Year in Infection Control - papers selected by Prof Andreas Voss at ICPIC 2021

In this final episode at ICPIC 2021 (Geneva), Martin Kiernan talks to Professor Andreas Voss from the Radboud University Medical Centre (Radboudumc) and Canisus-Wilhelmina Ziekenhuis in the Netherlands. Andreas is always a sought after speaker for his engaging style whilst getting to the heart of the matter. To get the most from this podcast, you might need to look at the papers we mention below.

Endoscopes

Benowitz I, Moulton-Meissner HA, Epstein L, Arduino MJ. Gastrointestinal Flexible Endoscopes: Infection Control Risks, Lessons Learned from Outbreaks, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Guidance. Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Clinics of North America. 2020;30(4):723-33 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1052515720300702?via%3Dihub

Sinks

De Geyter D, Blommaert L, Verbraeken N, Sevenois M, Huyghens L, Martini H, et al. The sink as a potential source of transmission of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae in the intensive care unit. Antimicrob Resist Infect Control. 2017;6:24. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34111433

Decreased other infections (STD and Norovirus)

Nelson B. The positive effects of covid-19. BMJ. 2020;369:m1785. http://www.bmj.com/content/369/bmj.m1785.abstract

Bruggink LD, Garcia-Clapes A, Tran T, Druce JD, Thorley BR. Decreased incidence of enterovirus and norovirus infections during the COVID-19 pandemic, Victoria, Australia, 2020. Commun Dis Intell (2018). 2021 Jan 29;45. doi: 10.33321/cdi.2021.45.5. PMID: 33573536.

Impact on ocular health

Bahkir, Fayiqa Ahamed; Grandee, Srinivasan Subramanian Impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on digital device-related ocular health, Indian Journal of Ophthalmology: November 2020 - Volume 68 - Issue 11 - p 2378-2383 doi: 10.4103/ijo.IJO_2306_20

Dog-assisted therapy

Edner A, Lindstrom-Nilsson M, Melhus A. Low risk of transmission of pathogenic bacteria between children and the assistance dog during animal-assisted therapy if strict rules are followed. J Hosp Infect. 2021;115:5-9.

https://www.journalofhospitalinfection.com/article/S0195-6701(21)00178-X/fulltext

Lace up masks

Wang X, Lin F, Wang Z, Hu J, Li X, Zhu B, et al. The defects of lace-up surgical masks and related solutions in operating rooms. J Hosp Infect. 2021;115:64-70. https://www.journalofhospitalinfection.com/article/S0195-6701(21)00237-1/fulltext#relatedArticles

Migrane and mask wearing

Bharatendu C, Ong JJY, Goh Y, Tan BYQ, Chan ACY, Tang JZY, et al. Powered Air Purifying Respirator (PAPR) restores the N95 face mask induced cerebral hemodynamic alterations among Healthcare Workers during COVID-19 Outbreak. J Neurol Sci. 2020;417:117078.

https://www.jns-journal.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0022-510X%2820%2930415-9

A nose for pneumonia

Chen, C.-Y., Lin, W.-C. & Yang, H.-Y. Diagnosis of ventilator-associated pneumonia using electronic nose sensor array signals: solutions to improve the application of machine learning in respiratory research. Respir Res 2020;21:45 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12931-020-1285-6

Social media for epidemiologists

Hammer CC, Boender TS, Thomas DR. Social media for field epidemiologists (#SoMe4epi): How to use Twitter during the #COVID19 pandemic. Int J Infect Dis. 2021.

https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1201-9712(21)00437-9

Use of Emoji in communication

Lotfinejad, N., Assadi, R., Aelami, M. H. & Pittet, D. Emojis in public health and how they might be used for hand hygiene and infection prevention and control. Antimicrob Resist Infect Control 2020;9:27. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13756-020-0692-2

On Call IPC Services

Humphreys H. Infection prevention and control advice out-of-hours. J Hosp Infect. 2020;105(4):795-6.

https://www.journalofhospitalinfection.com/article/S0195-6701(20)30262-0/fulltext

Handshake/Fist Bump

Sklansky M, Nadkarni N, Ramirez-Avila L. Banning the handshake from the health care setting. JAMA. 2014;311(24):2477-8.

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/1873637

Mela S, Whitworth DE. The fist bump: a more hygienic alternative to the handshake. Am J Infect Control. 2014;42(8):916-7.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25087144

Elbow or hand

Liu H, Gao L, Sun C. Elbow instead of hand: is it more helpful or harmful? J Public Health (Oxf). 2020.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32529204