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Showing results for tags 'Medicine - Infectious disease'.
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News ArticleThe social restrictions imposed upon our lives because of coronavirus have taken a toll on our emotions, finances, and our waistlines, but there may yet be a silver-lining: a reduction in cases of other infectious diseases. From the common cold to chickenpox, there has been a substantial drop in the number of infections being reported to GPs, despite children returning to school – and that looks set to continue as winter approaches and lockdown restrictions tighten across the country. According to the latest GP surveillance data for England there were 1.5 cases of common cold for every 100,000 people during the week ending 6 October – compared to 92.5 cases reported during the same week last year. The rate of other non-Covid respiratory illnesses was also lower, at 131 for every 100,000 people, compared to 303 last year. Influenza-like illness is also down, at 131 cases for every 100,000 people, versus 303 cases in 2019. Although there has been in increase since the start of the school term, for all of these illnesses, infection rates remain below expected seasonal levels for this time of year, the report by the Royal College of General Practitioners’ research and surveillance centre said. Equivalent data was not immediately accessible for Wales and Scotland. GP consultations for other infectious diseases like strep throat, tonsillitis and impetigo, as well as infectious intestinal diseases like norovirus are also well below the five-year average – and have been since late March – the report suggests. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 9 October 2020
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The BMJ interview: Anthony Fauci on COVID-19
PatientSafetyLearning Team posted an article in Coronavirus (COVID-19)
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Content ArticleThis webinar explores NHS acute sector experiences during the peak of COVID-19 in Spring and Summer of 2020, reflects on global figures and sequalae and contrast with sepsis on a national and global scale including the importance of AMR. 5 key learning points: Understanding of the impact of COVID-19. Learn about after effects of C-19 and sepsis in survivors. Remind ourselves about the global scale of sepsis. Understand this in the context of AMR. Reflect on global and national policy strategies.
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News ArticleThe emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), including drug-resistant bacteria, or “superbugs”, pose far greater risks to human health than Covid-19, threatening to put modern medicine “back into the dark ages”, an Australian scientist has warned, ahead of a three-year study into drug-resistant bacteria in Fiji. “If you thought Covid was bad, you don’t want anti-microbial resistance,” Dr Paul De Barro, biosecurity research director at Australia’s national science agency, the CSIRO, told The Guardian. “I don’t think I’m exaggerating to say it’s the biggest human health threat, bar none. Covid is not anywhere near the potential impact of AMR. We would go back into the dark ages of health.” WHO warns overuse of antibiotics for COVID-19 will cause more deaths While AMR is an emerging public health threat across the globe, in the Pacific, where the risk of the problem is acute, drug-resistant bacteria could stretch the region’s fragile health systems beyond breaking point. An article in the BMJ Global Health journal reported there was little official health data – and low levels of public knowledge - around antimicrobial resistance in the Pacific, and that high rates of infectious disease and antibiotic prescription were driving up risks. “A challenge for Pacific island countries and territories is trying to curtail antimicrobial excess, without jeopardising antimicrobial access for those who need them,” the paper argued. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 10 September 2020
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News ArticleBabies are at risk of dying from common treatable infections because NHS staff on maternity wards are not following national guidance and are short-staffed and overworked, an investigation has revealed. The Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB), a national safety watchdog, has warned that NHS staff on maternity wards face sometimes conflicting advice on treating women who are positive for a group B streptococcus (GBS) infection. They are also making errors in women’s care because of the pressure of work and a lack of staff, with antibiotics not being administered when they should be. HSIB’s specialist investigators examined 39 safety incidents in which GSB had been identified, and found that the infection had contributed to six baby deaths, six stillbirths and three cases of babies being left with severe brain damage. In its report, the watchdog warned that the problems on maternity wards meant that even in cases where mothers were known to be positive for GBS infection, this wasn’t shared with the mother or noted in the record, resulting in the standard care and antibiotics not being provided. It added: “The identification and escalation of care for babies who show signs of GBS infection after birth was missed. This has resulted in severe brain injury and death for some of the affected babies.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 19 July 2020
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Content ArticleThe Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) published ‘Summary of themes arising from the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch maternity programme (April 2018-December 2019)’ in February 2020. This described eight themes for further exploration in order to highlight opportunities for system-wide learning; one of these themes was group B streptococcus (GBS). This report, Severe brain injury, early neonatal death and intrapartum stillbirth associated with group B streptococcus infection, highlights a number of patient safety concerns and recommends that maternity care providers should consider the findings and make necessary changes to their local systems to ensure that mothers and babies receive care in line with national guidance. The Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch will keep the theme of group B streptococcus under review and consider a future national investigation to explore this subject further.
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Strep B Awareness Month 2020
PatientSafetyLearning Team posted an article in Maternity
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National alert as ‘coronavirus-related condition may be emerging in children’
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A serious coronavirus-related syndrome may be emerging in the UK, according to an “urgent alert” issued to doctors, following a rise in cases in the last two to three weeks, HSJ has learned. An alert to GPs and seen by HSJ says that in the “last three weeks, there has been an apparent rise in the number of children of all ages presenting with a multisystem inflammatory state requiring intensive care across London and also in other regions of the UK”. It adds: “There is a growing concern that a [covid-19] related inflammatory syndrome is emerging in children in the UK, or that there may be another, as yet unidentified, infectious pathogen associated with these cases.” Little is known so far about the issue, nor how widespread it has been, but the absolute number of children affected is thought to be very small, according to paediatrics sources. The syndrome has the characteristics of serious COVID-19, but there have otherwise been relatively few cases of serious effects or deaths from coronavirus in children. Some of the children have tested positive for COVID-19, and some appear to have had the virus in the past, but some have not. Read full story Source: HSJ, 27 April 2020 Do you work in paediatrics? Have you seen similar trends emerging? What are your thoughts on the concerns raised? Join the conversation in the hub community area: -
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News ArticleThe number of measles infections around the world could surge in the wake of coronavirus as countries are forced to suspend vaccination programmes. The World Health Organization (WHO) has said it fears more than 117 million children could miss out on being vaccinated against measles, which killed 140,000 people in 2018. Officials worry that 37 countries where the deadly virus is a major threat could delay immunisation programmes, with 24 countries already suspending their efforts as attention is focused on containing and preventing the spread of COVID-19. Read full story Source: The Independent, 14 April 2020
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Content ArticleThis version updates the 27 March publication by providing definitions of droplets by particle size and adding three relevant publications.
