Infection Control Professionals Research Articles

Healthcare-Associated Infection Decisions of Antibiotic-Resistant Organisms: A Data Quality Review

Background: Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) for Alberta Health Services and Covenant Health in the province of Alberta, Canada conducts surveillance for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (VRE) on all individuals admitted to acute-care and acute tertiary-care rehabilitation care facilities. Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the consistency and accuracy of infection decisions for MRSA and VRE. Methods: Surveillance cases of antibiotic-resistant organisms (AROs) collected using the provincial data entry surveillance platform between April 1, 2015, and March 31, 2017, across the province were reabstracted by infection control professionals and physicians using the NHSN infection definitions and compared to the original case severity decisions. Interrater agreement (Cohen’s ) and validity (sensitivity, specificity and predictive values) were calculated to compare the original and reabstracted infection decisions. Results: Collectively, 97% (87 of 90) of the IPC program staff and physicians who were initially invited re-abstracted 264 MRSA cases and 103 VRE cases within the review period. Provincially, 20% of the ARO cases reviewed (74 of 367) differed from the original infection decision. Among these 74 cases, 46 cases (34 MRSA and 12 VRE cases) changed from infection (original decision) to colonization (reabstracted decision) and 28 cases (21 MRSA and 7 VRE cases) changed from colonization to infection. The Cohen values for MRSA and VRE were 0.55 and 0.56, respectively, suggesting a moderate level of agreement for decisions made among IPC program staff. The sensitivity of the infection decision was higher with MRSA (86.5%) than for VRE (74.1%), meaning that there were more MRSA cases than VRE cases classified as infection in the original decision that remained infection following the review. Conclusions: Observed discordances on infection decisions were identified and may be attributed (1) to variations in the interpretation of the NHSN definitions, (2) to additional information that may have been available in the re-abstracted review compared to the original review, or (3) a difference in the information that was accessed to perform the original review compared to the reabstraction. This data-quality review provided an opportunity for IPC staff and physicians to become more familiar with infection definitions and such reviews will continue to be a regular process used to assess data quality within the IPC department.Funding: NoneDisclosures: None

Trends in Hospital Onset Clostridioides difficile Infection Incidence, National Healthcare Safety Network, 2010–2018

Background:Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is one of the most common laboratory-identified (LabID) healthcare-associated events reported to the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN). CDI prevention remains a national priority, and efforts to reduce infection burden and improve antibiotic stewardship continue to expand across the healthcare spectrum. Beginning in 2013, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) required acute-care hospitals participating in CMS’ Inpatient Quality Reporting program to report CDI LabID data to NHSN and, in 2015, extended this reporting requirement to emergency departments (ED) and 24-hour observation units. To assess national progress, we evaluated changes in hospital onset CDI (HO-CDI) incidence during 2010–2018. Methods: Cases of HO-CDI were reported to NHSN by hospitals using the NHSN’s LabID criteria. Generalized linear mixed-effects modeling was used to assess trends of HO-CDI by treating the hospital as a random intercept to account for the correlation of the repeated responses over time. The data were summarized at the quarterly level, the main effect was time, and the covariates of interest were the following: CDI test type, inpatient community-onset (CO) infection rate, hospital type, average length of stay, medical school affiliation, number of beds, number of ICU beds, number of infection control professionals, presence of an ED or observation unit , and an indicator for 2015 to account for CDI protocol changes that required hospitals to conduct surveillance in both inpatient and ED or observation unit setting. Results: During 2010–2013, the number of hospitals reporting CDI increased and then stabilized after 2013 (Table 1). Crude HO-CDI rates decreased over time, except for an increase in 2015 and steeper reduction thereafter. (Table 2). During 2010–2014, the adjusted quarterly rate of change was −0.45% (95% CI, −0.57% to −0.33%; P < .0001). The rate of reduction was smaller in 2010–2014 compared to those of 2015–2018 (−2.82%; 95% CI, −3.10% to −2.54%; P < .0001). Compared to 2014, the adjusted rate in 2015 increased by 79.14% (95% CI, 72.42%–86.11%; P < .0001). Conclusions: The number of hospitals reporting CDI LabID data grew substantially in 2013 as a result of the CMS requirement for reporting. Adjusted HO-CDI rates decreased over time, with a rate hike in the year of 2015 and a rapid decrease thereafter. The increase in 2015 may be explained by changes in the NHSN CDI surveillance protocol and better test type classification in later years. Overall decreases in HO-CDI rates may be influenced by prevention strategies.Funding: NoneDisclosures: None

