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Keywords: Chlorhexidine, Mucositis, Mortality, Respiratory tract infections, Dental care, Critical care

To describe the medium-term ophthalmological findings in patients recovering from COVID-19. Patients recovered from the acute phase of COVID-19 underwent a complete ophthalmological evaluation, including presenting and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), refractometry, biomicroscopy, tonometry, break-up time and Schirmer tests, indirect ophthalmoscopy, color fundus picture, and retinal architecture evaluation using optical coherence tomography. Socio-demographic data and personal medical history were also collected. According to the severity of systemic manifestations, patients were classified into mild-to-moderate, severe, and critical. Sixty-four patients (128 eyes) were evaluated 82 ± 36.4 days after the onset of COVID’s symptoms. The mean ± SD duration of hospitalization was 15.0 ± 10.7 days. Seven patients (10.9%) had mild-to-moderate, 33 (51.5%) severe, and 24 (37.5%) critical disease. Median [interquartile ranges (IQR)] presenting visual acuity was 0.1 (0–0.2) and BCVA 0 (0–0.1). Anterior segment biomicroscopy was unremarkable, except for dry eye disease, verified in 10.9% of them. The mean ± SD intraocular pressure (IOP) in critical group (14.16 ± 1.88 mmHg) was significantly higher than in severe group (12.51 ± 2.40 mmHg), both in the right ( p 0.02) and left eyes ( p 0.038). Among all, 15.6% had diabetic retinopathy, and two patients presented with discrete white-yellowish dots in the posterior pole, leading to hyporreflective changes at retinal pigment epithelium level, outer segment, and ellipsoid layers. The present study identified higher IOP among critical cases, when compared to severe cases, and discrete outer retina changes 80 days after COVID-19 infection. No sign of uveitis was found.

We conducted a prospective cohort study in a population with diverse ethnic backgrounds from Brazil to assess clinically meaningful symptoms after surviving coronavirus disease. For most of the 175 patients in the study, clinically meaningful symptoms, including fatigue, dyspnea, cough, headache, and muscle weakness, persisted for >120 days after disease onset.

Background COVID-19 has created a significant global health emergency and triggered numerous seroepidemiological field tracing initiatives. The use of these samples becomes a timely tool for intensifying active case finding and early diagnosis of leprosy. This study aimed to conduct a seroepidemiological evaluation using leprosy biomarker antibodies against the Mce1A and PGL-I antigens, and to analyze the spatial distribution of both actively detected cases and antibody levels, thereby characterizing the geoepidemiological pattern of bacillary circulation, combined with case-screening strategies. Methods A cross-sectional and geoepidemiological study was carried out using the biorepository of samples from the COVID-19 serosurvey in a municipality in southeastern Brazil. Screening diagnosis using LSQ and the artificial intelligence system MaLeSQs ® was applied to investigate neurodermatological signs and symptoms of leprosy ( n  = 224). IgA, IgM, and IgG anti-Mce1A and IgM anti-PGL-I antibodies were measured using indirect ELISA ( n  = 195). Georeferencing was employed to create the distribution maps of individuals within the municipality. Global spatial autocorrelation analysis was performed and applied to the serological scores. Results The responses to the clinical questionnaire reported the predominance of neurological signs and symptoms. Twelve new cases were diagnosed (32.4%), and the detection rate in the population sample evaluated was 6.15%. The IgA anti-Mce1A ELISA showed the highest seropositivity (55.3%), the highest rates [median = 0.93 (IQR = 0.59–1.41)]. The IgM and IgG anti-Mce1A serology showed higher rates ( P  < 0.0001) as compared to the anti-PGL-I serology. The overlap of positivity with the antibodies tested highlights the greater involvement of double or triple positives when Mce1A serology was used. IgM anti-Mce1A serology was positive in 66.7% [8/12 cases; median = 1.25 (IQR = 0.70–1.68)] of new cases detected. IgM anti-Mce1A showed the best serological performance, and its combination with MaLeSQs ® (OR condition) achieved 100% sensitivity and NPV, with 68% specificity. Serology with the IgA antibody presented the highest rates in georeferencing analysis and served as an alert for contact with the bacillus. The sociodemographic variables tested did not exhibit statistical difference in spatial autocorrelation ( p  > 0.05), indicating the absence of a spatially clustered pattern for serological values in the analyzed territory. Conclusion These findings identify IgM anti-Mce1A and MaLeSQs ® as key tools to strengthen leprosy case-finding and screening efficiency. The study also revealed a diffuse pattern of transmission and exposure within the municipality and highlights the value of integrating serological biomarkers and digital diagnostic platforms to support earlier detection of leprosy.

