Head and neck cancers (HNCs) are some of the commonest cases requiring palliative radiotherapy (PRT) in an Indian radiotherapy practice. A variety of PRT protocols have been explored with varying success.

The study objective was to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of a short-course hypofractionated PRT schedule in HNC patients in terms of symptom relief, tumour response, acute side effects and survival and to compare results with other PRT regimens. All patients received 30 Gy in 10 fractions over 2 weeks followed by another 20 Gy in 5 fractions after a 4 weeks gap.

Seventy-five percent of patients completed both phases of treatment. Symptom relief was seen in 71% (pain) to 76% (dysphagia) of patients. Tumour response was recorded in 73% of patients. At 12 months, the mean overall survival was 10·29 months for patients who responded to PRT compared to 7·87 months for those who did not. Results were comparable to other regimens reported in the literature, but no radiobiological advantage of a higher dose was discernible.

Short-course hypofractionated PRT is effective in reducing tumour burden and relieving symptoms in HNC patients and possibly in lengthening survival. Selection of any schedule should be decided by treating oncologists based on clinical, logistic and socio-economic factors.

The COVID-19 pandemic may disproportionately affect the mental health of healthcare professionals (HCPs), especially patient-facing HCPs.

To longitudinally examine mental health in HCPs versus non-HCPs, and patient-facing HCPs versus non-patient-facing HCPs.

Online surveys were distributed to a cohort at three phases (baseline, July to September 2020; phase 2, 6 weeks post-baseline; phase 3, 4 months post-baseline). Each survey contained validated assessments for depression, anxiety, insomnia, burnout and well-being. For each outcome, we conducted mixed-effects logistic regression models (adjusted for a priori confounders) comparing the risk in different groups at each phase.

A total of 1574 HCPs and 147 non-HCPs completed the baseline survey. Although there were generally higher rates of various probable mental health issues among HCPs versus non-HCPs at each phase, there was no significant difference, except that HCPs had 2.5-fold increased risk of burnout at phase 2 (emotional exhaustion: odds ratio 2.50, 95% CI 1.15–5.46, P = 0.021), which increased at phase 3 (emotional exhaustion: odds ratio 3.32, 95% CI 1.40–7.87, P = 0.006; depersonalisation: odds ratio 3.29, 95% CI 1.12–9.71, P = 0.031). At baseline, patient-facing HCPs (versus non-patient-facing HCPs) had a five-fold increased risk of depersonalisation (odds ratio 5.02, 95% CI 1.65–15.26, P = 0.004), with no significant difference in the risk for other outcomes. The difference in depersonalisation reduced over time, but patient-facing HCPs still had a 2.7-fold increased risk of emotional exhaustion (odds ratio 2.74, 95% CI 1.28–5.85, P = 0.009) by phase 3.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a huge impact on the mental health and well-being of both HCPs and non-HCPs, but there is disproportionately higher burnout among HCPs, particularly patient-facing HCPs.

To evaluate the prevalence of hospital-onset bacteremia and fungemia (HOB), identify hospital-level predictors, and to evaluate the feasibility of an HOB metric.

We analyzed 9,202,650 admissions from 267 hospitals during 2015–2020. An HOB event was defined as the first positive blood-culture pathogen on day 3 of admission or later. We used the generalized linear model method via negative binomial regression to identify variables and risk markers for HOB. Standardized infection ratios (SIRs) were calculated based on 2 risk-adjusted models: a simple model using descriptive variables and a complex model using descriptive variables plus additional measures of blood-culture testing practices. Performance of each model was compared against the unadjusted rate of HOB.

Overall median rate of HOB per 100 admissions was 0.124 (interquartile range, 0.00–0.22). Facility-level predictors included bed size, sex, ICU admissions, community-onset (CO) blood culture testing intensity, and hospital-onset (HO) testing intensity, and prevalence (all P < .001). In the complex model, CO bacteremia prevalence, HO testing intensity, and HO testing prevalence were the predictors most associated with HOB. The complex model demonstrated better model performance; 55% of hospitals that ranked in the highest quartile based on their raw rate shifted to a lower quartile when the SIR from the complex model was applied.

Hospital descriptors, aggregate patient characteristics, community bacteremia and/or fungemia burden, and clinical blood-culture testing practices influence rates of HOB. Benchmarking an HOB metric is feasible and should endeavor to include both facility and clinical variables.

