GMS Hygiene and Infection Control最新文献

{"title":"Outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 in a geriatric acute-care ward during summer 2023: current aspects of infection control in the postpandemic period.","authors":"Bettina Lange, Gracinda Mesquita, Heinrich Burkhardt, Marlis Gerigk, Alexandra Heininger","doi":"10.3205/dgkh000457","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3205/dgkh000457","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aim: </strong>Management of a SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in geriatric patients, taking into account the transition to the post-pandemic period.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>PCR tests were conducted to identify the scale of infection during the outbreak; no new patients were admitted to the ward until the availability of the PCR results. Based on the results and individual risk assessment, three cohorts were formed and treated as recommended by the RKI. After terminating the admissions stop, new admissions received PCR screening. Contact patients were retested on days 3 and 5. Employees carried out self-monitoring, and if symptoms developed, an antigen test was performed.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Nine of the 11 PCR-positive patients (6m, 5f), median age 85 years, were immunized. Eight patients were symptomatic, ten received antiviral therapy and two required intensive care. Three symptomatic employees had a positive antigen test. Patients without direct contact to the positive cases who initially tested negative and the 16 new admissions with a negative PCR test did not contract COVID-19. Outbreak management ended after 15 days without deaths from COVID-19.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>During the outbreak, PCR screening, the temporary stop in new admission until the availability of PCR results, and the risk-adapted cohorting of patients supplemented by consistent PCR tests of new admissions formed the basis for successful outbreak management. Treatment can be made possible despite high vulnerability. Close symptom monitoring and rapid implementation of measures reduce the risk. Repeated PCRs of direct-contact patients on day 3 can warrant pre-emptive antiviral therapy despite being asymptomatic; testing on day 5 makes it possible to shorten preventive isolation measures. The use of protective masks and self-monitoring by employees are fundamental to preventing further infections.</p>","PeriodicalId":12738,"journal":{"name":"GMS Hygiene and Infection Control","volume":"19 ","pages":"Doc02"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10884829/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139971601","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Oral foci of infection in pediatric population during COVID-19 omicron pandemic era.","authors":"Manikandan Gunasekaran, Karthik Shunmugavelu, Kavitha Ponnusamy, Aditya Shinde, Selvam Azhagarsamy, Shobana Murali","doi":"10.3205/dgkh000456","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3205/dgkh000456","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Caries is a multifactorial disease that involves a majority of the pediatric population. If not diagnosed and treated, it can lead to severe consequences affecting the permanent dentition. The objective of this study is to assess the prevalence of oral foci of infection in a multispeciality hospital during pandemic in Chennai, South India. Majority of the patients examined had caries.</p>","PeriodicalId":12738,"journal":{"name":"GMS Hygiene and Infection Control","volume":"19 ","pages":"Doc01"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10884828/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139971600","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Determining the coverage and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccination program at the community level in children aged 12 to 17 in Tehran.","authors":"Sedigheh Rafiei Tabatabaei, Delara Babaie, Seyedeh Mahsan Hoseini-Alfatemi, Ahmadreza Shamshiri, Abdollah Karimi","doi":"10.3205/dgkh000459","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3205/dgkh000459","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The vaccination is one of the acceptable and recomended solution to prevent and control of COVID-19. The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of sinopharm vaccination in children aged 12-17 in Tehran.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The case population study was performed from October 2021 to March 2022 among 1,500 children with positive PCR test reffered in Mofid Children's Hospital in Tehran. 64 children aged 12-17 years were included. The data were collected by the hospital information system (HIS), vaccination information registration systems and questionnaire with their families. The coverage and efficacy of vaccination determined with equels commented by WHO.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Out of 64 children, 52 children were 12 to 15 years old (13.35±1.08), 12 children were 16 to 17 years old (16.55±0.52). 48.4% had received two doses of vaccine. The highest rate of positive PCR was observed in February 2022. Sinopharm vaccine coverage in this age group was 93.6% for the first dose and 81.1% for the second dose. Based on this information, 48.4% children in this study have received two complete doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. The efficacy of the vaccine was estimated as 94.4% (95% CI 90.2 to 97.7).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>It seems the coverage of Sinopharm vaccination in the age group of 12-17 years in Tehran is favorable and has high efficacy in this age group. In order to obtain more accurate and comprehensive estimation, it is recommended to take a sample on a wider level of the community.