ABSTRACT
Introduction: Central-line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) are preventable hospital-acquired infections that harm and prolong a patient's hospital stay and increase unnecessary hospital expenditure. In collaboration with infection control and hospital epidemiology, the quality management department initiated a performance improvement project to address 144 CLABSI events in 2017. Methods: The performance improvement project team used brainstorming to create change ideas presented in a driver diagram. The team then applied plan-do-study-act (PDSA) cycles to implement and monitor the improvements. Finally, the team applied a bundle of interventions that included the following: (a) policies and procedures for central line insertion, maintenance and removal processes standardization, (b) physicians training for line insertion by simulation, (c) an awareness campaign that included recognizing healthcare workers and enhancing patient engagement, (d) performing root cause analysis for the CLABSI events, and (e) automation of central line insertion, and (f) maintenance bundles documentation in the hospital information system. Results: The CLABSI rate per 1000 patient days dropped from 1.5 per 1000 device days to 1.03 per 1000 device days. In addition, CLABSI events reduction was 24% by 2018. Then further reduction of 15% occurred by the end of 2019. Thus, the overall decrease in CLABSI events was 35% from the baseline number of events (i.e., 144 events) in 2017. Another achievement of the project is that 10 units reported zero CLABSI events in 2018 and 2019, of which four units had a high central line utilization rate, more than 40%. Conclusion: The implemented interventions effectively reduced the CLABSI events in the hospital. The project team will continue implementing more interventions with monitoring, aiming to achieve zero CLABSIs over time in all the hospital units.
ABSTRACT
It is mandatory that healthcare workers wear personal protective equipment (PPE) while caring for COVID-19 patients. Studies have shown that wearing PPE for a prolonged time may lead to symptoms of physical discomfort including headache. The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence and association between prolonged use of PPE and headaches. This was a cross-sectional study. A convenience sample of healthcare workers who worked with COVID-19 patients in clinical settings was recruited. The data were collected through an electronic survey shared as a link through social media. This study included 1060 participants, 753 (71%) female and 307 (29%) male. Participants were divided into two groups. Group A had 628 (60%) participants who did not have chronic headache before the COVID-19 pandemic, while Group B contained 432 (40%) participants who had a previous chronic headache. Headaches differed significantly between Groups A and B in frequency, type, location, and quality during the COVID-19 period. The analysis found a significant relationship between duration of PPE use and headache occurrence. The significant relationship between the duration of PPE usage and headache occurrence among healthcare workers should be considered when refining policies and procedures regarding prolonged PPE use.
ABSTRACT
Understanding the immune response to Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is crucial for disease prevention and vaccine development. We studied the antibody responses in 48 human MERS-CoV infection survivors who had variable disease severity in Saudi Arabia. MERS-CoV-specific neutralizing antibodies were detected for 6 years postinfection.
