a b s t r a c tHigh ventilation rate is shown to be effective for reducing cross-infection risk of airborne diseases in hospitals and isolation rooms. Natural ventilation can deliver much higher ventilation rate than mechanical ventilation in an energy-efficient manner. This paper reports a field measurement of naturally ventilated hospital wards in Hong Kong and presents a possibility of using natural ventilation for infection control in hospital wards. Our measurements showed that natural ventilation could achieve high ventilation rates especially when both the windows and the doors were open in a ward. The highest ventilation rate recorded in our study was 69.0 ACH. The airflow pattern and the airflow direction were found to be unstable in some measurements with large openings. Mechanical fans were installed in a ward window to create a negative pressure difference. Measurements showed that the negative pressure difference was negligible with large openings but the overall airflow was controlled in the expected direction. When all the openings were closed and the exhaust fans were turned on, a reasonable negative pressure was created although the air temperature was uncontrolled.The high ventilation rate provided by natural ventilation can reduce cross-infection of airborne diseases, and thus it is recommended for consideration of use in appropriate hospital wards for infection control. Our results also demonstrated a possibility of converting an existing ward using natural ventilation to a temporary isolation room through installing mechanical exhaust fans.

This document is an executive summary of the APSIC Guide for Prevention of Central Line Associated Bloodstream Infections (CLABSI). It describes key evidence-based care components of the Central Line Insertion and Maintenance Bundles and its implementation using the quality improvement methodology, namely the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) methodology involving multidisciplinary process and stakeholders. Monitoring of improvement over time with timely feedback to stakeholders is a key component to ensure the success of implementing best practices. A surveillance program is recommended to monitor outcomes and adherence to evidence-based central line insertion and maintenance practices (compliance rate) and identify quality improvement opportunities and strategically targeting interventions for the reduction of CLABSI.

In current practice of colorectal surgery, operative factors are more important than patient factors for SSI. Good surgical technique to reduce anastomotic leakage and reduce blood transfusion has paramount importance in SSI prevention. Laparoscopic surgery was associated with reduction of rate of SSI by more than 50% when compared with open surgery and would have a strong impact on the prevention of surgical infection.

BackgroundThe Asia Pacific Society of Infection Control launched its revised Guidelines for Disinfection and Sterilization of Instruments in Health Care Facilities in February 2017. This document describes the guidelines and recommendations for the reprocessing of instruments in healthcare setting. It aims to highlight practical recommendations in a concise format designed to assist healthcare facilities at Asia Pacific region in achieving high standards in sterilization and disinfection.MethodThe guidelines were revised by an appointed workgroup comprising experts in the Asia Pacific region, following reviews of previously published guidelines and recommendations relevant to each section.ResultsIt recommends the centralization of reprocessing, training of all staff with annual competency assessment, verification of cleaning, continual monitoring of reprocessing procedures to ensure their quality and a corporate strategy for dealing with single-use and single-patient use medical equipment/devices. Detailed recommendations are also given with respect to reprocessing of endoscopes. Close working with the Infection Prevention & Control department is also recommended where decisions related to reprocessing medical equipment/devices are to be made.ConclusionsSterilization facilities should aim for excellence in practices as this is part of patient safety. The guidelines that come with a checklist help service providers identify gaps for improvement to reach this goal.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s13756-018-0308-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Reporting of confirmed pandemic influenza A virus (pH1N1) 2009 infection was mandatory among health care workers in Hong Kong. Among 1158 confirmed infections, there was no significant difference in incidence among clinical versus nonclinical staff (relative risk, 0.98; 95% confidence interval, 0.78-1.20). Reported community exposure to pH1N1 was common and was similar in both groups.