Costs of Management of Occupational Exposures to Blood and Body Fluids

2007 ◽  
Vol 28 (7) ◽  
pp. 774-782 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily M. O'Malley ◽  
R. Douglas Scott ◽  
Julie Gayle ◽  
John Dekutoski ◽  
Michael Foltzer ◽  
...  

Objective.To determine the cost of management of occupational exposures to blood and body fluids.Design.A convenience sample of 4 healthcare facilities provided information on the cost of management of occupational exposures that varied in type, severity, and exposure source infection status. Detailed information was collected on time spent reporting, managing, and following up the exposures; salaries (including benefits) for representative staff who sustained and who managed exposures; and costs (not charges) for laboratory testing of exposure sources and exposed healthcare personnel, as well as any postexposure prophylaxis taken by the exposed personnel. Resources used were stratified by the phase of exposure management: exposure reporting, initial management, and follow-up. Data for 31 exposure scenarios were analyzed. Costs were given in 2003 US dollars.Setting.The 4 facilities providing data were a 600-bed public hospital, a 244-bed Veterans Affairs medical center, a 437-bed rural tertiary care hospital, and a 3,500-bed healthcare system.Results.The overall range of costs to manage reported exposures was $71-$4,838. Mean total costs varied greatly by the infection status of the source patient. The overall mean cost for exposures to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected source patients (n = 19, including those coinfected with hepatitis B or C virus) was $2,456 (range, $907-$4,838), whereas the overall mean cost for exposures to source patients with unknown or negative infection status (n = 8) was $376 (range, $71-$860). Lastly, the overall mean cost of management of reported exposures for source patients infected with hepatitis C virus (n = 4) was $650 (range, $186-$856).Conclusions.Management of occupational exposures to blood and body fluids is costly, the best way to avoid these costs is by prevention of exposures.

Author(s):  
Gargi Dey ◽  
Jyothi R. ◽  
Girish K.

Background: Stroke has a high economic impact on the society especially in a developing country like India. In India health insurance doesn’t cover all people leading to out of pocket expenditure. The objective of the present study was to study the cost of illness and outcome of stroke in a tertiary care hospital.Methods: Direct medical and nonmedical costs were obtained after 28 days of follow-up. The outcome of the stroke was measured by modified Rankin scale (mRS).Results: The mean age of the patients was 65.38±13.98 years. Majority of the patients suffered from ischemic stroke and belonged to lower middle socioeconomic group. The mean cost of stroke was INR 39819. There was improvement in the mRS score after 28 days following treatment of acute stroke.Conclusions:Direct medical costs forms major component of cost of stroke. Early management and hospital discharge can reduce the economic burden of stroke. 


Author(s):  
Catarina Correia ◽  
Nuno Almeida ◽  
Pedro Figueiredo

<b><i>Purpose:</i></b> This study aimed to understand the prevalence of asymptomatic COVID-19 infection among patients undergoing endoscopic procedures at a tertiary care hospital. The results allow prediction of the magnitude of cases which this endoscopic service might witness in the next months and planning of future actions accordingly. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> This retrospective study was conducted in the gastroenterology department of a large urban tertiary care medical center from October 15, 2020, to November 15, 2020. In this institution, all patients proposed for endoscopic procedures under deep sedation must be submitted to reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) detection. These results were thoroughly reviewed. <b><i>Results:</i></b> In the 1-month period, a total of 833 different procedures were done in 833 patients admitted to the endoscopy unit. Of these, 167 (20%) were submitted to nasal swab for SARS-CoV-2. Only 1 (0.6%) was positive for this infection, and her procedure was postponed. This RT-PCR-positive patient was not symptomatic for CO­VID-19 infection at the time of preprocedure screening. She had no positive contacts for COVID-19 and had not traveled outside the country. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> We found that the proportion of patients proposed for an endoscopic intervention who were asymptomatic carriers of SARS-CoV-2 was low. However, only one fifth of patients were tested and, considering the proportion of 0.6%, it is reasonable to consider that exposure of healthcare workers and other patients can occur. So, all prevention measures must be strictly followed. However, the cost-benefit of an universal testing policy must be proven.


