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Fulltext Narrative Review of Infection Control Knowledge and Attitude among Healthcare Workers

AlJohani A, Karuppiah K, Al Mutairi A, Al Mutair A

J Epidemiol Glob Health, 2021 03;11(1):20-25.
PMID: 33605115 DOI: 10.2991/jegh.k.201101.001

BACKGROUND: Infection is one of the major threats to Healthcare Workers (HCW) worldwide. It exposes HCW to more than 20 kinds of blood-borne pathogen infections, especially the most severe cases, namely Hepatitis B Virus (HBV), Hepatitis C Virus (HCV), and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). The impact of infection about HCWs' health, clinical burden, national economic burden, and humanistic burden suggests the importance of further investigation and discussion on this topic.
AIMS: This paper aimed to discuss literature on infection control knowledge and attitudes among HCWs and potential factors contributing to infection control.
METHOD: For this narrative review Proquest, Medline, and Up To Date have been utilized to search articles about infection control knowledge and attitudes among healthcare workers and potential factors contributing to infection control. The search was narrowed to article between 2000 and 2018. A total of 400 materials were initially identified to be potentially relevant for the review. A total of 28 articles were included, and they were found to match the inclusion criteria.
RESULTS: Results from the reviewed studies showed that there was a high-level knowledge in terms of precautionary measures and compliance with needle safety precautions while staff attitude achieved above average. Weak positive correlation was found between staff attitude and precautionary measures, while moderate positive correlation was found between precautionary measures and compliance with needle safety precautions. Only precautionary measures were found to significantly influence compliance with needle safety precautions, in which higher precautionary measures, resulted in higher compliance with needle safety precautions.
Commentary: Worldwide Knowledge and Attitude of Spine Surgeons Regarding Radiation Exposure

Falavigna A, Ramos MB, Wong CC, Barbagallo G, Brodke D, Al-Mutair A, et al.

Neurosurgery, 2018 10 01;83(4):E153-E161.
PMID: 29878162 DOI: 10.1093/neuros/nyy243
Fulltext Worldwide Steroid Prescription for Acute Spinal Cord Injury

Falavigna A, Quadros FW, Teles AR, Wong CC, Barbagallo G, Brodke D, et al.

Global Spine J, 2018 May;8(3):303-310.
PMID: 29796379 DOI: 10.1177/2192568217735804

Study Design: Cross-sectional study.
Objectives: To continue the line of a previous publication using steroid for acute spinal cord injury (SCI) by spine surgeons from Latin America (LA) and assess the current status of methylprednisolone (MP) prescription in Europe (EU), Asia Pacific (AP), North America (NA), and Middle East (ME) to determine targets for educational activities suitable for each region.
Methods: The English version of a previously published questionnaire was used to evaluate opinions about MP administration in acute SCI in LA, EU, AP, NA, and ME. This Internet-based survey was conducted by members of AOSpine. The questionnaire asked about demographic features, background with management of spine trauma patients, routine administration of MP in acute SCI, and reasons for MP administration.
Results: A total of 2659 responses were obtained for the electronic questionnaire from LA, EU, AP, NA, and ME. The number of spine surgeons that treat SCI was 2206 (83%). The steroid was used by 1198 (52.9%) surgeons. The uses of MP were based predominantly on the National Acute Spinal Cord Injury Study III study (n = 595, 50%). The answers were most frequently given by spine surgeons from AP, ME, and LA. These regions presented a statistically significant difference from North America (P < .001). The number of SCI patients treated per year inversely influenced the use of MP. The higher the number of patients treated, the lower the administration rates of MP observed.
Conclusions: The study identified potential targets for educational campaigns, aiming to reduce inappropriate practices of MP administration.
Current Status of Worldwide Use of Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) in Spine Care

Falavigna A, Dozza DC, Teles AR, Wong CC, Barbagallo G, Brodke D, et al.

World Neurosurg, 2017 Dec;108:328-335.
PMID: 28893693 DOI: 10.1016/j.wneu.2017.09.002

