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Background: Air rescue crew members work equally in aviation and medicine, and thus occupy an important interface between the two work environments of aviation and medicine. The aim of this study was to obtain responses from participants to a validated online-based questionnaire regarding whether hospitals may benefit from the commitment of a medical hospital staff which is also professionally involved in the aviation system as emergency physicians and Helicopter Emergency Medical Services Technical Crew Members (HEMS TC). Furthermore, it focused on the question of whether the skills acquired through Crew Resource Management (CRM) training in the air rescue service might also be used in the ground-based rescue service and, if so, whether they may have a positive effect. Methods: Medical air rescue staff of 37 German air rescue stations was included. Between 27 November 2020 and 03 March 2021, 253 out of 621 employees (response rate: 40.7%) participated voluntarily in a validated anonymized online survey. A quantitative test procedure was performed using the modified questionnaire on teamwork and patient safety (German version). Results: The examination and interpretation of the internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) resulted in the following reliabilities: Factor I (Cooperation): α = 0.707 (good); Factor II (Human factors): α = 0.853 (very good); Factor III (Communication): α = 0.657 (acceptable); and Factor IV (Safety): α = 0.620 (acceptable). Factor analysis explained 53.1% of the variance. Conclusions: The medical clinicians participating in this online survey believed that the skills they learned in human factors training such as CRM are helpful in their daily routine work in hospitals or other medical facilities, as well as in their ground-based rescue service activities. These findings may result in the recommendation to make CRM available on a regular to the medical staff in all medical facilities and also to ground-based rescue service staff aiming to increase patient safety and employee satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bone infection represents a serious complication of orthopedic surgery and Staphylococcus aureus is the most common pathogen. To improve the understanding of host‐pathogen interaction, we developed a biospecimen registry (AO Trauma CPP Bone Infection Registry) to collect clinical data, bacterial isolates, and serum from patients with S. aureus bone infection. A prospective multinational registry with a 12‐month follow‐up was created to include adult patients (18 years or older) with culture‐confirmed S. aureus infection in long bones after fracture fixation or arthroplasty. Baseline patient attributes and details on infections and treatments were recorded. Blood and serum samples were obtained at baseline, 6, and 12 months. Patient‐reported outcomes were collected at 1, 6, and 12 months. Clinical outcomes were recorded. Two hundred and ninety‐two patients with fracture‐related infection (n = 157, 53.8%), prosthetic joint infection (n = 86, 29.5%), and osteomyelitis (n = 49, 16.8%) were enrolled. Methicillin‐resistant S. aureus was detected in 82 patients (28.4%), with the highest proportion found among patients from North American sites (n = 39, 48.8%) and the lowest from Central European sites (n = 18, 12.2%). Patient outcomes improved at 6 and 12 months in comparison to baseline. The SF‐36 physical component summary mean (95% confidence interval) score, however, did not reach 50 at 12 months. The cure rate at the end of the study period was 62.1%. Although patients improved with treatment, less than two‐thirds were cured in 1 year. At 12‐month follow‐up, patient‐reported outcome scores were worse for patients with methicillin‐resistant S. aureus infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The ability to form biofilm on the surface of implanted devices is often considered the most critical virulence factor possessed by Staphylococcus epidermidis in its role as an opportunistic pathogen in orthopaedic device-related infection (ODRI). Despite this recognition, there is a lack of clinical evidence linking outcome with biofilm forming ability for S. epidermidis ODRIs. We prospectively collected S. epidermidis isolates cultured from patients presenting with ODRI. Antibiotic resistance patterns and biofilm-forming ability was assessed. Patient information was collected and treatment outcome measures were determined after a mean follow-up period of 26 months. The primary outcome measure was cure at follow-up. Univariate logistic regression models were used to determine the influence of biofilm formation and antibiotic resistance on treatment outcome. A total of 124 patients were included in the study, a majority of whom ( n = 90) involved infections of the lower extremity. A clear trend emerged in the lower extremity cohort whereby cure rates decreased as the biofilm-forming ability of the isolates increased (84% cure rate for infections caused by non-biofilm formers, 76% cure rate for weak biofilm-formers, and 60% cure rate for the most marked biofilm formers, p = 0.076). Antibiotic resistance did not influence treatment cure rate. Chronic immunosuppression was associated with a statistically significant decrease in cure rate ( p = 0.044). Clinical significance: The trend of increasing biofilm-forming ability resulting in lower cure rates for S. epidermidis ODRI indicates biofilm-forming ability of infecting pathogens does influence treatment outcome of infections of the lower extremity. © 2016 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 34:1905-1913, 2016. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Skin and soft tissue infections include the skin as well as fascia, muscles, ligaments, tendons, synovial membranes, fat, blood vessels, nerves, and fibrous tissues. They range from superficial infections to deep infections with a necrotizing clinical course. These infections can promptly progress with severe systemic complications, requiring rapid management, and proper surgical and medical treatment. This manuscript provides recommendations based on current practice guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of surgically relevant skin and soft tissue infections in adults. Furthermore, it deals with a clinical guide of immediate identification of life threatening necrotizing clinical courses, detection of pathogens and the use of appropriate surgical, antimicrobial, and adjuvant treatment options., Competing Interests: Die Autoren geben an, dass keine Interessenkonflikte vorliegen., (Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.)