Author(s):  
Dhakchinamoorthi Krishna Kumar ◽  
Mani Swapna ◽  
Srinivasan Kanmani ◽  
Varghese Varsha ◽  
Nair V. Vidya

<p class="abstract"><strong>Background:</strong> Antibiotic resistance is a major menace to public health and treatment of several infectious diseases, also associated with an economic burden to society.  Pharmacoeconomic analysis of antibiotic usage and cost-minimization analysis provides better and low-cost drug selection for the patients.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Methods:</strong> The study was conducted as a cross-sectional, observational analysis of restricted antibiotics in the prescriptions (n= 191). Cost minimization analysis was conducted for the restricted antibiotics alone. The drug costs of prescribed brands were compared with the least cost brands, and the percentage cost difference was calculated and compared by student paired ‘t’ test. P&lt;0.05 considered statistical significance.  </p><p class="abstract"><strong>Results:</strong> The average age of the patients was found to be 58.1±18.3 (Mean±SD) years, and most of the restricted antibiotics were prescribed for the treatment of hospital-acquired infections 71.7%. Meropenem was prescribed highly 29.8% followed by imipenem (28.8%) and colistin (12%). The major reason for starting restricted antibiotics was found to be infectious diseases (27.7%). The cost-minimization analysis showed that the total unit cost for caspofungin (₹1,85,000 or $2523.40) was found to be higher followed by meropenem (₹1,29,800) in the prescriptions. The mean cost of actually prescribed restricted antibiotics was found to be ₹68,338±61,332 (Mean±SD). The lowest mean cost of restricted antibiotics was found to be ₹32,223±31,082 (p&lt;0.05).</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Conclusions:</strong> Pharmacoeconomic cost-minimization analysis was a useful tool for clinical pharmacist in the selection of appropriate antibiotics and minimizing the burden of the cost of the drugs, it provides a better outcome in patients while using restricted antibiotics with infectious disease.</p>


2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. s168-s169
Author(s):  
Rebecca Choudhury ◽  
Ronald Beaulieu ◽  
Thomas Talbot ◽  
George Nelson

Background: As more US hospitals report antibiotic utilization to the CDC, standardized antimicrobial administration ratios (SAARs) derived from patient care unit-based antibiotic utilization data will increasingly be used to guide local antibiotic stewardship interventions. Location-based antibiotic utilization surveillance data are often utilized given the relative ease of ascertainment. However, aggregating antibiotic use data on a unit basis may have variable effects depending on the number of clinical teams providing care. In this study, we examined antibiotic utilization from units at a tertiary-care hospital to illustrate the potential challenges of using unit-based antibiotic utilization to change individual prescribing. Methods: We used inpatient pharmacy antibiotic use administration records at an adult tertiary-care academic medical center over a 6-month period from January 2019 through June 2019 to describe the geographic footprints and AU of medical, surgical, and critical care teams. All teams accounting for at least 1 patient day present on each unit during the study period were included in the analysis, as were all teams prescribing at least 1 antibiotic day of therapy (DOT). Results: The study population consisted of 24 units: 6 ICUs (25%) and 18 non-ICUs (75%). Over the study period, the average numbers of teams caring for patients in ICU and non-ICU wards were 10.2 (range, 3.2–16.9) and 13.7 (range, 10.4–18.9), respectively. Units were divided into 3 categories by the number of teams, accounting for ≥70% of total patient days present (Fig. 1): “homogenous” (≤3), “pauciteam” (4–7 teams), and “heterogeneous” (>7 teams). In total, 12 (50%) units were “pauciteam”; 7 (29%) were “homogeneous”; and 5 (21%) were “heterogeneous.” Units could also be classified as “homogenous,” “pauciteam,” or “heterogeneous” based on team-level antibiotic utilization or DOT for specific antibiotics. Different patterns emerged based on antibiotic restriction status. Classifying units based on vancomycin DOT (unrestricted) exhibited fewer “heterogeneous” units, whereas using meropenem DOT (restricted) revealed no “heterogeneous” units. Furthermore, the average number of units where individual clinical teams prescribed an antibiotic varied widely (range, 1.4–12.3 units per team). Conclusions: Unit-based antibiotic utilization data may encounter limitations in affecting prescriber behavior, particularly on units where a large number of clinical teams contribute to antibiotic utilization. Additionally, some services prescribing antibiotics across many hospital units may be minimally influenced by unit-level data. Team-based antibiotic utilization may allow for a more targeted metric to drive individual team prescribing.Funding: NoneDisclosures: None


Author(s):  
Akane Takamatsu ◽  
Hitoshi Honda ◽  
Tomoya Kojima ◽  
Kengo Murata ◽  
Hilary Babcock

