ObjectiveTo study the changes of bacterial flora after a series of preoperative oral disinfection and the postoperative recovery of patients with craniovertebral junction disorders who were treated with transoral approach operations. And to provide a theoretical basis for the prevention of postoperative complications such as infection.MethodsThe clinical data of 20 cases with craniovertebral junction disorders and treated with transoral approach operations between October 2009 and May 2010 were analyzed. There were 8 males and 12 females, aged 2-66 years (median, 34.5 years). According to the classification of American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA), there were 4 cases of grade B, 8 of grade C, 6 of grade D, and 2 of grade E. The Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) score was 10.3±3.0. The mucosa samples of the posterior pharyngeal wall were sent for bacteria culture. These samples were collected by sterile cotton swabs at four crucial points including 3 days before operation/before gargling (T1), 3 days after continuous gargling by chlorhexidine acetate/after anesthesia intubation on the day of operation (T2), after intraoperative cleaning and washing of the mouth (T3), and after intraoperative iodophor immersion for 5-10 minutes (T4). The microflora was stained by means of smear and further counted after an investigation by microscope. The ASIA classification and the JOA scores were applied to evaluate the postoperative nerve function of the patients. A regular reexamination of cervical vertebra with X-ray film, CT, and MRI was conducted after operation to evaluate the reduction of atlantoaxial dislocation, internal fixation position, bone graft fusion, inflammatory lesion, and tumor resection in the craniovertebral junction.ResultsAfter a series of oral disinfection, the mucosa of the posterior pharyngeal wall of all the patients was in a sterile state, which was considered as type Ⅰ incision. All these 20 patients were treated with successful operations, without any intraoperative injury in vertebral artery and spinal cord, or any postoperative complications such as plate loosening, incision infection, or intracranial infection. All the patients were followed up 3-23 months, with an average of 5.15 months. The symptoms such as neck pain, limb numbness and weakness, neural symptoms, etc. were improved to different degrees after operation. The JOA score was improved to 13.4±1.9 at 3 months after operation, showing significant difference when compared with preoperative score (t=8.677, P=0.000); and the atlantoaxial joints had been fused. At last follow-up, the ASIA grades were improved when compared with those before operation. ConclusionIt is safe and effective to cut the posterior pharyngeal muscle layer and implant internal fixation by means of transoral approach in the treatment of craniovertebral junction disorders.
When a clustered coronavirus disease 2019 epidemic occurs, how to prevent and control hospital infection is a challenge faced by each medical institution. Under the normalization situation, building an effective prevention and control system is the premise and foundation for medical institutions to effectively prevent and control infection when dealing with clustered epidemics. According to the principles of control theory, medical institutions should quickly switch to an emergency state, and effectively deal with the external and internal infection risks brought by clustered epidemics by strengthening source control measures, engineering control measures, management control measures and personal protection measures. This article summarizes the experience of handling clustered outbreaks in medical institutions in the prevention and control of coronavirus disease 2019, and aims to provide a reference for medical institutions to take effective prevention and control measures when dealing with clustered outbreaks.
Objective To construct a multi-dimensional risk assessment system and scale for the prevention and control risk of respiratory infectious diseases in general hospitals, and make evaluation and early warning. Methods Through the collection of relevant literature on the prevention and control of respiratory infectious diseases during the period from January 1st, 2020 to December 31st, 2022, the articles related to the risk assessment of respiratory infectious diseases such as severe acute respiratory syndrome, COVID-19 and influenza A (H1N1) were screened, and the Delphi method was used to evaluate the articles and establish an indicator system. The normalized weight and combined weight of each item were calculated by analytic hierarchy process. The technique for order preference by similarity to the ideal solution method was used to calculate the risk composite index of 38 clinical departments in a tertiary general hospital in Jiangxi Province in December 2022. Results A total of 16 experts were included, including 4 with senior titles, 8 with associate senior titles, and 4 with intermediate titles. After two rounds of Delphi consult, a total of 4 first-level indicators, 11 second-level indicators, and 38 third-level indicators of risk assessment for the prevention and control of respiratory infectious diseases were determined. The reliability and validity of the scale were good. The top three items with the largest combined weights in the scale were spread by aerosol, spread by respiratory droplet, and commonly used instruments (inspection instruments and monitoring equipment). After a comprehensive analysis on the 38 departments, the top 10 departments in the risk index were the departments of medical imaging, pediatrics, ultrasound, cardiac and vascular surgery, infection, emergency, respiratory and critical care, general medicine, otolaryngology and neck surgery, stomatology, and obstetrics. Conclusions This study constructed the risk assessment scale of respiratory infectious diseases in general hospitals, and the scale has good reliability and validity. The use of this scale for risk assessment of general hospitals can provide a theoretical basis for the risk characteristics of prevention and control of respiratory infectious diseases in general hospitals.
