World Health Organization Surgical Safety Checklist with Addition of Infection Control Items: Intervention Study in Egypt

BACKGROUND: Surgical team is in command of the operating room (OR) and takes decisions regarding various patient care procedures. Educational programs directed to them, should be creative, provocative and tailored to their specific needs and the expected outcomes. AIM: This study aims to design and conduct an educational program of patient safety and infection control for the OR team based on the WHO surgical safety checklist and to assess their post-intervention knowledge and practices. METHODS: This interventional study was conducted at the ORs of Port-said general hospital. It passed through three stages; baseline assessment of knowledge and practice regarding patient safety and infection control among OR team (surgeons, anaesthetists and nurses), intervention stage in which an educational program based on the WHO surgical safety checklist with modifications and additions of more infection control items was conducted, then re-assessment of their post-intervention knowledge and practices. RESULTS: All the studied participants showed improvement in both knowledge and practices of patient safety and infection control after the educational program based on the WHO surgical safety checklist with modifications and additions of more infection control items and including not only practices but also knowledge as well, than before. CONCLUSION: The modification of the WHO surgical safety checklist to fit local knowledge and practices created a comprehensive tool that led to an improvement in both knowledge and practices of patient safety and infection control among the OR team

Evaluation of Antimicrobial bioactive compounds from Endophytic Fungi Isolated from Moringa oleifera

Endophytic fungi are microorganisms that inhabit the living tissues of their host plants without causing any host loss. They are considered as a continuous natural source of novel bioactive secondary metabolites with potential application in medicine, which are almost same to their host plant. In this study a total of nine endophytic fungal isolates were collected from leaves and stems of Moringa oleifera. Based on the colonization frequency (CF) results, the highest number of isolates was obtained from plant stem, while the least was from leaves. The nine isolates were identified by keeping track of morphological and microscopic observations. Identification of the two antimicrobial potent strains was confirmed by 18S rDNA-based molecular analysis. The nine isolates were found belonging to Chaetomium, Alternaria, Fusarium, Aspergillus, Mycelia, Penicillium and Nigrospora taxa. Among them, Chaetomium taxon was included the highest CF) 40% (. Evaluation of antimicrobial activity documented ethyl acetate fungal extract as the highest effective inhibitor against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, and Aspergillus fumigatus. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was examined for the two most potent antimicrobial effective extracts, from Chaetomium laterale and Chaetomium interruptum; it was ranged from 12.5 to 0.39 mg/ml