BACKGROUND

Healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs) are adverse events brought about by non-compliance of the healthcare staff to set of infection prevention and control (IPC) standards. Consequently, additional medical costs, increased mortality and morbidity rates, and decreased quality of life among patients can happen. As valuable players in preventing and controlling HAIs, nurses must have good knowledge and strict compliance with infection control; however, recent evidence suggests that nurses may need more knowledge or better integration into practice. Nurses' degree of knowledge and practice in preventing and controlling HAIs and factors influencing them should be determined to provide solutions appropriately.

The study specifically sought answers to the following questions: (1) What is the level of knowledge of nurses in the prevention and control of HAIs? (2) What is the degree of practice of nurses in the prevention and control of HAIs? (3) Is there a significant relationship between nurses' knowledge level and degree of practice in the prevention and control of HAIs? (4) What are the facilitating and hindering factors that affect nurses' practice in the prevention and control of HAIs?

The study utilized a quantitative descriptive correlational design. The study was conducted from May to June 2023 at a private tertiary hospital in Baguio City. The study included 128 nurses who fit the inclusion criteria. The respondents were asked to answer three questionnaires, and the data were statistically treated using mean, Spearman Rank correlation, frequency, percentage, and rank distribution.

The study found that nurses possess good knowledge and a suboptimal degree of practice in preventing and controlling HAIs. The results showed that no significant relationship existed between nurses' knowledge level and degree of practice in preventing and controlling HAIs. Perceived personal benefits and organizational encouragement were seen to primarily facilitate the prevention and control practices of nurses. The primary hindrance identified was workload due to staff shortage, poor dissemination of guidelines, and personal discomfort associated with the use of PPE.

A good level of knowledge is a derivative of learnings obtained through various educational modalities and these strategies are considered effective means of knowledge formulation. However, created knowledge without actual application into practice results in overuse of unhelpful interventions. To avoid the unnecessary effects of ineffective knowledge translation, a multifactorial consideration is necessary to identify other factors that may influence the practices of nurses on HAI prevention and control because knowledge does not solely improve or worsen actual practices. Identified facilitating factors should be supported, and hindering factors should be addressed. Further recommendations based on the study results include strengthening existing programs and policies, and developing accessible materials to improve the present practices of nurses.

BACKGROUND

Otomycosis, or fungal infection of the ear, is most commonly caused by Aspergillus, particularly of the Aspergillus niger species. On the other hand, pulmonary aspergilloma is a late manifestation of chronic cavitary pulmonary aspergillosis. Development of invasive aspergillosis is a possibility in immunocompromised patient but very rarely seen in immunocompetent persons. There have been no published reports in patients who initially presented as otomycosis and later development of pulmonary aspergilloma.

This case report presents 53-year-old Filipino immunocompetent female who was initially presented with ear discharges with diagnosed with otomycosis. She underwent modified radical mastoidectomy of the right ear with tympanoplasty type II. The patient then developed right facial nerve palsy due to erosion of the facial nerve canal. She was discharged with a final diagnosis of chronic suppurative otitis media with cholesteatoma; however, patient was not started on any anti-fungal medications. After fourteen months, the patient presented with episodes of hemoptysis and dyspnea and eventually re-admitted. Diagnostic work up was done with chest CT scan and serum galactomannan antigen test. She was diagnosed to have pulmonary aspergilloma. Patient was then started on long term anti-fungal therapy, instead of invasive surgical procedure. Repeat chest CT scan after six months showed a decrease in the size of the fungal ball.

This study illustrates the lung aspergilloma may happen with preceding history of invasive otic fungal infection even if there is no immunocompromised condition. It also emphasizes the importance of proper identification of infection etiology to ensure adequate control and prevent further opportunistic infection.

