Background: Mobile phones provide health care workers' (HCWs) with fast communication and quick access to medical information. Their frequent use in the hospital environment may pose a risk of spreading nosocomial infections. In this study, we aimed to determine the bacterial contamination of HCWs' mobile phones. Materials/Methods: Samples were collected from mobiles of HCWs' atKing Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh. A swab takenfrom the mobile phone and a questionnaire was answered by each subject. The swabs were sent to the lab for culture, carrying a serial number to indicate the questionnaire. Results: Of the 400 mobile phone samples, 171 (43%) showed bacterial growth. Different variables were examined. The number of male HCWs sampled was 167, 90 of them (54%) showed positive growth, while only 81(35%) of the 233 samples taken from female participants showed positive growth (p-value= <0.005). In addition, samples taken from phones that are frequently cleaned (226 samples) showed 10% less growth than mobile phones that are not frequently cleaned (p-value= 0.049). The most commonly isolated organism was Coagulase negative Staphylococci, which were isolated from 121(30%) phones of the mobile phones sampled. Discussion: More than one third of the HCWs' mobile phones were contaminated with bacteria. Our results showed that the degree of bacterial contamination in KAMC-Riyadh is less than studies done in other countries. The most common isolated organism in many of the reviewed studies was methicillin sensitive S.aureus, while in our study it was coagulase negative Staphylococci. Conclusion:More than one third of the HCWs mobile phones were contaminated by bacteria. The results support the claim that HCWs' mobile phones may serve as vectors for transmission of nosocomial infections, and that cleaning mobile phones may reduce this risk.

Introduction Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is a relatively new endoscopic procedure combined with fluoroscopy that is performed for multiple diagnostic and therapeutic indications. It carries a known risk of radiation exposure to patients and staff. We aimed to examine radiation administration techniques and to measure the radiation dose delivered by these techniques. Methods This was a retrospective analysis of 437 ERCP procedures performed at a tertiary care hospital between April 2015 and April 2017. Results A total of 437 ERCP procedural charts were reviewed: fluoroscopy administration was endoscopist controlled (EC, n = 187, 42.79%) or technician controlled (TC, n = 250, 57.21%). The mean (and SD) fluoroscopy time (FT) was 2.107 ± 2.0 minutes. The mean (and SD) dose–area product (DAP) was 15,227.371 ± 16,784.738 Gy·cm2. The degree of ERCP difficulty was evaluated as recommended by the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, and graded 1–4. Level I TC procedures had a mean FT and DAP of 1.600 minutes and 12,644.72 Gy·cm2, respectively. The FT and DAP values for level I EC procedures were 1.514 minutes and 12,966.71 Gy·cm2, respectively, as compared with level IV TC procedures (mean FT, 2.539 minutes; mean DAP, 19,469.94 Gy·cm2) and level IV EC procedures (mean FT, 4.890 minutes; mean DAP, 37,921.00 Gy·cm2). Conclusion DAP and FT are increased significantly in EC ERCP in American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy 4 procedures. Comparison of the different degrees of difficulty indicated that there is a linear correlation between the degree of difficulty and both FT and DAP.

Background Acute pancreatitis (AP) is an acute condition associated with significant morbidity and mortality. There has been a &gt;75% increase in incidence since 1990 associated with annual Canadian healthcare costs greater than $200 million. Despite established guidelines for clinical management and quality indicators at the individual patient level, system-based performance measures are novel. Thus, hospital-based quality measures have recently been released by the American Gastroenterology Association (AGA) and are yet to be evaluated in a clinical setting. Aims To assess rates of compliance to the AGA quality and performance measures in the care of acute pancreatitis. Methods Retrospective chart review identified adult patients admitted with AP from June 2019 to May 2020 at Kingston Health Sciences Centre to review clinical profile. Data was collected, assessed, and stratified based on compliance with AGA performance measures of (1) cholecystectomy on index presentation of gallstone pancreatitis (GP), (2) initiation of early oral feeding within 24 hours, and (3) inappropriate parenteral nutrition (PN) use. Additional data collected included length of stay (LOS), presence of complications, and etiology of AP to assess for trends in associations. Descriptive and bivariate analysis was conducted. Results There were 130 admissions of AP during the study period, of which the most common aetiologies were GP (52.3%) and alcohol (16.9%). Unknown/idiopathic AP had an incidence rate of 22.3%. The most likely etiology of having a prior presentation of AP was unknown/idiopathic AP (34.5%), closely followed by alcoholic AP (32%). The incidence of complications was 13.1% and median LOS was 4 days. 63% of eligible GP patients underwent cholecystectomy on index admission, whereas 20% proceeded with cholecystectomy at a later date. 88% of admissions had a diet ordered within 24 hours of admission. The median LOS was 4 days in the early feeding group, in contrast to 7.5 days in admissions which did not have diet ordered within 24 hours. A total of 3 patients received parenteral nutrition, however only one of these patients was eligible for enteral feeding. Conclusions This study demonstrates that increasing cholecystectomy rates during index admission is an area to improve upon. Early diet orders were associated with a shorter hospital LOS; however additional evidence of direct correlation is required. Further studies are warranted to identify system level factors affecting quality of care as well as the development of targeted interventions in AP. Funding Agencies None