Dissertation submitted in partial compliance with the requirements for the Master's Degree in Technology: Homeopathy, Technikon Natal, 2001. / The purpose of this study was to test the relative effectiveness of extract, 3X and 8X homeopathic garlic (Allium sativum) dilutions on Candida albicans and nosocomial multidrug- resistant strains of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Eschericia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in terms of bacteriostatic and bactericidal effects in order to validate the clinical use of garlic in patients infected by these organisms. The test organisms were provided by the Department of Microbiology at the University of Stellenbosch Medical School. A 1:2 aqueous extract was prepared from fresh garlic bulbs. From the extract the 3X and 8X dilutions were made in distilled water according to the method of the German Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia. In the experimental group, these three garlic preparations and standardised solutions of each of the five test organisms were serially added, in equal quantities, to nine samples of nutrient broth, incubated and optically evaluated for turbidity against McFarlane standards. Samples showing garlic activity were plated out, incubated and the Colony Forming Units (CFU's) counted. Similarly, in the control group, solutions of each of the five test organisms were added to nine samples of nutrient broth, incubated and optically evaluated for turbidity against McFarlane standards. The CFUs of the experimental and control groups were statistically compared by means of the Kruskal-Wallis test. III Those strains against which garlic exhibited a bactericidal effect (kill = >99,9%), were subjected to a timelkill experiment to determine the time required for the garlic to kill thew / M

Background The inexorable rise in antimicrobial resistance (AMR) interferes with the goals of health care services around the world, given how critical the antibacterials are in making infections treatable and surgical procedures doable. Nursing homes residents have been identified as a reservoir for AMR, possibly due to the combination of being physically and mentally frail, frequently treated with antibacterials, and frequently moved between nursing home and hospital. Microbiological surveillance is a key countermeasure against further AMR development. Yet, surveillance data is easily biased due to precision problems regarding how the data is collected and evaluated. Methods Beginning in 2008, we launched two programmes (“SHADES” and “MIDIO”) aimed to gathering AMR data in a systematic fashion from elderly nursing home residents and elderly people living in their own place of residence. In doing so, we focused on colonizing strains of the two most important nosocomial infectious agents, Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli). The bacteria were collected from multiple body sites and analysed with respect to antimicrobial susceptibility and genetic diversity. Results Active surveillance of AMR showed that (i) a S. aureus isolate could be retrieved from 1 in every 2 individuals given a single round of sampling, but aggregating several rounds of sampling, this figure might reach 7 in every 10 individuals, (ii) an E. coli isolate could be retrieved from 4 in every 5 individuals, (iii) the overall prevalence of AMR was favourable when compared to the situation in many other countries, (iv) the genetic diversity of S. aureus was generally high and provided only limited evidence of clonal expansion or contraction, and (v) diabetes mellitus was one of very few patient-level factors to show an association with the degree of genetic diversity in S. aureus. Conclusions The prevalence of colonization with S. aureus and E. coli was somewhat higher than expected, but the degree of AMR was very low. The genetic diversity of S. aureus was generally high. Diabetes mellitus emerged as the only patient-level factor associated with a higher degree of genetic diversity in S. aureus.

Nosocomial infections present an important health problem with morbidity, and high mortality, prolongation hospital days, and increased direct costs of patient care. This article was conducted in a general hospital in order to determine the cost of nosocomial infections and increased length of hospitalization of it. The conclusion was that the high economic expense which nosocomial infection represents justifies measures to control this entity. Nosocomial infections are a major part of the problem of reemerging pathogens causing infectious diseases, affecting 5% of hospitalized patients. Provided an enhanced, integrated infection control program, it could be assessed that the medical and economic effects on the overall nosocomial infection will lower of actual health care costs by ¢C28000NTD each case of the intervention.

Infection control is an often neglected clinical subject in Hong Kong until the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003. A total of eight healthcare workers, including four medical doctors, succumbed as a result of nosocomial acquisition of SARS-coronavirus (SARS-CoV) at the time. Since then, the importance of infection control practice was much better appreciated by the frontline healthcare workers, as it can be a matter of life-or-death. My thesis summarized our research on the proactive infection control measures to prevent nosocomial transmission of respiratory and gastrointestinal viruses, to control emerging and endemic antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and on the management of unprecedented infection outbreaks in the hospital. Promotion of hand hygiene is the cornerstone of proactive infection control measures. By adopting the concept and practice of directly-observed hand hygiene, we demonstrated successful control of outbreaks and prevention for both respiratory and gastroenteritis viruses. Introduction of electronic devices for continuous monitoring of hand hygiene compliance in high risk clinical areas provides an opportunity for immediate feedback and timely education to frontline staffs. The global dissemination of multiple drug resistant organisms (MDROs) such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), community-associated MRSA (CA-MRSA), vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (VRE), hypervirulent clone of Clostridium difficile, extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) producing organisms, and the recently described carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae (CRE), pose a great challenge to the infection control professionals. In Hong Kong, MRSA has been endemic for more than two decades. Although we proved that the appropriate use of single room isolation and hand hygiene can significantly reduce the incidence of nosocomial MRSA in the adult intensive care unit, the isolation facilities remain limited in the general medical and surgical units. Innovations are much in need to manage this old and persistent problem. Therefore, we demonstrated that use of antibiotics, in particular beta-lactams and fluoroquinolones, could increase the risk of environmental contamination by increasing microbial density of MRSA in the anterior nares by 2-3 log10 in as little as 1 week. We also found that some MRSA strains such as spa types t1081 and t037 were more transmissible. Based on these findings, we prioritized our isolation facilities for those patients who are heavily colonized or infected with highly transmissible spa-type t1081, especially when they are receiving antibiotic therapy. Along with our enhancement of hand hygiene practices and antibiotic stewardship program, the incidence of MRSA bacteremia per 1000-patient-days was the lowest among the seven hospital clusters in Hong Kong. We believe that our experience in the control of the MRSA can be extended to contain the spread of CA-MRSA and other MDROs. Besides the prevailing infectious diseases with high endemicity, we have to be vigilant against other potential outbreaks due to uncommon micro-organisms such as the polymicrobial outbreak in patients undergoing intermittent peritoneal dialysis caused by hospital renovation, the unprecedented outbreak of intestinal mucormycosis caused by Rhizopus microsporous among the patients with hematological malignancy, and the nosocomial outbreak of legionellosis in our locality. Extensive outbreak investigations were performed, which demonstrated that environmental factors were also important in causing nosocomial outbreaks. / published_or_final_version / Microbiology / Master / Doctor of Medicine