Introduction: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are at the greatest risk of acquiring nosocomial infections, partly because of their serious underlying disease, but also by exposure to life-saving invasive procedures. Hospital-acquired infections increase patient morbidity, increase the length of hospital stay and hospital costs, and also increases mortality rate. The basic knowledge of organisms infecting ICU patients is very important to empirically select appropriate antibiotics, so that the most likely infecting organisms are addressed. Objective: The aim of the study was to find out the etiologic agents causing infection in medical intensive care unit patients. Results In our study of 289 patients, 180 (62.3%) showed a growth of organism during the stay in ICU. The most common site of infection was the respiratory tract in 138 patients (47.8%) with 60 patients (20.8%) showing Acinetobacter baumannii.
Cross Infection ; Intensive Care Units ; Acinetobacter baumannii ; Respiration, Artificial

Background and Objectives: Surgical site infection (SSI) makes up the largest single group of postoperative infective complications. For surgeries classified as clean surgeries of the head and neck, such as a thyroidectomy, the routine administration of antimicrobial prophylaxis is not recommended. Despite this, extended usage of antibiotics is common in developing countries. This study evaluated the need for antibiotics in elective transcervical thyroidectomy for the prevention of SSI in a tertiary government hospital in a developing country. Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study that included patients who have undergone elective transcervical thyroidectomy at the Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery (ORL-HNS) of the University of the Philippines - Philippine General (UP-PGH) Hospital from August 1, 2020 to June 30, 2022. Data collection was conducted through review of both in-patient and out-patient records. Results: The data of 58 patients were analyzed. The mean (±SD) age was 42.5±14.5 years, with approximately 2:27 male to female ratio. Of the 58 patients, 26 were given postoperative antibiotics while 32 did not receive postoperative antibiotics. None of the 58 were noted to have SSI on the 3rd postoperative day. Only 54 patients completed the 7-day follow-up of the study and their data were further analyzed. One patient had SSI. There was no significant difference between the presence and absence of postoperative antibiotics in relation to SSI (p-value>0.05). Conclusion This study shows that in patients undergoing transcervical thyroidectomies, there is no significant difference in the occurrence of SSI among patients who received and did not receive postoperative antibiotics. Therefore, there is no need to administer postoperative antibiotics, as long as a sterile surgical technique is ensured.
Surgical Wound Infection ; Thyroidectomy

Background: Healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs) are adverse events brought about by non-compliance of the healthcare staff to set of infection prevention and control (IPC) standards. Consequently, additional medical costs, increased mortality and morbidity rates, and decreased quality of life among patients can happen. As valuable players in preventing and controlling HAIs, nurses must have good knowledge and strict compliance with infection control; however, recent evidence suggests that nurses may need more knowledge or better integration into practice. Nurses' degree of knowledge and practice in preventing and controlling HAIs and factors influencing them should be determined to provide solutions appropriately. Objectives: The study specifically sought answers to the following questions: (1) What is the level of knowledge of nurses in the prevention and control of HAIs? (2) What is the degree of practice of nurses in the prevention and control of HAIs? (3) Is there a significant relationship between nurses' knowledge level and degree of practice in the prevention and control of HAIs? (4) What are the facilitating and hindering factors that affect nurses' practice in the prevention and control of HAIs? Methods: The study utilized a quantitative descriptive correlational design. The study was conducted from May to June 2023 at a private tertiary hospital in Baguio City. The study included 128 nurses who fit the inclusion criteria. The respondents were asked to answer three questionnaires, and the data were statistically treated using mean, Spearman Rank correlation, frequency, percentage, and rank distribution. Results: The study found that nurses possess good knowledge and a suboptimal degree of practice in preventing and controlling HAIs. The results showed that no significant relationship existed between nurses' knowledge level and degree of practice in preventing and controlling HAIs. Perceived personal benefits and organizational encouragement were seen to primarily facilitate the prevention and control practices of nurses. The primary hindrance identified was workload due to staff shortage, poor dissemination of guidelines, and personal discomfort associated with the use of PPE. Conclusions A good level of knowledge is a derivative of learnings obtained through various educational modalities and these strategies are considered effective means of knowledge formulation. However, created knowledge without actual application into practice results in overuse of unhelpful interventions. To avoid the unnecessary effects of ineffective knowledge translation, a multifactorial consideration is necessary to identify other factors that may influence the practices of nurses on HAI prevention and control because knowledge does not solely improve or worsen actual practices. Identified facilitating factors should be supported, and hindering factors should be addressed. Further recommendations based on the study results include strengthening existing programs and policies, and developing accessible materials to improve the present practices of nurses.
Infection Control

