Infection Prevention in Conversation

ECCMID Shorts 2023: Antibiotic therapy duration and multidisciplinary decision-making in the ICUJoin Gemma Winzor (Editor in Chief, Infection Prevention in Practice) live from Copenhagen, Denmark, for the 33rd European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID 2023), 15-18 April 2023. In this short, Robin ME Janssen (Raboud University Medical Centre, Netherlands) provides insight into the decision-making process on antibiotic therapy duration during multidisciplinary meetings. How can you work better with colleagues from other departments, and how can you fit antimicrobial stewardship into your department’s daily routine? Episode linksJanssen RME et al. Why we prescribe antibiotics for too long in the hospital setting: a systematic scoping review. Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. 2022:77:8; 2105-2119. See the ECCMID programme here Twitter:@jhieditor | @IPIP_open

Join Gemma Winzor (Editor in Chief, Infection Prevention in Practice) live from Copenhagen, Denmark, for the 33rd European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID 2023), 15-18 April 2023.  In this short, Prof. Jasmine R Marcelin (Infectious Diseases Physician and Associate Professor of Infectious Diseases at the University of Nebraska Medical Centre, USA) discusses bridging gaps in research equity, the importance of being intentional about including individuals from different backgrounds in all stages of research, how demographic intersectionality impacts how we approach our research and patients, and the myth of meritocracy.Episode linksWorks by Jasmine Marcelin• Marcelin J et al Demographic Representation Among Speakers and Program Committee Members at the IDWeek Conference, 2013-2021 Clin Infect Dis. 2023;76(5)• Marcelin J et al Supporting Inclusion, Diversity, Access, and Equity in the Infectious Disease Workforce. J Infect Dis. 2019;220(220:2)• Marcelin J et al Improved Infectious Diseases Physician Compensation but Continued Disparities for Women and Underrepresented Minorities Open Forum Infect Dis. 2019;6(2)• Marcelin J et al The impact of unconscious bias in healthcare: how to recognize and mitigate it J Infect Dis. 2019;220(220:2)• Chen J et al Racial/ethnic inequities in healthcare-associated infections under the shadow of structural racism: narrative review and call to action Curr Infect Dis Rep. 2021;23(10)Other referenced work• Crenshaw, K On Intersectionality: Essential Writings (New York: The New Press 2017)• Seeing Race Again: Countering Colorblindness across the Disciplines eds. Crenshaw, Harris, HoSang, Lipsitz (Berkeley: University of California Press 2019)• Essien UR et al A policy prescription for reducing health disparities-achieving pharmacoequity JAMA. 2021;326(18)• Yang Y et al Gender-diverse teams produce more novel and higher-impact scientific ideas Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2022;119(36)• Miller T & Del Carmen Triana M Demographic diversity in the boardroom: mediators of the board diversity–firm performance relationship Journal of Management Studies. 2009; 46(5): 755-786• Andrasik MP et al Increasing Black, Indigenous and People of Color participation in clinical trials through community engagement and recruitment goal establishment PLoS One. 2021;16(10)• Eddo Lodge R Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race (London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2017)Twitter:@jhieditor | @IPIP_open | @DrJRMarcelin

Join Gemma Winzor (Editor in Chief, Infection Prevention in Practice) live from Copenhagen, Denmark, for the 33rd European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID 2023), 15-18 April 2023.In this short, Timothy Jones (Oxford University Hospitals) talks to Gemma about his poster (Poster number #E0170) and forthcoming paper on optimising blood culture management and diagnosis of bacteremia. Episode linksSee the ECCMID programme hereTwitter:@jhieditor | @IPIP_open