Abstract Objective The COVID-19 vaccine may hold the key to ending the pandemic, but vaccine hesitancy is hindering the vaccination of healthcare personnel (HCP). Design Before-after trial Participants and setting Healthcare personnel at a 790-bed tertiary care center in Tokyo, Japan. Interventions A pre-vaccination questionnaire was administered to HCP to examine their perceptions of the COVID-19 vaccine. Then, a multifaceted intervention involving (1) distribution of informational leaflets to all HCP, (2) hospital-wide announcements encouraging vaccination, (3) a mandatory lecture, (4) an educational session about the vaccine for pregnant or breastfeeding HCP, and (5) allergy testing for HCP at risk of allergic reactions to the vaccine was implemented. A post-vaccination survey was also performed. Results Of 1,575 HCP eligible for enrollment, 1,224 (77.7%) responded to the questionnaire, 43.5% (n =533) expressed willingness to be vaccinated, 48.4% (n = 593) were uncertain, and 8.0% (n=98) expressed unwillingness to be vaccinated. The latter two groups were concerned about the vaccine’s safety rather than its efficacy. Post-intervention, the overall vaccination rate reached 89.7% (1,413/1,575), with 88.9% (614/691) of the pre-vaccination survey respondents who answered “unwilling” or “unsure” eventually receiving a vaccination. In the post-vaccination questionnaire, factors contributing to increased COVID-19 vaccination included information and endorsement of vaccination at the medical center (26.4%; 274/1,037). Conclusions The present, multifaceted intervention increased COVID-19 vaccinations among HCP at a Japanese hospital. Frequent support and provision of information were crucial for increasing the vaccination rate and may be applicable to the general population as well.


1999 ◽  
Vol 20 (02) ◽  
pp. 110-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deniz Akduman ◽  
Lynn E. Kim ◽  
Rodney L. Parks ◽  
Paul B. L'Ecuyer ◽  
Sunita Mutha ◽  
...  

AbstractObjective:To evaluate Universal Precautions (UP) compliance in the operating room (OR).Design:Prospective observational cohort. Trained observers recorded information about (1) personal protective equipment used by OR staff; (2) eyewear, glove, or gown breaks; (3) the nature of sharps transfers; (4) risk-taking behaviors of the OR staff; and (5) needlestick injuries and other blood and body-fluid exposures.Setting:Barnes-Jewish Hospital, a 1,000-bed, tertiary-care hospital affiliated with Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri.Participants:OR personnel in four surgical specialties (gynecologic, orthopedic, cardiothoracic, and general). Procedures eligible for the study were selected randomly. Hand surgery and procedures requiring no or a very small incision (eg, arthroscopy, laparoscopy) were excluded.Results:A total of 597 healthcare workers' procedures were observed in 76 surgical cases (200 hours). Of the 597 healthcare workers, 32% wore regular glasses, and 24% used no eye protection. Scrub nurses and medical students were more likely than other healthcare workers to wear goggles. Only 28% of healthcare workers double gloved, with orthopedic surgery personnel being the most compliant. Sharps passages were not announced in 91% of the surgical procedures. In 65 cases (86%), sharps were adjusted manually. Three percutaneous and 14 cutaneous exposures occurred, for a total exposure rate of 22%.Conclusion:OR personnel had poor compliance with UP. Although there was significant variation in use of personal protective equipment between groups, the total exposure rate was high (22%), indicating the need for further training and reinforcement of UP to reduce occupational exposures.


Hypertension ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 60 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Naomi Shike ◽  
Santosh Vardhana ◽  
Judith Briant ◽  
Robert Peck

Introduction The WHO has been increasingly emphasizing and calling for research on the vast unattended burden of non-communicable diseases in the developing world. Hypertension (HTN) in particular is thought to play a growing role in morbidity and mortality in these regions, but has yet to gain significant momentum in public health initiatives. Objective To determine what role HTN and comorbid diseases play in admission and mortality in Bugando Medical Center (BMC), a tertiary care hospital in Tanzania serving 13 million people. Methods We conducted a retrospective analysis of all patients admitted to the internal medicine service at BMC over 34 months between 2008 and 2011. Data on admission diagnoses and mortality had been collected prospectively by Tanzanian doctors in hand-written logs. For patients with heart failure or stroke, the ward logs specified if this was primarily related to hypertension or other risk factors. Data were copied into an Excel database and analyzed to determine the proportion of admissions and deaths primarily related to hypertension. Results In 34 months 8,037 patients were admitted and 1,508 died. HTN-related disease led to 1,997 admissions (25%), while HIV-related illness led to 2,076 (26%). Similarly, HTN led to 377 deaths (25%) and HIV to 579 (38%). HTN-related disease was second only to HIV-related disease as a cause of admission and death. Among hypertensives, the most common cause of admission was congestive heart failure (446; 27%) and of death was stroke (147; 49%). In non-hypertensives, HIV-related disease was the most common cause of both admission (2029; 32%) and death (566; 46%). Conclusions HTN-related disease was second only to HIV as a cause of admission to our hospital and in-hospital death. Better strategies for early diagnosis and treatment of HTN are desperately need in sub Saharan Africa to prevent this morbidity and mortality. Building HTN screening and treatment on top of the extensive infrastructure for HIV disease may be a reasonable approach.


2012 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 224-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara E. Cosgrove ◽  
Polly Ristaino ◽  
Anne Caston-Gaa ◽  
Donna P. Fellerman ◽  
Elaine F. Nowakowski ◽  
...  