Hands are implicated in the cross transmission of microbial pathogens and fingertips are the crux of the problem. A modified World Health Organization “How to Handrub” 6-step technique with “Fingertips First” showed greater efficacy than the standard technique in reducing fingertip contamination, potentially improving hand hygiene action quality. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2017;38:230–233

BACKGROUND Although the hands of healthcare workers (HCWs) are implicated in most episodes of healthcare-associated infections, the correlation between hand contamination and the likelihood of cross-transmission remains unknown. METHODS We conducted a laboratory-based study involving pairs of HCWs. The hands of a HCW (transmitter) were contaminated with Escherichia coli ATCC 10536 before holding hands with another HCW (host) for 1 minute. Meanwhile, the unheld hand of the transmitter was sampled. Afterward, the host's held hand was also sampled. Each experiment consisted of 4 trials with increasing concentrations of E. coli (103-106 colony-forming units [cfu]/mL). The primary outcome was the likelihood of transmission of at least 1 cfu from transmitter to host. We used a mixed logistic regression model with a random effect on the subject to assess the association between transmission and bacterial count on the transmitter's hands. RESULTS In total, 6 HCWs performed 30 experiments and 120 trials. The bacterial counts recovered from host hands were directly associated with the bacterial counts on transmitter hands (P1 and ≤3 log10 cfu compared to ≤1 log10. When transmitter contamination was <1 log10 cfu, no cross-transmission was detected. CONCLUSION There is a direct relationship between the bacterial burden on HCWs hands and the likelihood of cross-transmission. Under the described conditions, at least 1 log10 cfu must be present on HCW hands to be potentially transmitted. Further studies are needed at the low contamination range. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2017;38:553-558.

Background The Leuconostoc mesenteroides are members of the Streptococcae family and currently has been recognized as potential pathogens. This case describes a bacteremia caused by L. mesenteroides in an immunocompetent patient affected by Chagas disease. Case presentation A 67-year-old female patient with chagasic megaesophagus and megacolon was submitted to a Heller myotomy for achalasia in 2000 and endoscopic dilatation in 2015. Patient was admitted to the Nutrology Ward in May 2016 with protein-calorie malnutrition associated with achalasia and receiving enteral nutrition. In July 2016, the patient underwent a Serra-Doria surgery. In the third postoperative day she presented an important abdominal distension. She was submitted to a new surgical intervention, and then a terminal ileum perforation was detected, leading the surgeon to perform an enterectomy with side-to-side anastomosis. The next day after the surgery (4th postoperative day) the patient presented a decreased level of consciousness (Glasgow coma scale = 8), hypotension and hypoxemia. In two samples of blood cultures there was growth of Leuconostoc mesenteroides . Susceptibility pattern was evaluated by the diffusion disk method. The microorganism was susceptible to penicillin, ampicillin, chloramphenicol, erythromycin, and fluoroquinolones, but resistant to rifampin, tetracycline, vancomycin and teicoplanin. Conclusion We concluded that infections caused by L. mesenteroides is serious and should be considered not only in settings of immunosuppression and prolonged antimicrobial use, but also in immunocompetent patients undergoing surgeries involving the gastrointestinal tract.