Objective To evaluate the current status of human resources in healthcare-associated infection prevention and control (infection control) in Jiangxi Province, and explore the impact of emergency public health events on the human resources of infection control professionals in various levels and types of medical institutions. Methods From October 1st to 31st, 2023, questionnaire and on-site interviews were conducted to investigate the human resources situation of infection control professionals in various levels and types of medical institutions in Jiangxi Province. Three stages were selected for the investigation: before the outbreak of COVID-19 (before the event, December 2019), during the event (June 2022), and after the transition of COVID-19 (after the event, June 2023), focusing on the characteristics of human resources between before the event and after the event by the comparative analysis. Results Finally, 289 medical institutions were included. There was a statistically significant difference in the number of infection control professionals in medical institutions among 2019, 2022, and 2023 (χ2=189.677, P<0.001). The number of infection control professionals in 2019 was lower than that in 2022 (P<0.001) and 2023 (P<0.001), but there was no statistically significant difference between 2022 and 2023 (P=0.242). The number of infection control professionals per thousand beds in 2019, 2022, and 2023 was 4.40, 6.16, and 5.76, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference between 2019 and 2023 in terms of professional titles, gender, educational level, or professional background (P>0.05). Conclusion Emergency public health events have promoted the increase in the number of infection control professionals, but there is no statistical significance in the professional titles, educational level, or professional background of infection control professionals.
Objective To survey the current situation of the sharp injury in medical workers, and to provide scientific evidence for the prevention and protection of sharp injury. Methods Through applying the questionnaire of sharp injuries designed by Zhongshan Hospital, Shanghai Fudan University, 10% of the workers in all departments of West China Hospital of Sichuan University were selected as respondents according to their job categories. The main contents of the survey included the general information of respondents, reporting after sharp injuries, training participation, and the exposure sources, operations, premises and equipments related to sharp injuries over the past one year.Results Of 840 questionnaires distributed, 100% were valid. The ratio of male was 23% while the female was 72%. There were 50.20% of all respondents who once got injured, and 75% of the respondents having the history of sharp injury worked less than 10 years. The nurses, house keepers and physicians were in the top three positions of suffering from sharp injury; and the operating room was ranked as the highest risk department for sharp injuries. The known haematogenous exposure sources were 69 cases of hepatitis B, 19 syphilis, 6 hepatitis C, and 3 HIV. There were 62% of the respondents who had ever attended related training, and only 11.61% of the injured respondents reported their sharp injuries. Conclusion The incidence rate of the sharp injury is high, but the report rate is low. The operating room is the high risk department, and nurses, house keepers, and physicians are the high risk population for sharp injuries. The prevention and protection and training for sharp injury in target departments and population should be strengthened.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is one of the important pathogens of healthcare-associated infections. In order to prevent and control the transmission of the drug-resistant organism in healthcare facilities, the Healthcare Infection Society and the Infection Prevention Society jointly conducted the guidelines for the prevention and control of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in 2021. This article introduces the guide from the background, preparation process, main prevention and control measures and further studies, and compares the guidelines with the current prevention and control measures in China, so as to provide a methodological reference for preparation of the guide for domestic infection prevention and control practitioners, and provide evidence-based prevention and control strategies for clinical practice.
Healthcare-associated infections pose a significant challenge to healthcare institutions, severely threatening healthcare quality and patient safety. To enhance the quality of infection prevention and control across healthcare facilities at all levels, promote standardization, and drive continuous quality improvement, quality control centers for infection prevention and control have been established nationwide and have played a crucial role. This article conducts an in-depth analysis of the functions, current development status, and key challenges faced by these quality control centers throughout their evolution, aiming to provide insights for future advancements in quality control systems.