Impact of national policy on hand hygiene promotion activities in hospitals in Korea

BackgroundAfter the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus outbreak in Korea in 2015, the Government established a strategy for infection prevention to encourage infection control activities in hospitals. The new policy was announced in December 2015 and implemented in September 2016. The aim of this study is to evaluate how infection control activities improved within Korean hospitals after the change in government policy.MethodsThree cross-sectional surveys using the WHO Hand Hygiene Self-Assessment Framework (HHSAF) were conducted in 2013, 2015, and 2017. Using a multivariable linear regression model, we analyzed the change in total HHSAF score according to survey year.ResultsA total of 32 hospitals participated in the survey in 2013, 52 in 2015, and 101 in 2017. The number of inpatient beds per infection control professionals decreased from 324 in 2013 to 303 in 2015 and 179 in 2017. Most hospitals were at intermediate or advanced levels of progress (90.6% in 2013, 86.6% in 2015, and 94.1% in 2017). In the multivariable linear regression model, total HHSAF score was significantly associated with hospital teaching status (β coefficient of major teaching hospital, 52.6; 95% confidence interval [CI], 8.9 to 96.4; P = 0.018), beds size (β coefficient of 100 beds increase, 5.1; 95% CI, 0.3 to 9.8; P = 0.038), and survey time (β coefficient of 2017 survey, 45.1; 95% CI, 19.3 to 70.9; P = 0.001).ConclusionsAfter the new national policy was implemented, the number of infection control professionals increased, and hand hygiene promotion activities were strengthened across Korean hospitals.

Evaluation of hand hygiene practices in pediatric unit in a tertiary care hospital, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh

Hand hygiene is a vital aspect of infection control and as such requires monitoring. The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology Guidelines on Hand Hygiene in Healthcare had been available since 2009 yet the average compliance of such practices among healthcare providers (HCPs) has remained unacceptably low.This study aimed to assess the compliance of hand hygiene practices and strategies for improvement in pediatric unit in a tertiary care hospital, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh.This prospective cross-sectional survey was conducted during November 2016 – Feb 2017. Data was collected during day as well as night duty hours in intensive care unit (ICU) and wards using a self-structured questionnaire. Data obtained was analyzed using descriptive statistics.A total of 114 HCPs participated in this survey of which seventy six percent had good knowledge regarding moments and steps of hand hygiene. Good compliance (> 80%) was seen among faculty and nursing staff during day in ICU and was poor (<40%) among residents and interns, being the lowest during night hours in wards. The major reasons reported for low compliance were non-availability of soap & disinfectants, high workload and lack of clear guidelines. Administrative and educational reforms were suggested to improve the compliance.HCPs at Department of Pediatrics have good knowledge and average compliance to hand hygiene practices. However, there is wide scope for improvement. Infrastructural support can be provided along with clear guidelines and robust training to improve these practices.

Availability of personal protective equipment and infection prevention supplies during the first month of the COVID-19 pandemic: A national study by the APIC COVID-19 task force

BackgroundSARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 disease was first discovered in China in December, 2019. The disease quickly spread globally, with the first US case identified in January, 2020; it was declared a pandemic on March 11, 2020. Soon after, anecdotal reports indicated that many US hospitals and healthcare facilities were running low on personal protective equipment (PPE) and supplies.MethodsAn online survey was administered to all Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology members in March, 2020 to assess access to PPE, hand hygiene products, and disinfection supplies.ResultsIn all, 1,201 infection preventionists participated. Participants reported running a bit low to almost being out of all PPE types. More had sufficient gloves (63.4%) compared to all other PPE types (P < .001 for all). Face shields and N95 respirators were the least available (13.6% and 18.2% had sufficient supplies, respectively; p < .001 for all). Many (66.9%) had sufficient hand soap, but far fewer had sufficient hand sanitizer (29.5%, X2 = 211.1, P < .001). Less than half (45.4%, n = 545) had sufficient disinfection supplies.ConclusionsMany US healthcare facilities had very low amounts of PPE, hand hygiene products, and disinfection supplies early on during the pandemic. A lack of these supplies can lead to occupational exposures and illness as well as healthcare-associated transmission of COVID-19 and other diseases.