</p>","PeriodicalId":12738,"journal":{"name":"GMS Hygiene and Infection Control","volume":"19 ","pages":"Doc04"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10884833/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139971598","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evaluation of a microscale quantitative suspension test to determine the bactericidal and yeasticidal activity of glutaral - one step to improve sustainability in disinfectant testing.","authors":"Jürgen Gebel, Marvin Rausch, Katja Bienentreu, Felix Droop, Maren Eggers, Lea Gebel, Stefanie Gemein, Britt Hornei, Carola Ilschner, Anja Jacobshagen, Günter Kampf, Cihan Papan, Kira Roesch, Luisa Schmitz, Miranda Suchomel, Lutz Vossebein, Nico T Mutters, Martin Exner","doi":"10.3205/dgkh000458","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3205/dgkh000458","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aims: </strong>To evaluate a newly developed microscale quantitative suspension test compared to the existing standard suspension test using determination of the bactericidal and yeasticidal activity of glutaral as one step to improve the sustainability of disinfectant testing.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The testing principles of the quantitative suspension test according to VAH method 9 (comparable to EN 13727) was used as a standard suspension test using 8.0 mL product test solution, 1.0 mL organic load and 1.0 mL test suspension. In addition, a micro-scale suspension test was performed in 96-well plates with 160 µL product test solution, 20 µL organic load and 20 µL test suspension. <i>S. aureus</i> ATCC 6538, <i>P. aeruginosa</i> ATCC 15442 and <i>C. albicans</i> ATCC 10231 were test organisms. Glutaral was tested at concentrations of 0.05%, 0.1%, 0.2% and 0.3% with exposure times of 1, 5 and 15 min. Polysorbate 80 (30 g/L), lecithin (9 g/L), L-histidine (1 g/L) and glycine (10 g/L) were used as validated neutralizers. After serial dilution of the disinfectant-neutralizer-mixture, plates were incubated for 48 h at 36°C (bacteria) or 72 hours at 30°C (<i>C. albicans</i>) and colony forming units (cfu) counted. The lg reduction was calculated as the difference between the results of the water control and the disinfectant at the end of the exposure time. All experiments were done in triplicate under clean conditions. Means of lg reduction were compared with the unpaired t-test, p<0.05 was considered to be significant.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Sufficient bactericidal activity according the VAH test requirements of at least 5 lg was found with both methods in 16 data sets of 24 data sets in total, and insufficient bactericidal activity of less than 5 lg was found with both methods in 7 data sets. In one data set, the mean lg reduction was above 5 lg with the microscale method and <5 lg with the VAH method, with no significant difference between the data sets (p=0.3096; 0.2% glutaral, 1 min, <i>P. aeruginosa</i>). A sufficient yeasticidal activity of at least 4 lg was found with both methods in one data set, an insufficient yeasticidal activity of less than 4 lg was found with both methods in 8 data sets. With one exception, no significant differences were detected between the two methods below the efficacy threshold.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The microscale quantitative suspension test proved to provide results similar to those of VAH method 9 when the bactericidal and yeasticidal activity of glutaralwas evaluated, with 32 out of 33 evaluations yielding consistent results in terms of efficacy. Its suitability should be confirmed with additional bacterial species, additional biocidal active substances and in other laboratories.</p>","PeriodicalId":12738,"journal":{"name":"GMS Hygiene and Infection Control","volume":"19 ","pages":"Doc03"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10884837/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139971599","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Using patients' observations to evaluate healthcare workers' alcohol-based hand rub with Pulpe'friction audits: a promising approach?","authors":"Fanny Velardo, Muriel Péfau, Raymond Nasso, Pierre Parneix, Anne-Gaëlle Venier","doi":"10.3205/dgkh000455","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3205/dgkh000455","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Hand hygiene plays an important role in the transmission of nosocomial infections from healthcare workers (HCW) to patients. Patients could play a key role in improving hand hygiene by sharing their experience of the HCW's practices. Already in 2019, the French national mission of transversal support for actions to prevent healthcare-associated infections proposed the national \"Pulpe'friction\" audit, to assess HCW's reported practices, social representations, and barriers to using alcohol-based hand rubs (ABHR). This audit consisted of a positive discussion between an auditor and the HCW as well as patients, which led the HCW to declare their real practices and the barriers they faced in the field and the patients to report about the HCW's ABHR practices and the information they received about when they should perform hand hygiene.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>To assess whether an association existed between HCW's reported ABHR compliance and patients' declarations about HCW's compliance in the Pulpe'friction audit data.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Data from Pulpe'friction were collected from 1^st January to 31^st December 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic. Mixed linear models were performed to analyze the association between self-reporting by HCW and patients, regarding hand rubs performed by HCW prior to patient care.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>There was a positive association between patients' observations and HCW's declared practices regarding the frequency of with which professionals performed hand rubs before patient contact. This indicates that professional and patient statements show the same tendency. The positive association was found in hospitals for patients under 45 and over 64 years old and for paramedics, but not for physicians and not in nursing homes or long-term care facilities. Patients felt more motivated to observe and evaluate HCWs' practices if they had received information about how to correctly wash their hands.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Patients agreed to be involved in the evaluation or professional practices. The patients' observations were positively associated with HCWs reports. New indicators taking patients' observations into account could be interesting.