To examine the relationship between self-reported level of workplace support (WS) and various mental health outcomes in HCPs and non-HCPs at different time-points during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to examine whether improved WS is associated with improved mental health outcomes over time. Lastly, to identify what support healthcare professionals (HCPs) perceive to be most helpful.

Cohort survey study at baseline (July-September 2020) and follow-up (approximately four months later).

Setting

HCPs working in primary or secondary care, from UK and other countries, and non-HCP controls from primarily London-based universities.

Participants

1574 HCPs and 147 non-HCPs (academic and research staff at London-based universities). The inclusion criteria for the study were: 1) aged 18 or older, 2) electronic consent given, and 3) identified as HCP or non-healthcare academic staff or self-declared non-HCPs.

Main outcome measures

Presence of generalized anxiety disorder (assessed using the GAD-7), clinical insomnia (ISI), major depressive disorder (PHQ-9), well-being (SWEMWBS), and burnout (emotional exhaustion and depersonalization; EEDP2Q). Qualitative data exploring what support HCPs perceive as most useful was gathered using free-text inputs.

At baseline and follow-up, consistently, compared to those who felt unsupported, those who felt supported had significantly reduced risk (odds) of generalized anxiety disorder (baseline: 59% [95% CI of OR, 0.29 to 0.57], follow-up: 41% [0.38 to 0.92]), clinical insomnia (51% [0.34 to 0.69], 66% [0.20 to 0.55]), major depressive disorder (58% [0.31 to 0.58], 54% [0.31 to 0.74]), emotional exhaustion (65% [0.26 to 0.46], 61% [0.27 to 0.56]) and depersonalization (58% [0.28 to 0.61], 68% [0.21 to 0.50]).

At follow-up, self-reported improved WS (vs. baseline) was associated with significantly improved GAD-7 (adjusted difference. −1.73 [-2.54 to −0.91]), ISI (-0.96 [-1.88 to −0.04]), PHQ−9 (-1.32 [-2.16 to −0.49]), SWEMWBS (0.97 [0.37 to 1.57]) and EEDP2Q (burnout) (-1.30 [-1.82 to −0.79]) scores, independent of baseline level of support.

Five themes were identified constituting WS: ‘managerial support’ was the largest sub-theme.

A consistent association was observed between level of WS and the mental health of HCPs and non-HCPs. Improved WS was associated with improved mental health scores over a four-month period during the pandemic.

To develop a regional antibiogram within the Chicagoland metropolitan area and to compare regional susceptibilities against individual hospitals within the area and national surveillance data.

Multicenter retrospective analysis of antimicrobial susceptibility data from 2017 and comparison to local institutions and national surveillance data.

The analysis included 51 hospitals from the Chicago–Naperville–Elgin Metropolitan Statistical Area within the state of Illinois. Overall, 18 individual collaborator hospitals provided antibiograms for analysis, and data from 33 hospitals were provided in aggregate by the Becton Dickinson Insights Research Database.

All available antibiogram data from calendar year 2017 were combined to generate the regional antibiogram. The final Chicagoland antibiogram was then compared internally to collaborators and externally to national surveillance data to assess its applicability and utility.

In total, 167,394 gram-positive, gram-negative, fungal, and mycobacterial isolates were collated to create a composite regional antibiogram. The regional data represented the local institutions well, with 96% of the collaborating institutions falling within ±2 standard deviations of the regional mean. The regional antibiogram was able to include 4–5-fold more gram-positive and -negative species with ≥30 isolates than the median reported by local institutions. Against national surveillance data, 18.6% of assessed pathogen–antibiotic combinations crossed prespecified clinical thresholds for disparity in susceptibility rates, with notable trends for resistant gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria.

Developing an accurate, reliable regional antibiogram is feasible, even in one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United States. The biogram is useful in assessing susceptibilities to less commonly encountered organisms and providing clinicians a more accurate representation of local antimicrobial resistance rates compared to national surveillance databases.

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is a disaster of unprecedented proportions with global repercussions. Psychological preparedness, the primed cognitive awareness and anticipation of dealing with emotional responses in an adverse situation, has assumed a compelling relevance during a health disaster of this magnitude.

An anonymized eSurvey was conducted in India to assess psychological preparedness toward the ongoing pandemic with a focus on knowledge, management of own and others’ emotional response, and anticipatory coping mechanisms among the survey population. An adapted version of the qualitative Psychological Preparedness for Natural Disaster Scale validated by the World Health Organization was widely circulated over the Internet and various social media platforms for assessment. Results are expressed as median ± standard deviation. Descriptive statistics were used and figures downloaded from surveymonkey.com.