COVID-19 and Gastrointestinal Tract Symptoms: Recognition, Containment, and Learning From the Past

COVID-19 and Gastrointestinal Tract Symptoms: Recognition, Containment, and Learning From the Past

Role of Physiotherapy Health Care Professionals in Infection Prevention and Control of COVID -19 – A Pandemic Disease

COVID-19 is a new pandemic disease which was reported initially at the city of Wuhan in the Hubei province ofChina on 31 December 2019. 1Recent events have reported its presence in more than 150 countries and with 132758 confirmed cases and a total of 4955 deaths as on 13th March 2020.2Although the death rate due to the disease is 6% or less, the persons who are affected in a short span of time is at an alarming rate.3 In this context, World Health Organization (WHO) have declared the disease as pandemic on 11th March 2020.

Partnering with Central Sterile Processing Department Experts to Advance Infection Prevention Competency

<h3>Background</h3> The Central Sterile Processing Department (CSPD) manages the cleaning, disinfection, and sterilization of reprocessed devices and instruments. Infection Preventionists (IP) work closely with CSPD to ensure devices and instruments are reprocessed and stored according to the recommendations of manufacturer, regulatory, and expert guidelines. A large healthcare system surveyed their IP and identified opportunities related to the updated Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) Competency Model (2019) domains. Cleaning, Disinfection and Sterilization falls under the Operations domain and was identified as an area in which IP wanted to enhance their expertise. <h3>Methods</h3> IP partnered with CSPD experts throughout the healthcare system to provide an in-depth education workshop to grow IP competency in CSPD. IP within our system are responsible for CSPD in a range of settings, including adult and pediatric acute care, critical access hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, and over 120 physician offices or outpatient care areas. The workshop was divided into 4 sessions that consisted of oral presentations, hands-on learning, and discussion of examples and real-life scenarios. Manufacturer instructions for use (MIFU) were addressed, and a review of standard work and best practices due to sterilization failures were discussed. <h3>Results</h3> 32 attendees from 12 settings participated in the workshop, including Infectious Diseases (ID) physicians, IP, Occupational Health (OH) practitioners, and CSPD technicians. Attendees were asked to evaluate the quality of the educational sessions. 20 attendees completed their evaluations. The 4 sessions each received either an Agree (12) or a Strongly Agree (68) approval rating. The overall quality of the program received an Excellent (16) or a Good (4). <h3>Conclusions</h3> By partnering with CSPD subject matter experts (SME) from their healthcare facilities, IP, ID Physicians and OH Specialists increased their knowledge about the cleaning, disinfection, and sterilization of reusable devices and instruments and enhanced their professional relationships with their CSPD team.

Scope of practice and educational needs of infection prevention and control professionals in Australian residential aged care facilities.

Healthcare-associated infections are serious and significant complications present across healthcare services, including residential aged care facilities. Although ensuring high quality personal and clinical care delivered to older people residing in these facilities is a high national priority, there is a paucity of evidence published about outbreaks, governance and education programs held for healthcare workers within Australian residential aged care facilities. The aim of this study is to examine the scope of practice of Infection Prevention and Control professionals within Australian residential aged care facilities and the types of infection prevention and control education and training delivered. A cross-sectional study was conducted inviting all Australian residential aged care facilities to participate in an online survey. A total of 134 residential aged care facilities completed the survey. The majority (88.1%) reported having a designated Infection Prevention and Control professional responsible for surveillance and educational activities. Hand hygiene (94%), personal protective equipment (PPE) (79.9%) and environmental cleaning (70.1%) were some of the available Infection Prevention and Control programs. The lack of access to Infection Prevention and Control education (69.5%) and lack of Infection Prevention and Control expert advice (67.2%) were also reported by some Residential aged care facilities. Australian residential aged care facilities recognise the importance of Infection Prevention and Control training programs to manage infection surveillance and outbreaks. Considerable activities are carried out to increase knowledge on breaking the chain of infection. Yet, more support and resources are needed to assist these efforts.