</p>","PeriodicalId":12738,"journal":{"name":"GMS Hygiene and Infection Control","volume":"18 ","pages":"Doc29"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10726723/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138801815","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Deployment of dentists in COVID-19 case investigation and contact tracing: An example from Turkey.","authors":"Ozlem Ozkan, Neslihan Sevim, Zeliha Ocek","doi":"10.3205/dgkh000453","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3205/dgkh000453","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aim: </strong>In Turkey, dentists working in public dental care centers were deployed in COVID-19 case investigation and contact tracing (CICT) teams during the pandemic. This study aims to explore the experiences of the dentists assigned to teams undertaking COVID-19 CICT practices to determine how healthcare workers should be supported when working in pandemic response and other crises.</p><p><strong>Material and method: </strong>The sample of this qualitative, phenomenological study consisted of thirty four public dentists assigned to COVID-19 CICT practices in four metropolitan areas of Turkey. Data were collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews that were conducted online in August and September 2020. The data were analyzed using thematic content analysis.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Six themes were revealed: preparation for CICT, basic requirements, work relations, working conditions, being a dentist assigned to CICT and COVID-19 pandemic management. The dentists complained that they were not appropriately assigned to CICT, as they lacked the preparations and sufficient training. They had to acquire personal protective equipment and other basic needs at their own expense. The working conditions were severe, and they had negative relations at work. The State and the Ministry of Health were criticized for inadequate implementation of institutional measures for COVID-19 pandemic management.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The study showed that dentists were motivated to participate in the management of pandemics and similar crisis situations, but in a negative work environment - where they were deployed without adequate training, preparation, and ensuring their basic needs and requirements were met - they lost this motivation, and experienced stress and feelings of inadequacy.</p>","PeriodicalId":12738,"journal":{"name":"GMS Hygiene and Infection Control","volume":"18 ","pages":"Doc27"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10726721/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138801750","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Surveillance of health-care associated infections in an intensive care unit at a tertiary care hospital in Central India.","authors":"Ruchita Lohiya, Vijayshri Deotale","doi":"10.3205/dgkh000454","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3205/dgkh000454","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Because the risk of health-care associated infections (HAIs) is high in intensive care units, and HAIs are one of the causes of morbidity and mortality and affects the overall quality of health care, the continuous monitoring of HAIs in intensive care patients is essential.</p><p><strong>Aim and objectives: </strong>This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out over a period of five years in a tertiary-care teaching hospital. The aim of the study was to investigate the main and specific types of health-care associated Infections and determine the microbiological profile and antimicrobial susceptibility rates of isolates in patients with HAI.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>: The active surveillance method was used to detect HAIs in patients who spent over 48 hr in a targeted ICU. Patients with blood stream infections (BSI), central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI), catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) and ventilator-associated events (VAE) were included in the study. HAI were diagnosed based on the Centre for Disease Control (CDC)'s National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) updated definitions of HAIs.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 121,051 patient days, including 7,989 central line days, 64,557 urinary catheter days, and 18,443 ventilator days, were recorded in the study population and 832 HAIs were diagnosed (incidence rate 6.9%). The overall rates of BSI, CLABSI, CAUTI and possible ventilator-associated pneumonia (p-VAP) were 3.7, 10.6, 2.1 and 13.4/1,000 device days, respectively. The most common organism isolated from BSI was <i>Acinetobacter baumanii</i> (n=322, 29%), followed by <i>Klebsiella pneumoniae</i> 225 (n=225, 20.3%). 79.8% of <i>Acinetobacter baumanii</i> strains were resistant to imipenem, 77.1% to ciprofloxacin and 76.4% to ampicillin. The most common organisms isolated from CAUTI were non-albicans <i>Candida</i> species (n=38, 18%), followed by <i>E. coli</i> and <i>Citrobacter</i> spp<i>.</i> (each n=33, each 15.7%).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>A trend of increasing resistance of <i>Acinetobacter</i> <i>baumannii</i> to carbapenems was observed. Risk factor analysis showed invasive procedures during sepsis and organophosphorous poisoning as significant factors.</p>","PeriodicalId":12738,"journal":{"name":"GMS Hygiene and Infection Control","volume":"18 ","pages":"Doc28"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10726722/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138801752","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Risk factor for children in the pandemic: the use of cleaning products at home.","authors":"Emine Güdek Seferoglu, Ümran Çevik Güner","doi":"10.3205/dgkh000451","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3205/dgkh000451","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Intensified cleaning protocols to maintain a safe environment during the pandemic caused an increase in the use of disinfectants. The use of cleaning products in safer conditions by mothers is one of the important practices that will reduce the risk of household accidents.