Of the 1120 respondents (M:F 1.7:1, age 35 years ±14.1), most expressed a high level of perceived knowledge and confidence of managing COVID-19, such as awareness of the symptoms of the illness (95.1%), actions needed (94.4%), hospital to report to (88.9%), and emergency contact number (89.1%). A majority (95%) monitored regularly the news bulletins and scientific journals regarding COVID-19. However, nearly one-third (29.2%) could not assess their likelihood of developing COVID-19, and 17.5% were unaware of the difference between a mild and severe infection. Twenty-three percent (23.3%) were unfamiliar with the materials needed in an acute illness situation.

Psychological disaster preparedness is reasonable, although lacking in specific domains. Timely but focused interventions can be a cost-efficient administrative exercise, which federal agencies may prioritize working on.

Antibiotics are widely used by all specialties in the hospital setting. We evaluated previously defined high-risk antibiotic use in relation to Clostridioides difficile infections (CDIs).

We analyzed 2016–2017 data from 171 hospitals. High-risk antibiotics included second-, third-, and fourth-generation cephalosporins, fluoroquinolones, carbapenems, and lincosamides. A CDI case was a positive stool C. difficile toxin or molecular assay result from a patient without a positive result in the previous 8 weeks. Hospital-associated (HA) CDI cases included specimens collected >3 calendar days after admission or ≤3 calendar days from a patient with a prior same-hospital discharge within 28 days. We used the multivariable Poisson regression model to estimate the relative risk (RR) of high-risk antibiotic use on HA CDI, controlling for confounders.

The median days of therapy for high-risk antibiotic use was 241.2 (interquartile range [IQR], 192.6–295.2) per 1,000 days present; the overall HA CDI rate was 33 (IQR, 24–43) per 10,000 admissions. The overall correlation of high-risk antibiotic use and HA CDI was 0.22 (P = .003), and higher correlation was observed in teaching hospitals (0.38; P = .002). For every 100-day (per 1,000 days present) increase in high-risk antibiotic therapy, there was a 12% increase in HA CDI (RR, 1.12; 95% CI, 1.04–1.21; P = .002) after adjusting for confounders.

High-risk antibiotic use is an independent predictor of HA CDI. This assessment of poststewardship implementation in the United States highlights the importance of tracking trends of antimicrobial use over time as it relates to CDI.

Infections involving skin, soft tissue, bone, or joint (SSTBJ) are common and often require hospitalization. There are currently few published studies on the epidemiology and clinical and economic outcomes of these infections, whether acquired in the community or healthcare setting, in a large population.

To characterize outcomes of culture-proven SSTBJ infection in hospitalized patients, using information from a large database.

We identified patients hospitalized in 134 institutions during 2002-2003 for whom specific International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification diagnosis codes and a culture-positive SSTBJ specimen were recorded. Patients were classified into 4 clinical groups based on the type and clinical severity of infection. Patients in each group were further classified on the basis of whether their infection was community acquired or healthcare associated and whether it was complicated or uncomplicated.

We identified 12,506 patients with culture-positive infections and categorized them as having cellulitis (37.3%), osteomyelitis or septic arthritis (22.4%), surgical wound infection (26.1%), device-associated or prosthesis infection (7.2%), or other SSTBJ infection (6.9%). Monomicrobial infection was reported for 59% of patients, 54.6% of whom had Staphylococcus aureus as the etiologic agent. Of all S. aureus isolates recovered, 1,121 (28.0%) of 4,007 were resistant to methicillin. Healthcare-associated infections accounted for 27.2% of cases and were associated with a significantly greater mortality rate, a longer length of stay, and greater hospital charges, compared with community-acquired infections. Patients with a complicated infection (78.4%) had a significantly greater mortality rate, a longer length of stay, and greater hospital charges, compared with patients with an uncomplicated infection.

SSTBJ infections are frequent among hospitalized patients. S. aureus caused infection in more than 50% of the patients studied, and 28.0% of the S. aureus isolates recovered were resistant to methicillin. Healthcare-associated and complicated infections are associated with a significantly higher mortality rate and more prolonged and expensive hospitalizations. These findings could assist in projects to revise current management strategies in order to optimize outcomes while restraining costs.