National Healthcare-Associated Infections Report 2022 - Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND: Surveillance data are very essential for the effective use of available resources, the prioritization of infection control practices, and setting goals for intervention. The aim was to present the current rates of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and device utilization ratios (DUR) among the Saudi Ministry of health (MOH) hospitals. METHODS: MOH analyzed the surveillance data collected from 106 MOH hospitals enrolled in the health electronic surveillance network (HESN) between January 2022 and December 2022. The surveillance methodology was similar to the methods of the US National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) center for infection control. RESULTS: More than one million device-days of surveillance were analyzed. The rate of central line associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) was 2.57 per 1000 central lines days. The rate of catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) was 1.08 per 1000 urinary catheter days. The rate of ventilator-associated events (VAE) was 4.21 per 1000 ventilator days. The average rate of pediatric/neonatal ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) was 1.53 per 1000 ventilator days. The average DURs were 0.33 for central line, 0.61 for urinary catheter, 0.44 for ventilator in adult patients, and 0.26 in ventilator in pediatric/neonatal patients. In 238632 months of surveillance, the rate of dialysis events (DE) was 0.97 per 100 patient-months. In 86324 surgeries monitored, the rate of surgical site infection (SSI) was 0.87 per 100 surgeries surveyed. CONCLUSIONS: The current report can serve as a national benchmark for MOH hospitals and a regional benchmark for similar hospitals in the region.

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the rates of central line...associated bloodstream infection and catheter-associated urinary tract infection in an.ßintensive care setting:.ßNational experience.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 is believed to increase the risk of secondary health care...associated infections. The objective was to estimate the impact of COVID-l9 pandemic on the rates of central line...associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) and catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) in the.ßMinistry of Health hospitals across Saudi Arabia. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of prospectively collected CLABSI and CAUTI data over a period of 3 years (2019-2021) was done. The data were obtained from the Saudi Health Electronic Surveillance Network. All adult intensive care units in 78 Ministry of Health hospitals that contributed CLABSI or CAUTI data before (2019) and during (2020-2021).ßthe pandemic were included. RESULTS: During the study, 1440 CLABSI events and 1119 CAUTI events were identified. CLABSI rates significantly increased in 2020-2021 compared with 2019 (2.50 versus 2.16 per 1000 central line days, P.ß=.ß.010). CAUTI rates significantly decreased in 2020-2021 compared with 2019 (0.96 versus 1.54 per 1000 urinary catheter days, P.ß<.ß.001). CONCLUSIONS: COVID-19 pandemic is.ßassociated with increased CLABSI rates and reduced CAUTI rates. It.ßis believed to have negative impacts on several infection control practices and surveillance accuracy. The opposite impacts of COVID-19 on CLABSI and CAUTI probably reflect.ßthe nature of their case definitions.

Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of COVID-19 mortality among healthcare workers in Saudi Arabia: A nationwide study.

BACKGROUND: Healthcare workers (HCWs) have been highly affected by COVID-19 due to their fundamental duties in diagnosing, caring, and treating the rapidly increasing number of infected patients. Thus, are facing the occupational risk of COVID-19 infection and mortality. PURPOSE: To investigate the COVID-19 disease clinical characteristic and associated factors among HCWs in Saudi Arabia. METHODS: This was a nationwide, retrospective analytical study conducted from 5th of March 2020-21 st of August 2021. All deceased HCWs who were diagnosed with COVID-19 were included in this study. RESULTS: As of August 21, 2021, a total of 305 deaths were recorded due to COVID-19 infection among HCWs in all Saudi healthcare facilities. The case fatality rate was 0.35%. Deaths were highest among physicians (40.0%). Most of deceased HCWs acquired the infection from the community (80%). 71% of deceased HCWs had at least one chronic medical condition. Most of them were admitted to ICU before they passed away (83.6%). Three significant variables predicting ICU admission were presence of one or more comorbidities, hypertension, and chronic respiratory diseases CONCLUSION: HCWs are at higher risk for exposure to COVID-19 due to their occupational risk. Our study encourages future research to provide more comprehensive information regarding COVID-19 morbidity and mortality among HCWs.

Efficacy Of Hydrogen Peroxide Fumigation In Improving Disinfection Of Hospital Rooms And Reducing The Number Of Microorganisms.

BACKGROUND: The hospital acquired infections are very common in any health care setting due to certain bacteria, viruses and fungi. In order to find out a solution to this problem, this preliminary study was designed to find out the efficiency of hydrogen peroxide fumigation in reducing the number of microorganisms and improving the disinfection of hospital rooms. It was a prospective cross over study, conducted in Arar Central Hospital, North region, Arar, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, for the period of one year, from March 2015 to February 2016. Objective of the study was to determine the efficacy of hydrogen peroxide fumigation in the improvement of disinfection of hospital rooms. METHODS: A total of 10 environmental samples were taken immediately after the patient was discharged (R1), 10 after terminal cleaning (R2), and 10 after the Bioxeco hydrogen peroxide fumigation (R3) in 20 different rooms of the hospital including ICU, general medical wards and operating rooms. (T=600). RESULTS: Almost 95% rooms cultured (environmental surfaces) after patient was discharged (R1) revealed microorganism growth, 80% after terminal cleaning (R2) and 2% after Bioxeco Hydrogen Peroxide fumigation revealed growths of microorganisms like bacteria and fungi on the culture plates (R3). The highest rate of room contamination was found in the rooms where the patients had stayed for a longer period of time. CONCLUSION: Hydrogen peroxide fumigation has been proved to be an efficient disinfectant in a health care setting.

In vitro antibacterial activity of onion (Allium cepa) against clinical isolates of Vibrio cholerae.

BACKGROUND: Cholera is a major public health problem in developing countries of the world. Bacterial resistance, lack of surveillance data and proper microbiological facilities are major problems regarding diagnosis of cholera. The spread of microbial drug resistance is a global public health challenge that results in increased illness and death rate. Newer antimicrobials or agents are urgently required to overcome this problem. This work was therefore done to investigate the antimicrobial potential of onion against thirty-three clinical isolates of Vibrio cholerae. METHODS: The extract was prepared by reflux extraction method. Antibacterial screening of clinical isolates of V. cholerae was done by agar well diffusion method. Agar dilution method was used to assess the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC). RESULTS: All tested strains of V. cholerae were sensitive to onion (Allium cepa) extracts of two types (purple and yellow). Purple type of extract had MIC range of 19.2-21.6 mg/ml. The extract of yellow type onion had an MIC range of 66-68.4 mg/ml. CONCLUSION: The results indicated that onion (Allium cepa) has an inhibitory effect on V. cholerae. Keeping in view the anti-bacterial activity of this compound can be exploited as a therapeutic agent in an animal model. This finding is a positive point for further investigation of this herb of traditional medicine.