No description available.

Thesis (M. Nurs.)--University of Hong Kong, 2007.

Submitted by Barroso Patrícia (barroso.p2010@gmail.com) on 2013-08-12T18:05:58Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação Thaís.pdf: 4101227 bytes, checksum: 85ef01355081e29d03fd1c90b5a16711 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2013-08-12T18:05:59Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação Thaís.pdf: 4101227 bytes, checksum: 85ef01355081e29d03fd1c90b5a16711 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010 / Introdução: A Doença Periodontal (DP) é uma patologia bastante prevalente na população, podendo trazer prejuízos não só ao sistema estomatognático como também desencadear outras repercussões à distância. Dentre estas a pneumonia nosocomial (PN), que é desenvolvida após 48h de internação hospitalar e que não estavam presente ou incubada no paciente no momento da admissão no hospital, e representa um dos principais problemas de controle de infecção hospitalar na atualidade, devido à sua elevada incidência, altas taxas de mortalidade e altos custos que é também um grave problema de saúde pública. Objetivo: Avaliar a possível associação entre a doença periodontal e pneumonia nosocomial. Metodologia: Estudo caso-controle realizado no Hospital Geral Clériston Andrade (HGCA), Feira de Santana, Bahia, Brasil. A amostra total foi de 200 indivíduos, sendo 40 casos (com PN) e 160 controles (sem PN). O diagnóstico de periodontite utilizado foi de acordo com os critérios: pelo menos quatro dentes, com no mínimo um sítio, com profundidade de sondagem maior ou igual a 4mm, perda de inserção de 3mm ou mais e sangramento à sondagem, no mesmo sítio. O diagnóstico de PN foi realizado pela equipe médica do próprio HGCA. Resultados: Na análise de associação bruta, verificou-se que, entre os indivíduos portadores da DP a chance de apresentar pneumonia foi maior que entre aqueles sem DP (ORbruta=2,02; IC 95% [0,90 – 4,53], p=0,09), porém sem significância estatística. Na regressão logística condicional, nenhum efeito de interação foi detectado, mas foram confirmadas como elementos de confundimento o cuidado bucal durante internamento, ventilação mecânica invasiva, tempo de internamento e idade. Após o ajuste para essas variáveis, a ORajustada reduziu para 0,87 (IC 95% [0,18-4,15], p=0,86). Conclusão: Não houve associação estatisticamente significante entre periodontite e pneumonia nosocomial. / Universidade Federal da Bahia, Instituto de Ciências da Saúde

No description available.

Background: Nosocomial pneumonia (NP) is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in hospitalized patients. Objective: The objectives of this study were to describe the epidemiology of NP in adult patients hospitalized in Canadian acute care facilities and identify prognostic indicators for death. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted in 114 patients with NP admitted to hospitals that participated in a 2002 Canadian point prevalence survey. Results: A high proportion of NP patients had a rapidly or ultimately fatal underlying illness. NP in non-intensive care unit (ICU) patients accounted for the larger proportion of these infections.There was no mortality difference between patients with and without ventilator-associated NP, or with and without ICU-acquired NP. Delayed initiation of appropriate antimicrobial therapy was associated with a poorer outcome. Discussion: Strategies that result in the timely administration of appropriate antimicrobial therapy should be investigated in an effort to reduce NP-associated mortality.

Background: Nosocomial pneumonia (NP) is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in hospitalized patients. Objective: The objectives of this study were to describe the epidemiology of NP in adult patients hospitalized in Canadian acute care facilities and identify prognostic indicators for death. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted in 114 patients with NP admitted to hospitals that participated in a 2002 Canadian point prevalence survey. Results: A high proportion of NP patients had a rapidly or ultimately fatal underlying illness. NP in non-intensive care unit (ICU) patients accounted for the larger proportion of these infections.There was no mortality difference between patients with and without ventilator-associated NP, or with and without ICU-acquired NP. Delayed initiation of appropriate antimicrobial therapy was associated with a poorer outcome. Discussion: Strategies that result in the timely administration of appropriate antimicrobial therapy should be investigated in an effort to reduce NP-associated mortality.