The semm transaminases COT (glutamate-oxalacetate-transaminase) and CPT ( glutamate-pyruvate-transaminase ), which have a determining share in intermediate metabolism, are present in the body ubiquitously and in an especially high concentration in heart muscle, liver or other parenchymatous organs and in skeletal muscle. The same is true for the serum dehydrogenase LDH (lactate-dehydrogenase) '...

Four consecutive one-month campaigns were organised to promote hand hygiene in Belgian hospitals between 2005 and 2011. The campaigns included a combination of reminders in wards, educational sessions for healthcare workers, promotion of alcohol-based hand rub use, increasing patient awareness, and audits with performance feedback. Prior and after each one month intervention period, the infecti...

OBJECTIVES To estimate trends in infection/colonisation with meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in an intensive care unit (ICU). DESIGN Observational study of results of ICU admission and weekly screens for MRSA. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS All ICU admissions in 2001-2012. INTERVENTIONS ICU admissions were screened for MRSA throughout. In late 2006, screening was extended to t...

Background The (re)emergence of certain infectious diseases in Romania, as the pathology treated in our Ward expressed it, include: the West Nile virus febrile diseases (mainly meningoencephalitis), the A (H1N1) pandemic influenza, malaria, amoebiasis, Clostridium difficile colitis. These infections were treated in our Ward as well, as presenting specific particularities of our specialty. As fa...

Infection control for hospital pathogens such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) often takes the form of a package of interventions, including the use of patient isolation and decolonization treatment. Such interventions, though widely used, have generated controversy because of their significant resource implications and the lack of robust evidence with regard to their effec...

Under instructions from Lieut.-Col. H. B. Steen, m.d., m.s., i.m.s., a routine examination of the stools of all patients admitted to the surgical wards of the Calcutta Medical College Hospitals was carried out by me, and the results may be of some interest. They show the percentage of patients harbouring intestinal parasites in an average hospital population in Calcutta?the cases being quite un...

BACKGROUND The Ebola virus disease spread rapidly in West Africa in 2014, leading to the loss of thousands of lives. Community engagement was one of the key strategies to interrupt Ebola transmission, and practical community level measures needed to be explored in the field and tailored to the specific context of communities. METHODS First, community-level education on Ebola virus disease (EV...

BACKGROUND The purpose of our study is to determine the value and efficacy of searching biomedical databases beyond MEDLINE for systematic reviews. METHODS We analyzed the results from a systematic review conducted by the authors and others on ward closure as an infection control practice. Ovid MEDLINE including In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations, Ovid Embase, CINAHL Plus, LILACS, and I...