Recruitment and hiring practices in United States infection prevention and control departments: Results of a national survey

Infection prevention is a profession that requires highly specified skills and clinical experience. Infection Preventionists (IPs) direct interventions that protect patients from health care-associated infections across clinical and community settings. To enhance the hiring and recruitment of diverse IPs, it is key to understand current recruitment and hiring practices METHODS: A national on-line survey was performed with members of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) who participate in the recruitment and hiring of IPs in their organization. Descriptive statistics were calculated for respondent and organizational demographics, IP recruitment strategies and hiring practices. In the fall of 2019, 522 APIC members from 101 of 113 APIC chapters (89% chapter response rate) participated in the survey. A vacant IP position was reported by 25% (n = 126) of respondents. Recent IP hires were primarily nurses (70%; n = 346) recruited from outside the organization (54%; n = 270). Online job-boards (eg, Indeed and Monster) and internal organizational job postings were the most frequently used recruitment strategies. The results provide a summary of practices for IP recruitment and hiring that can inform local and national initiatives to increase the number and professional diversity of IPs.

Infection-associated hospitalizations of women in labour

The article analyzes hospitalizations of women in the postpartum period in the Małopolska Province. Re-hospitalization of women as a result of puerperal complications may be used as an infection control quality measure in this patient population. It was a population-based, retrospective analysis using data obtained from the Polish National Health Fund (paying for medical services, financed by all Polish employees contributing 9% of their salaries), collected routinely in 2013-14. The analysis encompassed 29 hospitals and 68 894 childbirths. In total, 1.7% of women were re-hospitalized and 563 of these re-hospitalizations (0.8%) were due to infection. Re-hospitalizations due to infections were significantly more often recorded among women who lived in villages compared with inhabitants of towns (OR 1.6, 95% CI 1.23-1.98; P < 0.001) and in women giving birth in primary referral hospitals in comparison with the second referral or clinical hospitals (OR 2.8, 95% CI 1.69-4.65; P < 0.001). On the one hand, the results of the study indicate that, in patients giving birth, the infection control system is not sensitive enough, and on the other hand, more detailed studies need to cover primary referral hospitals, specifically. The problem of the infection-associated hospitalizations in the postpartum period is not reliably assessed by infection control professionals and constitutes a challenge for surveillance, including prevention and control. Complications associated with childbirth should be an indication of the quality of healthcare provision and knowledge of the scale of the problem should be the basis for its evaluation and prevention. This is especially true for infections in puerperas.

Infection preventionists role in antimicrobial stewardship: Survey of APIC members

The primary job responsibility of infection preventionists (IPs) is to lead organizational initiatives that prevent and control health care-associated infections. Increasingly, IPs are participating in activities that support antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs). We conducted a survey of Association of Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology members practicing in acute care facilities to determine the degree of their involvement in ASP activities.

Lean back and wait for the alarm? Testing an automated alarm system for nosocomial outbreaks to provide support for infection control professionals.

IntroductionOutbreaks of communicable diseases in hospitals need to be quickly detected in order to enable immediate control. The increasing digitalization of hospital data processing offers potential solutions for automated outbreak detection systems (AODS). Our goal was to assess a newly developed AODS.MethodsOur AODS was based on the diagnostic results of routine clinical microbiological examinations. The system prospectively counted detections per bacterial pathogen over time for the years 2016 and 2017. The baseline data covers data from 2013–2015. The comparative analysis was based on six different mathematical algorithms (normal/Poisson and score prediction intervals, the early aberration reporting system, negative binomial CUSUMs, and the Farrington algorithm). The clusters automatically detected were then compared with the results of our manual outbreak detection system.ResultsDuring the analysis period, 14 different hospital outbreaks were detected as a result of conventional manual outbreak detection. Based on the pathogens’ overall incidence, outbreaks were divided into two categories: outbreaks with rarely detected pathogens (sporadic) and outbreaks with often detected pathogens (endemic). For outbreaks with sporadic pathogens, the detection rate of our AODS ranged from 83% to 100%. Every algorithm detected 6 of 7 outbreaks with a sporadic pathogen. The AODS identified outbreaks with an endemic pathogen were at a detection rate of 33% to 100%. For endemic pathogens, the results varied based on the epidemiological characteristics of each outbreak and pathogen.ConclusionAODS for hospitals based on routine microbiological data is feasible and can provide relevant benefits for infection control teams. It offers in-time automated notification of suspected pathogen clusters especially for sporadically occurring pathogens. However, outbreaks of endemically detected pathogens need further individual pathogen-specific and setting-specific adjustments.

