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• Evaluation the quality of disinfection in hospital during COVID-19 pandemic. • Revealed the places easy to be ignored when performed disinfection procedures. • Routine disinfection could be helpful in preventing the HCWs from getting infected. Coronavirus disease 2019 has spread globally and been a public health emergency worldwide. It is important to reduce the risk of healthcare associated infections among the healthcare workers and patients. This study aimed to investigate the contamination of environment in isolation wards and sewage, and assess the quality of routine disinfection procedures in our hospital. Routine disinfection procedures were performed 3-times a day in general isolation wards and 6-times a day in isolated ICU wards in our hospital. Environmental surface samples and sewage samples were collected for viral RNA detection. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 RNA detection was performed with quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. A total of 163 samples were collected from February 6 to April 4. Among 122 surface samples, 2 were positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 RNA detection. One was collected from the flush button of the toilet bowl, and the other was collected from a hand-basin. Although 10 of the sewage samples were positive for viral RNA detection, all positive samples were negative for viral culture. These results revealed the routine disinfection procedures in our hospital were effective in reducing the potential risk of healthcare associated infection. Two surface samples were positive for viral detection, suggesting that more attention should be paid when disinfecting places easy to be ignored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Superficial surgical site infections (SSIs) are one of the most common postoperative complications of hepatectomy for liver cancer. The objective of this study is to clarify the risk factors and determine a clinical prediction score for SSIs after partial hepatectomy for malignant tumour. A total of 812 consecutive patients were enrolled who underwent partial hepatectomy for liver malignant tumour from January 2017 to December 2017. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to identify the risk factors for SSIs. Clinical prediction score was then constructed using coefficients of identified significant predictors. Risk stratification was then carried out by receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Of all the 812 patients, SSIs were observed in 31 (3.82%) patients. A multivariate analysis identified four predictors as independent risk factors for SSIs, which were splenomegaly, perioperative blood transfusion, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and low postoperative serum albumin concentration (<35 g/L). Clinical prediction score ranged from 0 to 4.6 with its discrimination concordance (C) statistic of 0.70 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.59, 0.81). Risk stratification classified these patients into low, moderate, and high risk in SSIs. This risk score system may credibly stratify the risk of SSIs with relatively high sensitivity and specificity. Splenomegaly, history of blood transfusion, ICU admission, and postoperative serum albumin concentration less than 35 g/L could be used to predict SSIs with acceptable discrimination. This clinical risk score system may be useful in prediction of SSIs after hepatectomy for malignant tumours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PurposeTo investigate the effects of a 50-Hz magnetic field (MF) exposure on ceramide metabolism, as well as the cascade downstream signaling pathways in human amniotic (FL) cells. Materials and methodsFL cells were exposed to MF at 0.4 mT for different durations (from 5–60 min). The ceramides levels were analyzed with high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). The activity of cathepsin D was assayed using a fluorometric assay kit, and the activity of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) was examined by Western blotting. After exposing to MF at 0.4 mT for 60 min with sequential culture for different durations (0, 3, 6, 12 or 36 h), the rate of cell apoptosis was assessed by flow cytometry. ResultsExposing cells to MF at 0.4 mT for different durations caused a significant increase in ceramide production viade novosynthesis and hydrolysis of sphingomyelin (SM), and the effect was different according to the exposure time. However, no significant change in cell apoptosis was detected after MF exposure for 60 min with sequentially culturing for up to 36 h. In addition, increase in ceramide did not activate its downstream signal molecules, cathepsin D and PP2A, which are usually closely related to apoptosis of cells. ConclusionsExposure to a 50-Hz MF could raise ceramide levels but had no significant effect on apoptosis in cultured cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic broke out in 2019, it is highly contagious, and the infection rate among medical staff is high. The management of infection prevention and control during emergency surgery of COVID-19 patients has been outlined and the perioperative infection management checklist for emergency surgery of COVID-19 patients has been summarized and validated. There have been 13 emergency surgeries performed on COVID-19 patients at our hospital during this time. Two cases were cured and discharged, and the others were discharged after improvement and transferred to further rehabilitation, 30-day mortality of the emergency surgical is 0%. Once the emergency surgery protocol in the hospital is successfully established, emergency surgery can be performed as soon as the surgical planning decision is made, and the operating room can be prepared for use at any time. The incidence of surgical site infection (SSI) was largely higher than that of ordinary patients in the same time; however, the successful implementation of emergency surgery for COVID-19 had positive significance in reducing the incidence of death, risk of bleeding, and hypoxia. The current cumulative cure rate of COVID-19 in our hospital is 98%, patient mortality rate is 0%, and the incidence of COVID-19 infection in medical staff is 0%. The emergency surgical infection management checklist is feasible and effective in guiding the preoperative and intraoperative surgical procedures.

Competing Interests: Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests.

Background: Good hand hygiene is the most effective basic measure for preventing hospital-acquired infections. This research project, which originated from a project report on improving hand hygiene at a general hospital in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China, aimed to investigate the effectiveness of hand hygiene improvement among the hospital staff., Methods: Since 2017, a hand hygiene improvement project involving the staff of a 2,500-bed general teaching hospital in Zhejiang, China, has been carried out. This study summarized the implementation and effectiveness of the project, which is based on the five factors of systematic evaluation. The research summary was divided into three phases: phase I (December 2017 to August 2018), phase 2 (September 2018 to April 2019), and phase 3 (May 2019 to December 2019). The data of hand hygiene compliance rates of different groups of professionals in the different research periods were statistically analyzed., Results: The results showed that continuous intervention led to a gradual increasing trend (Ptrend<0.001) in the hand hygiene implementation rate with as the intervention time and phases progressed. The hand hygiene compliance rates differed significantly during different phases (76.61%, 79.95%, and 83.34% in phases 1, 2, and 3, respectively, P<0.001). At the same time, the compliance rates of hand hygiene at each phase differed significantly between different professions (P<0.001, the compliance rate of hand hygiene among nurses was the highest and lowest among workers). The compliance rate of hand hygiene for different professions during the three phases were: nurses, 84.73%; doctors, 78.35%; interns, 77.62%; and other hospital workers, 72.79%., Conclusions: The hand hygiene compliance rate was effectively improved among the hospital staff after the implementation of the hand hygiene improvement project. In this hospital, the project yielded remarkable results. Hand hygiene must be continuously practiced and improved to develop good habits. Effective and detailed planning as well as key factors, such as hand hygiene facilities, information monitoring, the active participation and response of employees, training and education, and supervision and feedback, could help to guarantee the effectiveness of the project., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at http://dx.doi.org/10.21037/atm-20-5480). The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (2020 Annals of Translational Medicine. All rights reserved.)