Background: The most common means of transmission of Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs) is the contaminated hand of Healthcare Workers (HCWs), proper handwashing by HCWs is the best method of halting this transmission, however, there is poor adherence to the practice of the simple handwashing procedure in many health facilities. Aims: To assess the knowledge and practice of proper handwashing, to identify the factors impeding adherence to its good practice among HCWs and to identify the handwashing and hand drying facilities available to these HCWs. Study Design: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out at Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido-Ekiti (FETHI), Southwestern Nigeria between July 2020 and December 2020. Methods: The study involved 328 randomly selected HCWs. Data was collected using pretested self administered questionnaires, entered into Microsoft Excel 2016 and analyzed by SPSS version 23. Results: Only 31.10% of respondents had good knowledge of handwashing while 80.18% had good practice of handwashing. Longer stay in service and being a doctor or nurse were associated with good knowledge and good practice of handwashing. Only 16.46% of respondents had previous training on handwashing within 3 years prior to this study. Previous training on handwashing was associated with good knowledge of handwashing (P=.001). Up to 68.60% of respondents used stored water and soap for handwashing. The most common hand drying facility reported in the study was common towel, no respondent ever used paper towel. The most common reason given for poor adherence to handwashing practices was the busy schedule. Conclusion: Hospital managers must prioritize the regular provision of handwashing and hand drying facilities for their centre, in addition to organizing regular hand hygiene training for HCWs, to improve their knowledge and practice of handwashing and thus reduce the rate of HAIs

Background: This study looked at the effect of patient demographics, insurance status, education, and patient opinion on whether various orthotic footwear prescribed for a variety of diagnoses were received by the patient. The study also assessed the effect of the orthoses on relief of symptoms. Methods: Chart review documented patient demographics, diagnoses, and medical comorbidities. Eligible patients completed a survey either while in the clinic or by phone after their clinic visit. Results: Of the 382 patients prescribed orthoses, 235 (61.5%) received their orthoses; 186 (48.7%) filled out the survey. Race and whether or not the patient received the orthosis were found to be significant predictors of survey completion. Race, type of insurance, and amount of orthotic cost covered by insurance were significant predictors of whether or not patients received their prescribed orthoses. Type of orthosis, diabetes as a comorbidity, education, income, sex, and diagnosis were not significant predictors of whether the patient received the orthosis. Qualitative results from the survey revealed that among those receiving their orthoses, 87% experienced improvement in symptoms: 21% felt completely relieved, 66% felt better, 10% felt no different, and 3% felt worse. Conclusions: We found that white patients had almost 3 times the odds of receiving prescribed orthoses as black patients, even after controlling for type of insurance, suggesting race to be the primary driver of discrepancies, raising the question of what can be done to address these inequalities. While large, systematic change will be necessary, some strategies can be employed by those working directly in patient care, such as informing primary care practices of their ability to see patients with limited insurance, limiting blanket refusal policies for government insurance, and educating office staff on how to efficiently work with Medicare and Medicaid. Level of Evidence: Level III, comparative study.

The rate of prescription of cephalosporins especially the second and third generation and the spread of resistance among members of Enterobacteriaceae has become a reason for concern. This study was designed to determine the rate of prescription and resistance to the 2nd and 3rd-generation cephalosporins to Enterobacteriaceae in the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado Ekiti. A retrospective study of prescription forms and laboratory reports were used in collecting the data. A total of 9,234 prescriptions issue within May 2017 to May 2018 were collected. Five thousand five hundred and twenty one (59.8%) prescriptions sheets contain at least one antibiotic. Three thousand seven hundred and thirteen prescriptions 3,713 (40.2%) did not contain any antibiotics. It was observed that Cephalosporins were the most commonly prescribed, while tetracycline was the least with 1584(28.7%) and 1076(19.5%) respectively. Cefuroxime had the highest rate of prescription with 898(57.9%) while cefpodoxime was the least prescribed with 33(2.1%). Out of the 201 diagnosed infections in patients who used cephalosporins, 83 (41.3%) were caused by members of Enterobacteriaceae. E.coli was the most common cause of infections of all the members of Enterobacteriacea with 32.5%. Of all the members of Enterobacteriaceae, 64.2% were resistant to cephalosporin. E.coli had the highest resistance to cephalosporins while Salmonella sp had the lowest resistance with 34(22.5%) and 13(8.6%) respectively. The data obtained from this study showed that there is a significant difference between the rate of prescription of cephalosporins and other antibiotics. Also there was an excessive prescription of the second and third generation cephalosporins. In conclusion the rate of prescription of cephalosporin should be properly checked and laboratory investigations should be properly conducted before administration.