Why infection prevention and control professionals should strive to publish

Why infection prevention and control professionals should strive to publish

Train-the-Trainers in hand hygiene: a standardized approach to guide education in infection prevention and control

BackgroundHarmonization in hand hygiene training for infection prevention and control (IPC) professionals is lacking. We describe a standardized approach to training, using a “Train-the-Trainers” (TTT) concept for IPC professionals and assess its impact on hand hygiene knowledge in six countries.MethodsWe developed a three-day simulation-based TTT course based on the World Health Organization (WHO) Multimodal Hand Hygiene Improvement Strategy. To evaluate its impact, we have performed a pre-and post-course knowledge questionnaire. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to compare the results before and after training.ResultsBetween June 2016 and January 2018 we conducted seven TTT courses in six countries: Iran, Malaysia, Mexico, South Africa, Spain and Thailand. A total of 305 IPC professionals completed the programme. Participants included nurses (n = 196; 64.2%), physicians (n = 53; 17.3%) and other health professionals (n = 56; 18.3%). In total, participants from more than 20 countries were trained. A significant (p < 0.05) improvement in knowledge between the pre- and post-TTT training phases was observed in all countries. Puebla (Mexico) had the highest improvement (22.3%; p < 0.001), followed by Malaysia (21.2%; p < 0.001), Jalisco (Mexico; 20.2%; p < 0.001), Thailand (18.8%; p < 0.001), South Africa (18.3%; p < 0.001), Iran (17.5%; p < 0.001) and Spain (9.7%; p = 0.047). Spain had the highest overall test scores, while Thailand had the lowest pre- and post-scores. Positive aspects reported included: unique learning environment, sharing experiences, hands-on practices on a secure environment and networking among IPC professionals. Sustainability was assessed through follow-up evaluations conducted in three original TTT course sites in Mexico (Jalisco and Puebla) and in Spain: improvement was sustained in the last follow-up phase when assessed 5 months, 1 year and 2 years after the first TTT course, respectively.ConclusionsThe TTT in hand hygiene model proved to be effective in enhancing participant’s knowledge, sharing experiences and networking. IPC professionals can use this reference training method worldwide to further disseminate knowledge to other health care workers.

Words to Live By: Key Messages in the Fight Against Infection

Words to Live By: Key Messages in the Fight Against Infection

2441. Automated, Rapid Detection of Potential Healthcare-Acquired Infection Clusters Based on Microbiology And Patient Geotemporal Data

BackgroundWhole-genome sequencing (WGS) has shown promise in identifying transmissions of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), but it may be costly to sequence all potential HAIs. By automatically identifying samples likely to be HAIs, WGS can be focused on specific samples. We describe an algorithm that quickly identifies potential HAI clusters by analyzing patient geotemporal and pathogen microbiology data. This approach systematically triages potential HAI investigations to aid infection control professionals (ICPs) in their workflow.MethodsThis novel algorithm within Philips IntelliSpace Epidemiology scores the potential of transmission for pairs of infections. Inputs include microbiology (MB) data (genus- or species-level identification and antimicrobial susceptibility test results) and geotemporal (GT) data (timing of sample collection and shared location stays). From the resulting pairwise scores, clusters of potential HAIs are identified. Leveraging 9 months (June, 2018 – March, 2019) of data from a 900-bed US hospital (i.e., 2825 samples, 1814 patients and 13 organisms—of which a subset of 404 samples had WGS performed concomitantly with MB studies), we evaluated the extent to which this algorithm captures genetically similar sample pairs.ResultsPairwise scores enrich for genetically similar samples when considering MB data only (odds ratio: 17.3), GT only (odds ratio: 6.1) and a combination of both (odds ratio: 19.8), with highly significant P-values for all (P < 10−16). Considering MB only, 91% of samples group together in potential transmission clusters. With MB and GT data, this fraction drops to 24.6% (694 samples) forming 178 possible clusters, 173 of which contain fewer than ten samples each. The 5 larger clusters contain 40–64 samples each and span multiple units in the hospital.ConclusionThe proposed system automatically suggests potential HAI clusters. By combining MB and GT data, the number of samples to review is reduced, enabling ICPs to focus their attention and sequencing efforts. By focusing on a targeted group of higher probability clusters, ICPs may be able to increase their efficiency and effectiveness in controlling the spread of HAIs—thus boosting potential for patient safety and amelioration of cost of care.Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.

