Hospital outpatient clinics as a potential hazard for healthcare associated infections

Hefzy, Enas; Wegdan, Ahmed Ashraf; Wahed, Wafaa Y. Abdel

doi:10.1016/j.jiph.2015.06.015

Cited by 25 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 30 publications

(24 reference statements)

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“…Health care-associated infections (HCAIs), previously known as nosocomial infections, can be defined as those infections that are acquired within any health care setting including inpatient/outpatient, radiology department (RD), and emergency department (ED) [1].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…HCAIs are the 4th major cause of disease in developed countries [2]. Developing countries have much higher risks of HCAIs with a ratio of 20:1 as compared to the developed countries as studied by Hefzy [1].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previously, it was believed that HCAIs were only limited to inpatient hospital settings, where patients have their first encounters with the health care system when they are acutely ill. However, recent outbreaks have shown that a significant number of HCAIs are also experienced in the outpatient settings [1].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Health Care–Associated Infections and the Radiology Department

Ilyas

Burbridge

Babyn

2019

Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences

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Health care-associated infections (HCAIs) are a significant concern for both health care workers (HCWs) and patients. They are a major contributing factor of disease in industrialized countries, and are responsible for significant morbidity, mortality, and a direct annual financial loss of $6-7 billion in North America alone. They are an increasingly challenging health issue due to multidrug-resistant pathogens such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and vancomycin-resistant Enterococci among others, along with an increasing number of susceptible patients. Over the last three decades, the risk of HCAIs has increased in the radiology department (RD) in part because of an increased number of patients visiting the department and an increase in the utilization of imaging modalities. In this review, we will discuss how patients and staff can be exposed to HCAIs in the RD, including contaminated inanimate surfaces, radiology equipment, and associated medical devices. As the role of medical imaging has extended from primarily diagnosis to include more interventions, the implementation and development of standardized infection minimization protocols and infection control procedures are vital in the RD, particularly in interventional radiology. With globalisation and the rapid movement of people regionally, nationally, and globally, there is greater risk of exposure to contagious diseases such as Ebola, especially if infected patients are undiagnosed when they travel. For effective infection control, advanced training and education of HCWs in the RD is essential.The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of HCAIs as related to activities of the RD. We will discuss the following major topics including the variety of HCAIs commonly encountered, the role of the RD in HCAIs, transmission of infections to patients and HCWs in the RD, standard infection prevention measures, and the management of susceptible/infected patients in the RD. We shall also examine the role of, and the preparedness of, HCWs, including RD technologists and interventional radiologists, who may be exposed to undiagnosed, yet infected patients. We shall conclude with a brief discussion of the role of further research related to HCAIs. Learning ObjectivesAfter the completion of this review article, the readers will Understand the exposure and role of radiology department in health care-associated infections, Know the causes/modes/transmission of infections in radiology department, Be conscious of standard disinfection protocols, Be aware of current and future strategies required for the effective control of health care-associated infection in the radiology department. This is a CME article and provides the equivalent of 2 hours of continuing education that may be applied to your professional development credit system. A 10-question multiple-choice quiz follows this reading. Please note that no formalized credit (category A) is available from CAMRT.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Health Care–Associated Infections and the Radiology Department

Ilyas

Burbridge

Babyn

2019

Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences

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“…Recently, cross infections are no longer confined to the hospital environment, many research reported that cross infections outbreaks have been attributed to non-adherence to recommended infection-prevention procedures (Hefzy et al 2016). Thus, measures should be taken to prevent from cross infection.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A survey on the disposal of blood-contaminated tampon after dental extraction

et al. 2016

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ObjectiveThis paper was to assess the risk for cross infection caused by blood-contaminated tampon after dental extraction and whether this risk was reduced after relevant education towards both dentists and patients.MethodsFrom December 2014 to April 2015, a survey was conducted in dentists and patients randomly before and after relevant education. The questionnaire is being revised for this survey based on learning from Chatzoudi and Franklin’ survey. This survey was approved by the institutional review board, and all participants were voluntary and all responses were anonymous.ResultsOnly 2.82 % of dentists provided patients with the postoperative-advices regarding how to dispose of blood-contaminated tampon at the first time and 47.10 % at the second time (P < 0.01). Only 1.41 % of dentists given special postoperative-advices regarding disposal of tampon to patients with blood-transmitted diseases at the first time and 24.64 % at the second time (P < 0.01). Before education, most patients were lack of nosocomial infection knowledge. After education, 22.4 % of patients threw the blood-contaminated tampon away in a proper way (P < 0.01). 66.67 % of them washed hands immediately and thoroughly after they touched the tampon (P < 0.05), 92.71 % knew the blood-contaminated tampon can cause cross-infection (P < 0.01), and 80.21 % knew how to dispose of the blood-contaminated tampon correctly (P < 0.01).ConclusionThe high risk of cross infection caused by blood-contaminated tampon is evident, and a series of measures is proposed to control it. There is a need to improve both dentists’ and patients’ awareness, enhance the education of doctors and perfect the policies and guidelines.

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“…On the other hand, studies showed that healthcare associated infections were not uncommon in both hospital and outpatient clinics. 10,11 In facing a potential life-threatening infectious threat, healthcare workers would have a lot of anxiety. 12 The authors observed that some healthcare workers, including doctors, were wearing escalated levels of PPE at 'non-high risk' areas, as they worried about infection after contact with hidden patients with mild symptoms and their infective droplets.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%