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>The aim of research was determine the practices of mothers about the safe use of cleaning and disinfectant products in the COVID-19.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Data were collected by online survey among 255 mothers of the children 0-6 age from April and July 2021. Percentage, mean and chi-square tests were used to evaluate the data.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>It was reported that the amount of cleaning product usage (69%) increased significantly, 26.3% of the mothers store the products in a locked cabinet and 29.4% use the product in the recommended amount. It was detected 28.7% of the mothers use disinfectants close to children. It was detected that 37.6% of the families were exposed to cleaning and disinfectant products. There was not significant difference between exposure situations and maternal age, education, employment status.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>It can be suggested that health workers should organize screening and training programs for the community about safe cleaning and disinfection practices.</p>","PeriodicalId":12738,"journal":{"name":"GMS Hygiene and Infection Control","volume":"18 ","pages":"Doc25"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10665710/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138465505","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Risk of tuberculosis transmission by healthcare workers to children - a comprehensive review.","authors":"Roland Diel, Albert Nienhaus","doi":"10.3205/dgkh000452","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3205/dgkh000452","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Children <15 years are at elevated risk of becoming infected with <i>M. tuberculosis co</i>mplex (Mtbc).</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>To assess the magnitude of Mtbc transmission by healthcare workers (HCW) to children.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Medline, Google Scholar and Cochrane library were searched to select primary studies in which HCW was the presumed index case and exposed infants and children aged below 15 years were screened for latent TB infection (LTBI).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Of 4,702 abstracts, 19 original case reports covering one HCW each as presumed source case of Mtbc transmission to children, were identified. In sum, 11,511 children, of those 5,881 infants (51.1%), mostly in newborn nurseries, were considered contact persons and underwent tuberculin skin (TST) or Interferon gamma release assay (IGRA) testing. Test positivity was reported in 492/11,511 children (4.3%) coming from 14 studies. When test results considered falsely positive were excluded, the number of latently infected children decreased to 365/10,171 (3.6%). In all studies, the presumed duration of infectivity of the source case was, but the actual intensity and duration of exposure were not, decisive for the initiation of contact investigations. In only two of the studies, the contact time of the children towards the corresponding source case was estimated.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The results of our review suggest that the risk of Mtbc transmission from HCW to children in healthcare setting is considerably lower than reported in household settings. However, as the preselection of pediatric contacts appeared in most cases to be vague, the data found in the literature probably underestimates the actual risk.</p>","PeriodicalId":12738,"journal":{"name":"GMS Hygiene and Infection Control","volume":"18 ","pages":"Doc26"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10665709/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138459539","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Attitudes of primary care physicians towards antimicrobial stewardship and the impact of a multi-part training course - a pilot study.","authors":"Katharina Last, Arne Simon, Barbara C Gärtner, Sören L Becker, Cihan Papan","doi":"10.3205/dgkh000450","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3205/dgkh000450","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>A plethora of antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programs has been initiated during the past years, focusing on hospital settings. Primary-care physicians have seldom been addressed, although the majority of antibiotic prescriptions are issued for outpatients. We sought to investigate attitudes of primary-care physicians and the impact of a customized training course.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Primary-care physicians in southwest Germany were invited to a multi-part training course on AMS in the primary-care setting. Participants were asked to answer a questionnaire about their attitude and factors that hinder them from implementing AMS or enable them to perform AMS. In addition, a knowledge assessment exam at the beginning and end of the training was conducted on selected infectious diseases/syndromes.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In total, 36 primary-care physicians participated in the training course. The predominant age group was 51-60 years old (36%; 13/36). The majority, 23/35 (66%), indicated never having had AMS training, while 22/35 (63%) acknowledged partly implementing AMS activities in their daily routine. The primary barrier was lack of expertise, while the main motives were reducing antimicrobial resistance and optimizing patient care. The provision of guidelines was regarded as more important than feedback on their prescription behavior. Exam performance improved from the initial to the final exam on all topics.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Customized AMS training courses are a feasible and potentially complimentary tool to address antibiotic misuse in the primary-care setting.</p>","PeriodicalId":12738,"journal":{"name":"GMS Hygiene and Infection Control","volume":"18 ","pages":"Doc24"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10665713/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138459538","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}