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) pose threats to global health. Effective hand hygiene is essential for preventing HAIs and the spread of AMR in healthcare. We aimed to highlight the recent progress and future directions in hand hygiene and alcohol-based handrub (ABHR) use in the healthcare setting. In September 2023, 42 experts in infection prevention and control (IPC) convened at the 3rd International Conference on Prevention and Infection Control (ICPIC) ABHR Taskforce in Geneva, Switzerland. The purpose of this meeting was to provide a synthesis of recent evidence and formulate a research agenda on four critical areas for the implementation of effective hand hygiene practices: (1) ABHR formulations and hand rubbing techniques, (2) low-resource settings and local production of ABHR, (3) hand hygiene monitoring and technological innovations, and (4) hand hygiene standards and guidelines.

Background The World Health Organization (WHO) ethanol-based handrub (EBHR) formulation contains 1.45% glycerol as an emollient to protect healthcare workers’ (HCWs) skin against dryness and dermatitis. However, glycerol seems to negatively affect the antimicrobial efficacy of alcohols. In addition, the minimal concentration of glycerol required to protect hands remain unknown. We aim to evaluate the tolerance of HCWs to the WHO EBHR formulation using different concentrations of glycerol in a tropical climate healthcare setting. Methods We conducted a cluster-randomized, double-blind, crossover study among 40 HCWs from an intensive care unit of a tertiary-care hospital in Brazil , from June 1st to September 30, 2017. We tested the WHO EBHR original formulation containing 1.45% glycerol against three other concentrations (0, 0.5, and 0.75%). HCWs used one formulation at a time for seven working days during their routine practice and then had their hands evaluated by an external observer using the WHO scale for visual inspection. Participants also used a WHO self-evaluation tool to rate their own skin condition. We used a generalized estimating equations of the logit type to compare differences between the tolerability to different formulations. Results According to the independent observation, participants had 2.4 times (95%CI: 1.12–5.15) more chance of having a skin condition considered good when they used the 0.5% compared to the 1.45% glycerol formulation. For the self-evaluation scale, participants were likely to have a worst evaluation (OR: 0.23, 95%CI: 0.11–0.49) when they used the preparation without glycerol compared to the WHO standard formulation (1.45%), and there were no differences between the other formulations used. Conclusion In a tropical climate setting, the WHO-modified EBHR formulation containing 0.5% glycerol led to better ratings of skin tolerance than the original formulation, and, therefore, may offer the best balance between skin tolerance and antimicrobial efficacy.

Bloodstream infections are the second most common cause of death among patients on hemodialysis. This study aimed to evaluate the incidence of and risk factors associated with central venous catheter-related infections in patients undergoing hemodialysis, and to identify and characterize the type and antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of the primary microorganisms isolated during one year of follow-up. A prospective cohort study was conducted in 2014 in a hemodialysis referral center. We included 200 outpatients with acute kidney injury who had no permanent venous access. A nurse assessed the patients for signs of infection three times per week during dressing changes. The clinicopathologic characteristics of patients with and without local or systemic infection were compared. Fifty-five episodes of catheter-related infections occurred in 43 (22%) patients; 38 (69%) were bloodstream infections and 17 (31%) were local infections. Thirty-two (75%) patients with infection had femoral vein catheter placement. In total, 6,240 hemodialysis sessions were performed; the rates of primary bloodstream and local infection were 6.1 and 2.7 episodes per 1,000 patients on daily dialysis, respectively. In the univariate analysis, diabetes was significantly associated with the development of infection, while level of education, ethnicity, age, and sex were not. Gram-negative bacteria were primarily isolated from blood culture specimens (55% of samples). Of the Gram-negative isolates, 56% were resistant to the carbapenems. We identified a high incidence of catheter-related infections caused by resistant microorganisms in patients undergoing hemodialysis via central venous catheters.