Join Gemma Winzor (Editor in Chief, Infection Prevention in Practice) and Nik Mahida (Editor in Chief, Journal of Hospital Infection) live from FIS/HIS International 2022, as they talk with guests about how environmental factors impact infection control practice. Christine Peters (Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow) discusses two cases of Mycobacterium chelonae infection in haemato-oncology patients, using whole-genome sequencing and a potential link to the hospital water supply. Katie Prescott (Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust) outlines an outbreak of New Delhi Metallo-Beta-lactamase Carbapenemase Producing Enterobaterales on a bone marrow transplant unit, and the role of environment in the outbreaks. Peter Kinnevey (Trinity College Dublin) discusses MRSA and MSSA among healthcare workers, patients and the environment, and answers questions about healthcare working testing. Episode linksInkster et al. Investigation of two cases of Mycobacterium chelonae infection in haemato-oncology patients using whole-genome sequencing and a potential link to the hospital water supply Journal of Hospital Infection 2021; Volume 114:111-115.Prescott et al. Outbreak of New Delhi Metallo-Beta-lactamase Carbapenemase Producing Enterobacterales on a bone marrow transplant unit: Role of the environment Infection Prevention in Practice 2021; Volume 3(2):100125Kinnevey et al. Meticillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus transmission among healthcare workers, patients and the environment in a large acute hospital under non-outbreak conditions investigated using whole-genome sequencing Journal of Hospital Infection 2022; Volume 127:15-25.Twitter:@jhieditor | @IPIP_open

Elaine Cloutman Green (Consultant Clinical Scientist and Infection Control Doctor at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust) discuss the role of the healthcare scientist in the IPC team.Elaine also shares how she forged a successful healthcare career from a start in zoology, how to make people aware of the opportunities available for careers in science, and how to learn from our failure.The importance of public outreach as part of our communication as IPC professionals is also discussed. Elaine shares stories from The Nosocomial Project, which was supported by a HIS Public Outreach grant to produce Nosocomial, a play, and now showcases other creative ways to communicate about infectious disease – including Klebsiella the Drag Queen.Elaine has been the recipient of a Healthcare Infection Society Small Research Grant, a Mike Emmerson Early Career Award and a HIS Public Engagement Grant. You can find out more about available HIS grants here. Episode linksElaine’s blog: Girly MicrobiologistThe Nosocomial ProjectThe Environmental Infection Prevention and Control Network – Your guide to all things linked to prevention of infection transmission from healthcare environments Twitter:@girlymicro | @jhieditor | @IPIP_open

In this episode Gemma talks with Ron Daniels, an NHS Consultant in Intensive Care, Executive Director and founder of the UK Sepsis Trust and board member of the Global Sepsis Alliance.The conversation focuses on a recently-published white paper Ron co-authored as part of the Infection Management Coalition, which, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, makes 29 recommendations to encourage interdisciplinary collaboration in order to accelerate the creation of a system which is resilient and mature with regard to outbreak and pandemic preparedness; infection prevention; rapid recognition, diagnosis and treatment of time-critical viral and bacterial infections; and to, ultimately, deliver effective antimicrobial stewardship.Gemma and Ron also discuss the impact of sepsis on global mortality, the economic impact of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and the importance of communicating the dangers of AMR to the public. Episode linksInfection Management Coalition White PaperLaunch of the Infection Management Coalition white paperUK Sepsis TrustGlobal Sepsis Alliance – and how to get involved in World Sepsis DayRon’s educational short video on ventilationTwitter:@SepsisUK | @jhieditor | @IPIP_open