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NHS: Specialty guides for patient management
Claire Cox posted an article in Guidance
These guides include: Surgical patients Othopaedics Critical care Endocrinology Trauma Acute General medical Burns Cancer ED Paediatrics NIV Rheumatology Management of COVID positive patients Cardiothoracics plastics Max Fax Vascular Spinal Surgery Radiology Cardiology Muscular Skeletal Haematology Maternity TB. -
Content ArticleGoing to work for 12 hours, perhaps not having a break, perhaps not peeing for over 8 hours and being put in challenging situations on a daily basis is pretty much the norm for many workers on the frontline ANY day of the year, despite COVID-19. But now we have the pressure of adhering to guidance that keeps changing, confusion on who to test, who to 'barrier nurse', with lack of PPE in some areas. Staff are frightened. Frightened that they will bring coronavirus home to their families, frightened that they will become ill and frightened of the things they will witness in the coming months. Currently there is a petition calling for frontline NHS staff to be tested. We would then know who has the infection, keep them isolated so not to infect the vulnerable. In my hospital it’s taking five days to get a test result back. During those five days, patients are being barrier nursed. Barrier nursing ‘usually’ is a straightforward procedure and one nurse can look after a patient with relative ease. However, when barrier nursing a COVID-19 infected patient who is on non-invasive ventilation or aerosol therapies, it is much more disruptive. It can take two nurses to care for that patient, as ‘donning and doffing’ PPE is time-consuming and risky. The second nurse will act as a ‘runner’, collecting equipment, medication, linen – anything the patient and nurse need. The nurse will also need to take breaks separately to the rest of the team, leaving them feeling isolated. I know the Trust I work in has purchased point-of-care testing for coronavirus, but this won’t be up and running for two weeks. After a 12-hour shift, healthcare workers would then shower (if you are lucky), change their clothes and go home. Simple? No, we are not robots. We are human. We don’t go home, have dinner, have a full night’s sleep and start the next day. We have stuff going on outside work. We carry these stresses with us when we come into work; it affects our ability to ‘do a good job’. Staff are often struggling with outside stressors: divorce, moving house, child care, money and health – mental and physical. These stresses have not gone away since COVID 19 turned up. There are now new stressors in town which are affecting healthcare workers ability to stay focussed and to ‘do a good job’. These stressors are HUGE. Yesterday, the Government stated that they would help businesses with ‘what ever is needed’. That’s great but a loan won’t help in the long run. My husband owns a small business. He is a sculptor and makes small-scale sculptures for the garden and home. He employs six artists. These six people have made the business what it is today. They are talented and creative. One of them has just started a family, one has relocated from abroad to be here, and one has set up a new home. They have become my husband's ‘work family’; they are more than just employees. Yesterday, my husband went into work and told them that he was no longer able to pay them after April. Bigger companies have stopped ordering as there is no requirement for his product due to the restriction on gatherings of people. Smaller companies have stopped ordering as they are uncertain of what the future holds. Never have I seen my husband look so drained. Not only is he witnessing his business that he has worked so hard for collapsing before his eyes, he has had to let down the people that have helped to make it what it is. The mood in our house at the moment is sombre. I don’t want to add to my husband’s stress with my worries about work, so I keep quiet (this blog is helping). We have two boys,12 and 14. They are like labradors, they need lots of exercise. If the country is on lock down for three months they will be climbing the walls!! For anyone who has kids of this age, you know that they eat LOADS. As soon as the cupboards are restocked, they are emptied within 48 hours. I’m struggling to get healthy food for them as the shops seem to have nothing in them. After lock down, we shall know whose been stockpiling as they will emerge after three months overweight with very clean bums! Then there is the issue with childcare. If healthcare workers are to be on the frontline who is to look after the kids? If they are old enough and you leave them at home alone, how can you ensure they eat well, they study, they stay in? If they are young, who looks after them? Grandparents are now not the go-to option. This virus has affected everyone in multiple ways on multiple levels. No, this blog isn’t just about healthcare – it’s about being human. There will be many of us out there with stresses you are unaware of. Please, be kind. Call for action: Please send in any practical tips for barrier nursing patients and advice for staff well-being during this time. Join the conversation taking place on the hub.
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‘Think SIM’ for your COVID-19 preparations
Claire Cox posted an article in Guidance
This guidance document seeks to provide a framework to help your local simulation-based endeavours achieve the most benefit for the needs in your organisation and department. Further resources and examples of practice to support each domain of the framework are currently being collated for sharing nationally in the immediate future. Working in collaboration, The Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine, Intensive Care Society, Association of Anaesthetists and Royal College of Anaesthetists have developed this website to provide the UK intensive care and anaesthetic community with information, guidance and resources required to support their understanding of and management of COVID-19. Intensive care practitioners and anaesthetists are integral to the safe and effective care of patients diagnosed with COVID-19, and play a role in informing and reassuring the public about this viral outbreak.