Objective.To describe a pseudo-outbreak associated with loose bronchoscope biopsy ports caused by inadequate bronchoscope repair practices by third-party vendors and to alert healthcare personnel to assess bronchoscope repair practices.Design.Outbreak investigation.Setting.A 925-bed tertiary care hospital in Baltimore, Maryland.Patients.Patients who underwent bronchoscopy with certain bronchoscopes after they had been repaired by a third-party vendor.Methods.An epidemiologic investigation was conducted to determine the cause ofPseudomonas putidagrowth in 4 bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) specimens within a 3-day period in May 2008. All bronchoscopes were inspected, and cultures were obtained from bronchoscopes and the environment. Bronchoscope cleaning and maintenance practices were reviewed. Microbiologic results from BAL specimens and medical records were reviewed to find additional cases.Results.All 4 case patients had undergone bronchoscopy with one of 2 bronchoscopes, both of which had loose biopsy ports. Bronchoscope cultures grewP. putida, Pseudomonas aeruginosa,andStenotrophomonas.TheP. putidastrains from the bronchoscopes matched those from the patients. Specimens from 12 additional patients who underwent bronchoscopy with these bronchoscopes grewP. putida, P. aeruginosa,orStenotrophomonas.No patients developed clinical signs or symptoms of infection, but 7 were treated with antibiotics. Investigation revealed that the implicated bronchoscopes had been sent to an external vendor for repair; examination by the manufacturer revealed irregularities in repairs and nonstandard part replacements.Conclusions.Third-party vendors without access to proprietary information may contribute to mechanical malfunction of medical devices, which can lead to contamination and incomplete disinfection.Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol2012;33(3):224-229


2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 17-19
Author(s):  
Rahima Akter ◽  
Shikha Paul ◽  
Akhtarun Naher ◽  
Moshiur Rahman ◽  
Sharmin Sultana ◽  
...  

Nasal carriage of MRSA among hospital stuff act as a source of endogenous infection and becomes a source for hospital and community acquired infection. The study was conducted to determine the rate antibiotic resistance pattern of nasal carriage of MRSA among the hospital stuff of Sir Salimullah Medical College and Mitford Hospital, Dhaka. Pre moistened nasal swabs from hospital stuff (doctor, nurses, lab technicians and other helping stuff were obtained. These swabs were inoculated into Blood agar and Mannitol salt agar media. Antibiogram was done by modified Kirby Bauer disc diffusion method. MRSA were detected by oxacillin and cefoxitin disc diffusion method. The resistance was confirmed by MIC of oxacillin agar dilution method. Out of 142 samples 34 strains of Staphylococcus were isolated among them 07 (4.93%) were MRSA and 27 (19.01%) were MSSA. The carriage rate of MRSA was higher among nurse than other healthcare provider. Nasal carriage of MRSA is responsible for spreading infection from healthcare personnel to normal individual. So, regular screening of carrier is required from prevention of hospital acquired infection. Bangladesh J Med Microbiol 2017; 11 (2): 17-19


Author(s):  
Nirzarini Vora ◽  
Nandita Maitra ◽  
Priyam Pandya

OBJECTIVE: The Maternal Foetal Triage Index (MFTI), a five-tier scale designed by Ruhl et al (2015) has been evaluated in this study for women attending the triage area of a tertiary hospital, to examine the effect on third delay and maternal and neonatal outcomes. DESIGN: Prospective observational study SETTING: The Labour and Delivery Unit of a tertiary care hospital SAMPLE: A convenience sample of 1000 women METHODS: Assessment included maternal history, baseline vital signs and obstetric examination and categorised the woman as per the MFTI scale. Evaluation of the MFTI score was assessed based on predefined maternal and neonatal outcomes within 24h of attendance. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Flow of patients to triage, presenting complaints, Duration of hospital stay, maternal and neonatal outcomes within 24h of admission. RESULTS: A priority wise distribution of subjects based on their clinical diagnosis was found to be statistically significant for anaemia, previous caesarean, postpartum haemorrhage, miscarriage and hypertensive disorders. Sixty seven percent of the subjects belonged to Priority 3-4 and the mean hospital stay duration varied from 8.26±7.68 days for Priority 1 to 3.82±2.74 days for Priority 4 ((p<0.0001). The average time spent in the triage room was 30±17minutes. A priority wise analysis of maternal and neonatal outcomes based on OBICU and NICU admissions, mortality and stillbirths was found to be significant. CONCLUSION: The MFTI scale significantly reduced the third delay, which is crucial in a high-volume, low resource setting. This also simplified handover, improved documentation and decreased time to secondary healthcare provider assessment. KEYWORDS:obstetrictriage,acuity,thirddelay,maternalmortality


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