects that is 20% and parks without retained historical composition -39 layouts which equals nearly 46%. Having conducted the analysis of the park areas it can be stated that none of the objects has intact boundaries. The results of the conducted research explicitly indicate that there is a close connection between retaining territory ownership covered by the object and its function as well as its composition

Analysis of occupational exposure of healthcare workers in the years 1998-2013 for bloodborne pathogens on the example of the hospital of the surgical profile

Background: To analyze occupational exposures to blood-borne pathogens among workers of a 130-bed hospital of surgical profile in the Małopolska province. Material and Methods: All cases of occupational exposure recorded in the hospital in the years 1998–2013 were analyzed, taking into account exposure rates (no. of incidents / no. of exposed workers ×100%) and the frequency, circumstances, professional groups, hospital staff, the place of rendered services and type of exposure. Results: Average rates of exposure for all workers, regardless of the wards, ranged in different years from 4.3% (2006) to 12.6% (2013), and the average value in the whole period was 7.3% (±2.39). The majority of exposure cases were reported among nurses – 67.8%, followed by physicians – 29.7%, the lowest number of cases was found among other employees – 1.5%. The proportion of injuries in the years 1998–2013 did not show a significant decreasing trend (p = 0.356). Among physicians there was a significant trend of an exponential character (p = 0.002). Among other workers no significant change was observed in the period under consideration. Over the analyzed period the distribution of exposure showed a downward trend for nurses (p = 0.001) and upward trend for physicians (p < 0.001). There was a significant downward trend in the percentage of needle-sticks, and an upward trend in exposures during surgery. Conclusions: The reported trends were linked with the recent introduction of safe equipment and the increased number of surgeons’ reports on exposure incidents. Due to differences between health care units there is a necessity to keep reliable records of exposure by individual units. Med Pr 2014;65(6):723–73

Antimicrobial effect of copper alloys on Acinetobacter species isolated from infections and hospital environment

Abstract Background An increased proportion of Gram-negative bacteria have recently been reported among etiologic agents of infection. In Poland, Acinetobacter baumannii is a big problem for hospitals, especially intensive care units. Touch surfaces made from materials with antimicrobial properties, especially copper alloys, are recommended as a supplementary method of increasing biological safety in the hospital environment. Aim of the study The objective of this study is to determine the susceptibility to selected copper alloys of three clinical Acinetobacter baumannii strains, one Acinetobacter lwoffi and an A. pittii strain isolated from the hospital environment. Material and method The modification of the Japanese Standard, which the ISO 22196:2011 norm was used for testing antimicrobial properties of CuZn37, CuSn6 and CuNi18Zn20 and Cu-ETP and stainless steel as positive and negative control, respectively. Results The highest cidal efficiency, expressed as both time and the degree of reduction of the initial suspension density, against all of the tested Acinetobacter strains was found for ETP copper. But, the results of our study also confirmed effective activity (bacteriocidal or bacteriostatic) of copper alloys selected for the study, contrary to the stainless steel. The reduction in bacterial suspension density is significantly different depending on the strain and copper alloy composition. Conslusions The results of our study confirmed the effective antibacterial activity of copper and its selected alloys against clinical Acinetobacter baumannii and Acinetobacter lwoffii strains, and Acinetobacter pittii strain isolated from the hospital environment