1235. A Survey of Surgical Site Infection (SSI) Surveillance Practices in US Hospitals, and their Association with SSI Rates

BackgroundCurrent US hospital reimbursement models rely on self-reported SSI rates. The impact of variability in SSI surveillance on publicly reported SSI rates is unknown.MethodsCross-sectional survey to US hospitals administered during November 18 – 2/19 through the Association for Professionals in Infection Control. We assessed SSI surveillance practices, and asked for self-reported facility standardized infection ratios (SIR) for hysterectomy and colon surgeries. We performed bivariate analysis and used Kendall’s ranks correlation for trend analysis.ResultsOf the 2,851 hospitals surveyed, 491 (17.2%) responded. Table 1 shows facility descriptors. Critical Access Hospitals (OR 6.11 [3.12 – 11.750, P < 0.005) and Ambulatory Surgical Centers (OR 3.92 [1.68 – 8.64], P < 0.001) were more likely to have less than one full-time ICP. University Hospitals were more likely to have ≥4 ICPs (OR 12.15 [6.73 – 22.04, P < 0.001). The majority (83%) of the 477 respondents reported electronic software for SSI surveillance, with Epic (23%), Theradoc (22%), and Cerner (11%) as the most common packages used. Manual surveillance was more likely for Critical Access Hospitals (OR 2.80 [1.47 – 5.19], P < 0.001). University Hospitals were more likely to have higher rates in 2016 for colon surgery (P = 0.02) and hysterectomy (P = 0.002). Table 2 shows characteristics of SSI surveillance practices reported by study participants. Ambulatory Surgical Center ICPs were more likely to use reports from surgeons and/or surgical staff as the initial trigger for SSI surveillance. University Hospital ICPs were significantly more likely to spend increased time (mean hours/month 69.77 vs. 28.99, P < 0.001), and to use more data sources for SSI review (mean 4.58 vs. 3.99, P = 0.001). In our trend analyses, we found the number of data sources used for SSI surveillance to be positively associated with higher SSI rates: (KT =0.14, P = 0.028 for colon SIR in 2017; KT = 0.20, P = 0.009; KT = 0.25, P = 0.001 for hysterectomy SIR in 2016 and 2017, respectively).ConclusionSSI surveillance practices across US hospitals vary significantly, and rigorous surveillance methods are associated with higher SSI rates. Standardizing SSI surveillance is necessary to accurately capture SSI burden of disease. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.

2027. What Are the Views Among Pakistani Physicians Toward Antimicrobial Resistance and Hospital Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs? A Multi-Site Qualitative Study

BackgroundAntimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major public health issue that the world is facing in the 21st century and implementation of antimicrobial stewardship program (ASP) is one of the recognized approaches to combat AMR. Little is known on the views among Pakistani physicians regarding AMR and the benefits of hospital ASP implementation. This study was aimed to investigate the perception and attitude of physicians about AMR and ASP.MethodsQualitative face-to-face and telephonic interviews were conducted by using purposive sampling method with 22 physicians working in seven tertiary care public hospitals of Punjab, Pakistan. All interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Qualitative software was used, and a thematic analysis conducted.ResultsThree major themes were identified: (1) the growing concern of AMR in Pakistan, (2) the role(s) of healthcare professionals in antibiotic prescribing and infection control, and (3) managing antibiotic resistance in hospitals. Poor healthcare facilities, insufficient trained medical staff, and inadequate resources were the key barriers in the implementation of ASP in Pakistan.ConclusionPhysicians of public sector tertiary care teaching hospitals have shown poor familiarity toward hospital ASPs but the concept of hospital ASPs in Pakistan can be established by using the distinct themes that originated during this study. Overall, the attitude of physicians was positive toward its enforcement in all types of hospital settings including teaching hospitals.Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.

Professional certification system of infection prevention and control in the United States and its enlightenment to China

The United States Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology(CBIC)provides standardized measurements for all infection prevention and control professionals. It pursues a professional standard of excellence and aims to continuously improve their skills to ensure safe medical care of high quality for patients. We should learn from their certification system of infection prevention and control to accelerate the development and maturity of professional certification of infection prevention and control in China. Key words: Infection control; Professional certification system; United States; Enlightenment