Objective: To determine the point prevalence of, and risk factors associated with MRSA carriage among resident physicians of surgical departments at the Ospital ng Maynila Medical Center. Methods: Design: Cross-sectional Study. Setting: Tertiary Government Training Hospital. Participants:51 resident physicians from different surgical departments (general surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, ophthalmology, otorhinolaryngology – head and neck surgery and dermatology) underwent nasal and pharyngeal swabs with microbial culture and sensitivity testing to identify MRSA carriers. Fisher Exact Test and logistic regression were utilized to determine associations between MRSA carriage and various risk factors including frequency of hand washing and departmental affiliation. Results: Overall prevalence rate of MRSA carriage was 9.8%. Otorhinolaryngology residents had the highest combined prevalence of MRSA of 42.9%, significantly higher compared to other departments and were used as a reference in logistic regression analyses. Notably, handwashing only once daily was associated with a 20-fold increase in the risk of MRSA carriage (OR 20.5, 95% CI: 1.82 to 230, p = .014). Other departments did not demonstrate statistically significant differences in MRSA carriage rates. Conclusions Otorhinolaryngology resident physicians had the highest combined prevalence of MRSA and nasal MRSA was found only in otorhinolaryngology residents. The surgical subspecialty and frequency of handwashing of the healthcare worker were identified as important risk factors to develop MRSA carriage. Targeted interventions (including enhanced infection control protocols and regular screening) are needed especially in high-risk departments.
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus ; Surgical Wound Infection

RATIONALE/OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to determine the knowledge, attitudes and practices of surgeons and surgical trainees regarding published SSI prevention guidelines. Specifically, the study described knowledge and attitudes towards SSI prevention guidelines among members of surgical training programs, described preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative practices in SSI prevention and identified the presence of surgical site infection surveillance programs among various institutions.

This was a retrospective cross-sectional study that evaluated the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of surgeons and surgical trainees to published SSI prevention guidelines in the Philippines. It utilized existing data from an October 2022 online survey done by the Philippine College of Surgeons distributed to various surgical training institutions in the country.

There were a total of 213 respondents. The different attitudes and knowledge gaps towards present SSI prevention guidelines are described.

Despite the existence of local and international guidelines there still appears to be a significant lack of awareness and variability in practice among the different institutions as well as with surgeons of different levels of expertise or training. Varying preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative practices have also been described, including evident deviations from SSI guidelines. Lastly, there is a lack of standardized SSI surveillance programs among institutions and these are not aligned towards improved patient safety and quality improvement.

We present a case of Nannizziopsis spp infection in an immunocompromised patient, describe clinical findings, investigation results and treatment. This rare fungal infection is reported in reptiles and humans, but not other mammals. There are only twenty case reports in medical literature to date, most in immunocompromised patients.

A 64-year-old kidney transplant recipient from urban Nigeria presented with a verrucous plaque on his dorsal left hand which has grown rapidly over the two months. He was concerned that it might represent cancer. On further examination he also had a subcutaneous fluctuant masses on his left flank and left upper arm, a fleshy mucosal plaque and a large tender fluctuant swelling over his right tibia. He was clinically well, but in the preceding months he reported haemoptysis and 7 kilograms weight loss.

Skin biopsies from multiple sites showed identical features: suppurative granulomatous inflammation and elongated elements consistent with fungal hyphae. Grocott special staining showed scattered fungal hyphae. Beta-D-glucan was raised at 441.4 pg/mL [3-6 pg/mL]. Subsequent molecular identification confirmed Nanniziopsis spp, likely to be N. guarroi. He was treated with intravenous amphotericin-B for 7 weeks and was then switched to oral posaconazole for one month with complete resolution.

Nannizziopsis is an emerging human pathogenic fungus that predominantly causes disease in immunocompromised individuals. This case highlights the importance of suspecting atypical fungal infection in immunocompromised individuals presenting with polymorphic skin lesions and the critical diagnostic role of skin biopsy and culture.

Humans ; Consensus ; East Asian People ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation/adverse effects* ; Hepatitis B/virology* ; Hepatitis B Antibodies ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; Hepatitis B virus/physiology* ; Virus Activation ; Latent Infection/virology*

Humans ; Bacteremia ; Cross Infection ; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus ; Retrospective Studies ; Sepsis ; Staphylococcal Infections/epidemiology* ; Staphylococcus aureus ; Tertiary Care Centers ; China