OBJECTIVES: Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are the most widely accepted means of measuring outcomes after spine procedures. We sought to determine the current status of worldwide use of PROMs in Latin America (LA), Europe (EU), Asia Pacific (AP), North America (NA), and Middle East (ME) to determine the barrier to its full implementation.
METHODS: A questionnaire survey was sent by e-mail to members of AOSpine to evaluate their familiarity and use of PROMs instruments and to assess the barriers to their use in spine care practice in LA, EU, AP, NA, and ME.
RESULTS: A total of 1634 AOSpine members from LA, EU, AP, NA, and ME answered the electronic questionnaire. The percentage of spine surgeons who were familiar with the generic health-related quality of life questionnaire was 71.7%. In addition, 31.9% of respondents did not use any PROMs routinely. The main barriers to implementing PROMs were lack of time to administer the questionnaires (57%) followed by lack of staff to assist in data collection (55%), and the long time to fill out the questionnaires (46%). The routine use of questionnaires was more frequent in NA and EU and less common in LA and ME (P < 0.001).
CONCLUSIONS: We found that 31.9% of spine surgeons do not use the PROMs questionnaire routinely. This appears to occur because of lack of knowledge regarding their importance, absence of reimbursement for this extra work, minimal financial support for clinical research, the cost of implementation, and lack of concern among physicians.
Spine Surgeons Burnout and Quality of Life: Results of a Worldwide Survey

Abduljabbar FH, Teles AR, Ouellet JA, Ferland CE, Wong CC, Barbagallo G, et al.

Spine (Phila Pa 1976), 2021 Oct 15;46(20):1418-1927.
PMID: 34559753 DOI: 10.1097/BRS.0000000000004038

STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey study.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevalence of burnout, assess the personal and professional characteristics associated with burnout in spine surgeons and determine their quality of life.
SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Burnout is a syndrome characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and decreased sense of accomplishment that leads to decreased effectiveness at work. To date, there has been a lack of information on the prevalence of burnout among spine surgeons worldwide and the risk factors associated with this condition.
METHODS: An electronic survey with members of AO Spine was performed in May 2018. The survey evaluated demographic variables, practice characteristics, burnout, and quality of life. Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and EuroQol 5-dimensions (EQ5D) were used to evaluate burnout and quality of life, respectively.
RESULTS: A total of 818 surgeons from 86 countries completed the survey. The prevalence of burnout was 30.6%. In the multiple linear model, emotional fatigue was independently associated with younger age (B = -0.17, CI95% = -0.26 to -0.07, P
Fulltext Estimated cost of treating hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Saudi Arabia

Al Mutair A, Layqah L, Alhassan B, Alkhalifah S, Almossabeh M, AlSaleh T, et al.

Sci Rep, 2022 Dec 12;12(1):21487.
PMID: 36509906 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-26042-z

The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on global health systems is a major concern. To plan and allocate resources to treat COVID-19 patients and provide insights into the financial sustainability of healthcare systems in fighting the future pandemic, measuring the costs to treat COVID-19 patients is deemed necessary. As such, we conducted a retrospective, real-world observational study to measure the direct medical cost of treating COVID-19 patients at a tertiary care hospital in Saudi Arabia. The analysis was conducted using primary data and a mixed methodology of micro and macro-costing. Between July 2020 and July 2021, 287 patients with confirmed COVID-19 were admitted and their data were analyzed. COVID-19 infection was confirmed by RT-PCR or serologic tests in all the included patients. There were 60 cases of mild to moderate disease, 148 cases of severe disease, and 79 critically ill patients. The cost per case for mild to moderate disease, severe disease, and critically ill was 2003 USD, 14,545 USD, and 20,188 USD, respectively. There was a statistically significant difference in the cost between patients with comorbidities and patients without comorbidities (P-value 0.008). Across patients with and without comorbidities, there was a significant difference in the cost of the bed, laboratory work, treatment medications, and non-pharmaceutical equipment. The cost of treating COVID-19 patients is considered a burden for many countries. More studies from different private and governmental hospitals are needed to compare different study findings for better preparation for the current COVID-19 as well as future pandemics.
Airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is the dominant route of transmission: droplets and aerosols

Rabaan AA, Al-Ahmed SH, Al-Malkey M, Alsubki R, Ezzikouri S, Al-Hababi FH, et al.

Infez Med, 2021 03 01;29(1):10-19.
PMID: 33664169

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has become a pandemic worldwide. On a daily basis the number of deaths associated with COVID-19 is rapidly increasing. The main transmission route of SARS-CoV-2 is through the air (airborne transmission). This review details the airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the aerodynamics, and different modes of transmission (e.g. droplets, droplet nuclei, and aerosol particles). SARS-CoV-2 can be transmitted by an infected person during activities such as expiration, coughing, sneezing, and talking. During such activities and some medical procedures, aerosols and droplets contaminated with SARS-CoV-2 particles are formed. Depending on their sizes and the environmental conditions, such particles stay viable in the air for varying time periods and can cause infection in a susceptible host. Very few studies have been conducted to establish the mechanism or the aerodynamics of virus-loaded particles and droplets in causing infection. In this review we discuss the various forms in which SARS-CoV-2 virus particles can be transmitted in air and cause infections.