Based on the national 2020 and 2022 versions of Accreditation Standards for Tertiary Hospital, the Hospitals Accreditation Office of the Sichuan Provincial Health Commission organized to develop Implementation Rules for the Accreditation Standards for Tertiary Comprehensive Hospitals in Sichuan Province (2023 Edition). In order to guide the evaluated hospitals to comprehensively understand and master the content of hospital infection prevention and control (IPC), this article interprets the main evaluation points and scoring methods of hospital infection management in the detailed rules, emphasizes on organizational management, system implementation, monitoring/supervision, and connotation improvement for IPC. The purpose is to make the evaluated hospitals attach importance to the standardized implementation of daily work of IPC, focus on the routine, objective, and quantitative approach to accreditation work, and continuously achieve the effect of quality improvement in IPC.
Objective To understand the influence of organisational support and professional identity of hospital infection prevention and control (HIPC) practitioner in public hospitals. Methods HIPC practitioner of the public medical institutions secondary level and above in Neijiang City, Sichuan Province were used as the research object. A questionnaire survey was used to analyze their organizational support and professional identity in May 2022, to compare the differences in organizational support and professional identity among HIPC practitioner with different positions, working ages, and majors, and analyze the correlation between organizational support and professional identity among HIPC practitioner. Results A total of 90 valid questionnaires were retrieved from investigation. The average scores for organizational support and professional identity among HIPC practitioner were (3.409±0.625) and (2.518±0.504) points. Among them, the organizational support of intermediate professional title personnel [(3.155±0.785) points], personnel with 5-10 years of service [(3.071±0.696) points], and clinical physicians [(3.342±0.860) points] were the lowest; the professional identity of personnel with intermediate professional titles [(2.357±0.477) points], those with more than 10 years of service[(2.431±0.454) points], and other professionals [(2.471±0.260) points] were the lowest. The Pearson correlation analysis results showed that there was a positive correlation between organizational support and professional identity (r=0.490, P<0.05), self-identity and work support (r=0.364, P<0.05), and environmental identity and relationship interests (r=0.698, P<0.05). Conclusions Due to the low level of organizational support, there is a decrease in professional identity and significant job burnout, which in turn leads to an increase in the turnover rate of infection control professionals. Therefore, it is necessary to enhance the sense of organizational support for specialized personnel in infection control to promote their professional identity and stabilize the infection control team. Suggest providing necessary support at the organizational level and self-improvement at the individual level.
Objective To investigate the current status of occupational environment support, occupational satisfaction, and job competence of hospital infection prevention and control personnel, and to explore the mediating effect of occupational satisfaction on the relationship between occupational environment support and job competence, in order to provide reference and guidance for effectively improving the job competence of hospital infection prevention and control personnel. Methods A survey questionnaire was distributed to various levels and types of medical institutions in Shanghai through the platform of the Shanghai Hospital Infection Quality Control Center. The questionnaire included the Occupational Environment Support Scale, Occupational Satisfaction Scale, and Job Competency Assessment Scale. The mediating effect of occupational satisfaction on the relationship between occupational environment support and job competency of hospital infection prevention and control personnel was analyzed. Results A total of 1027 hospital infection prevention and control personnel from 728 medical institutions participated in this survey, with 989 valid questionnaires and an effective response rate of 96.3%. There were statistically significant differences in the job competency scores of hospital infection prevention and control personnel based on gender, years of experience in infection control work, professional background, highest education level, professional title, job nature, type of medical institution, and annual income (P<0.05). The total score of job competence for hospital infection prevention and control personnel was 301.0 (267.5, 326.0), the total score of occupational environment support was 21.44±3.66, and the total score of occupational satisfaction was 19.25±2.78. The occupational environment support of hospital infection prevention and control personnel was positively correlated with occupational satisfaction and job competence (r=0.373, 0.339; P<0.001), and occupational satisfaction was positively correlated with occupational environment support (r=0.547, P<0.001). The mediating effect of job satisfaction on the occupational environment support and job competence was 0.085, accounting for 22.8% of the total effect. Conclusion Occupational satisfaction partially mediates the relationship between occupational environment support and job competence, and the mediating effect is significant.