Gemma Winzor talks with Gonzalo Bearman (Professor of Infectious Diseases at Virginia Commonwealth University, Editor in Chief of Antimicrobial Stewardship & Healthcare Epidemiology) about his work on contact precautions for the control of endemic multidrug resistant organisms in healthcare settings. The conversation takes in the importance of horizontal and vertical IPC measures, adverse outcomes associated with isolation and contact precautions, cost-savings and customer satisfaction, and the research still to be done in the field.Episode linksRP Wenzel & MB Edmond, Infection control: the case for horizontal rather than vertical interventional programs. International Journal of Infectious Diseases 2010;Volume 14 (S1), S3-S5G Bearman et al. Impact of discontinuing contact precautions for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus: an interrupted time series analysis. Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology 2018;Volume 39(6):676-682Haessler et al. Stopping the routine use of contact precautions for management of MRSA and VRE at three academic medical centers: an interrupted time series analysis. American Journal of Infection Control 2020;Volume 48(12):1466-1473Coia et al. Joint Healthcare Infection Society (HIS) and Infection Prevention Society (IPS) guidelines for the prevention and control of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in healthcare facilities. Journal of Hospital Infection 2021;Volume 118:S1-S39Godbout et al. Impact of discontinuation of contact precautions on central-line associated bloodstream infections in an academic children’s hospital. Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology 2019;Volume 40(4):473-475Gonzalo Bearman & Richard P. Wenzel Richmond-Times Dispatch column: New threats to controlling health care-associated infectionsPodcast: MRSA Guidelines: new evidence against an old adversaryTwitter: @jhieditor @IPIP_open

In this episode of Infection Prevention in Conversation, Gemma talks to Gwendoline L. Chimhini, Lecturer in Child and Adolescent Health at the University of Zimbabwe Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences and Felicity Fitzgerald, NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer in Paediatric Infectious Diseases, working between UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health and the Biomedical Research and Training Institute in Harare, Zimbabwe.Today we will be discussing the challenges for infection prevention and control professionals working in lower-income settings, the challenges and innovations to be found in the neonatal ward Gwendoline manages in Zimbabwe, and the impact of the Neotree app, initially developed with a grant from the Healthcare Infection Society.“Before Neotree we were working in the dark. Now, we have switched on the light - at least we can see the room in which we are working.” - Gwendoline L. ChimhiniEpisode links:For more information on how to support Neotree, or work with them, please visit neotree.org.Could HIS support your next research project? Find out more about our funding and awards.Felicity's blog about Neotree.Published work:Herbeć et al. Barriers and facilitators to infection prevention and control in a neonatal unit in Zimbabwe – a theory-driven qualitative study to inform design of a behaviour change intervention Journal of Hospital Infection. 2020. Volume 106(4), 804-811. Chiminhi et al. Auditing use of antibiotics in Zimbabwean neonates Infection Prevention in Practice. 2020. Volume 2(2)Article collection Infection prevention and control in low-resource settings: the need for the local, the contextual and the pragmatic, with editorial commentary from Gwendoline and Felicity.If you’re on twitter, please follow us @jhieditor and @ipip_open to get updates on further podcasts and papers as they are published by the journals. Find out more about the Healthcare Infection Society here.

Infection Prevention in Conversation is back for a second series!In an informal setting, Dr Gemma Winzor talks to expert guests about current research, challenges and opinions in infection prevention and control (IPC). An engaging listen for infection control specialists, healthcare professionals or anybody with an interest in infection control, microbiology, epidemiology or healthcare more broadly.In Series Two, Gemma will be talking with guests about the challenges of infection prevention in lower income settings, the evolution and current state of research around contact precautions in healthcare settings, a new white paper urging policymakers to adopt a joined-up approach to infection prevention and antimicrobial stewardship in response to the COVID pandemic, and more. So join us weekly from Tuesday 4th October.  ***Dr Winzor has been a Consultant Microbiologist at UKHSA Regional Public Health Laboratory, Birmingham since 2017. She has interests in quality improvement, laboratory development and educational supervision. After completing foundation training and a Masters in Public Health, she undertook her Medical Microbiology specialist training in the West Midlands. She became an Editor of Infection Prevention in Practice during the journal’s launch in 2019 and was appointed Editor in Chief in 2021. Under her leadership IPIP has established itself as an international journal with a focus on pragmatic research and education and has become indexed in both PubMed and Scopus.Infection Prevention in Conversation is the podcast of the HIS journals, the Journal of Hospital Infection (JHI) and Infection Prevention in Practice (IPIP).