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3 weeks ago | 
reflectionsipc.com | Martin Kiernan |Jon Otter |Andreas Voss
I’ve written this post in preparation for Wednesday’s IPS Journal Club (register here) in collaboration with IPC PartnersThe paper that I have chosen for the Journal Club is this one in the Journal of Infection Prevention, describing a real time intervention to increase chlorhexidine (CHG) bathing to reduce central line-associated blood stream infections (CLABSIs). Why I choose this paper?
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3 weeks ago | 
reflectionsipc.com | Jon Otter |Martin Kiernan |Andreas Voss
I’ve written this post in preparation for Wednesday’s IPS Journal Club (register here). The paper that I have chosen for the Journal Club is this one in the Journal of Infection Prevention, comparing the risk of SARS-CoV-2 dispersal through the air with an inhaler vs. nebuliser. Why I chose this article:There has been a huge amount of debate about the transmission dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 through the air.
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1 month ago | 
reflectionsipc.com | Jon Otter |Martin Kiernan |Andreas Voss
I’ve written this post in preparation for tomorrow’s Journal Club, which will be based on this NEJM review of Candidozyma auris (formerly Candida auris). You can register for Journal Club here (or watch the recording afterwards here). Why I chose this article:C. auris is an emerging fungal pathogen that is beginning to cause issues in healthcare systems around the world. The main challenge with C.
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1 month ago | 
reflectionsipc.com | Martin Kiernan |Jon Otter |Andreas Voss
Guest blogger Dr Alexander Edwards (bio below) has written a post in preparation for IPC Journal Club on Wednesday (details and registration for that here)…Why I chose this article? The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of ventilation in mitigating against the transmission of airborne respiratory pathogens and improving air quality in indoor environments.
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2 months ago | 
reflectionsipc.com | Martin Kiernan |Jon Otter |Andreas Voss
Guest blogger Dr Isabella Centeleghe shares her thoughts on biofilms and sinks in preparation for the next Journal Club (register here). I have spent the last 3 years investigating the composition, resilience and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) spread within drain biofilms in hospitals, homes and farms piquing my interest in the subject.
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2 months ago | 
reflectionsipc.com | Jon Otter |Martin Kiernan |Andreas Voss
I was browsing pubmed this morning for updates related to C. auris from outside the UK, and came across this fascinating report from Saudi Arabia. Based on national notifications to the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health, C. auris was the preeminent cause of HCAI outbreaks during 2023!This observational study summarised all of the outbreaks reported to the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health during 2023. A grand total of 1,240 outbreaks were reported.
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2 months ago | 
reflectionsipc.com | Martin Kiernan |Jon Otter |Andreas Voss
Guest blogger Kerry Holden (bio below) has written this blog in preparation for next Wednesday’s Journal Club (register here) writes…Health inequalities are sadly deeply embedded in society and unfortunately growing, leading to unequal access to services and poor care experiences. These disparities contribute to earlier deaths, reduced healthy life expectancy, intergenerational trauma, and substantial economic costs. However, many of these health inequalities are preventable.
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Jan 20, 2025 | 
reflectionsipc.com | Martin Kiernan |Jon Otter |Andreas Voss
In preparation for Wednesday’s Journal Club in partnership with the Healthcare Infection Society around water hygiene (details and registration here), I’ve reviewed this article in the Journal of Hospital Infection. Why I choose this article? Waterborne healthcare associated infections (and the prevention of), have always been an area of interest for me.
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Jan 17, 2025 | 
reflectionsipc.com | Jon Otter |Martin Kiernan |Andreas Voss
In preparation for next Wednesday’s Journal Club in partnership with the Healthcare Infection Society around water hygiene (details and registration here), I’ve reviewed this article in the Journal of Hospital Infection. It’s an excellent narrative review on the use of continuous monitoring of key parameters related to water hygiene (e.g. water temperature and flow).
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Jan 7, 2025 | 
reflectionsipc.com | Jon Otter |Martin Kiernan |Andreas Voss
I’ve just read an enjoyable commentary in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy exploring barriers and solutions to implementing proactive WGS in IPC. It links in nicely with a post I wrote towards the end of last year along similar lines. So what are the key barriers and how do we overcome them? The review summarises the barriers as follows:Evidence. Both in terms of impact in reducing infection risk and cost effectiveness. Financial.
