Search results for "units"

Molecular epidemiology of a hepatitis C virus outbreak in a hemodialysis unit.

2005

ABSTRACT We analyzed a hepatitis C virus (HCV) transmission case in the hemodialysis unit of a private clinic by sequencing two genome regions of virus isolates from a number of patients attending this unit and some external controls. The analysis of 337 nucleotides (nt) in the NS5B region did not provide enough resolution to ascertain which patients were actually involved in the outbreak and the potential source. Nevertheless, this region allowed the exclusion of several patients as putative sources of the transmission case based on their genotypes and phylogenetic relationships. On the other hand, the analysis of several 472-nt-long clone sequences per sample in a more rapidly evolving re…

Trends, risk factors and outcomes of health care associated infections within the Italian network SPIN-UTI

2013

Summary Background Implementing infection control measures in light of healthcare-associated infection (HAI) surveillance data can prevent HAIs. Surveillance has been associated with a reduction of HAI in intensive care unit (ICU) patients, though the reasons for this improvement remain unclear. Aim To evaluate changes in healthcare-associated infection (HAI) rates during three surveys of the Italian Nosocomial Infections Surveillance in Intensive Care Units (ICUs) network (SPIN-UTI) six-year project and to explore sources of variation of indicators of HAI in the 65 participating ICUs. Methods The SPIN-UTI network adopted the European protocols for patient-based HAI surveillance. Cumulative…

Detection of respiratory viral infections in neonates treated for suspicion of nosocomial bacterial sepsis: a feasibility study.

2013

There is a lack of knowledge concerning the frequency and significance of respiratory viral infections that occur in the neonatal intensive care unit. In the present study, all neonates with suspected nosocomial bacterial sepsis were screened for a panel of respiratory viruses. Respiratory viral infections were detected in 10% of these cases. This was comparable with the frequency of a blood-culture-proven sepsis.

Building a benchmark through active surveillance of intensive care unit-acquired infections: the Italian network SPIN-UTI.

2010

The Italian Nosocomial Infections Surveillance in Intensive Care Units (ICUs) (SPIN-UTI) project of the Italian Study Group of Hospital Hygiene (GISIO - SItI) was undertaken to ensure standardisation of definitions, data collection and reporting procedures using the Hospital in Europe Link for Infection Control through Surveillance (HELICS)-ICU benchmark. Before starting surveillance, participant ICUs met in order to involve the key stakeholders in the project through participation in planning. Four electronic data forms for web-based data collection were designed. The six-month patient-based prospective survey was undertaken from November 2006 to May 2007, preceded by a one-month surveilla…

MRSA infection in the neonatal intensive care unit

2013

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is well known as one of the most frequent etiological agents of healthcare-associated infections. The epidemiology of MRSA is evolving with emergence of community-associated MRSA, the clonal spread of some successful clones, their spillover into healthcare settings and acquisition of antibacterial drug resistances. Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) patients are at an especially high risk of acquiring colonization and infection by MRSA. Epidemiology of MRSA in NICU can be very complex because outbreaks can overlap endemic circulation and make it difficult to trace transmission routes. Moreover, increasing prevalence of community-associated…

Is there a widespread clone of Serratia marcescens producing outbreaks worldwide?

2021

[Background]: Serratia marcescens frequently causes outbreaks in healthcare settings. There are few studies using high-throughput sequencing (HTS) that analyse S. marcescens outbreaks. We present the analysis of two outbreaks in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) in hospitals from the Comunitat Valenciana (CV, Spain) and the impact of using different reference genomes.

Microsatellite-based genotyping of Candida parapsilosis sensu stricto isolates reveals dominance and persistence of a particular epidemiological clon…

2012

In this study, using multilocus microsatellite analysis, we report the genetic characterization of 27 Candida parapsilosis isolates recovered in two different periods of time (2007-2009 and 2011-2012) from infants hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care unit of a hospital in Messina, Italy. The results revealed the persistence and dominance of a particular infectious genotype among NICU patients and highlight the power of the used microsatellite markers in clarifying epidemiologic associations, detect micro-evolutionary variations and facilitating the recognition of outbreaks. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.

Validation of intensive care unit-acquired infection surveillance in the Italian SPIN-UTI network

2010

Validity is one of the most critical factors concerning surveillance of nosocomial infections (NIs). This article describes the first validation study of the Italian Nosocomial Infections Surveillance in Intensive Care Units (ICUs) project (SPIN-UTI) surveillance data. The objective was to validate infection data and thus to determine the sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of NI data reported on patients in the ICUs participating in the SPIN-UTI network. A validation study was performed at the end of the surveillance period. All medical records including all clinical and laboratory data were reviewed retrospectively by the trained physicians of the validat…

Evaluation of microbiological screening in a neonatal intensive care unit to optimize empiric antibiotic use.

2019

Structure of Rhodococcus erythropolis limonene-1,2-epoxide hydrolase reveals a novel active site

2003

Epoxide hydrolases are essential for the processing of epoxide-containing compounds in detoxification or metabolism. The classic epoxide hydrolases have an alpha/beta hydrolase fold and act via a two-step reaction mechanism including an enzyme-substrate intermediate. We report here the structure of the limonene-1,2-epoxide hydrolase from Rhodococcus erythropolis, solved using single-wavelength anomalous dispersion from a selenomethionine-substituted protein and refined at 1.2 A resolution. This enzyme represents a completely different structure and a novel one-step mechanism. The fold features a highly curved six-stranded mixed beta-sheet, with four alpha-helices packed onto it to create a …