Formularies are lists of antibiotics that are suggested for certain healthcare settings. In developing a recommended formulary, countries should consider the needs of patients and facilities where they receive care. For example, clinicians in rural or primary health centers may need wide access to f...irst-line antibiotics (e.g., penicillin, ampicillin, TMP-SMX), but last resort antibiotics such as carbapenems or colistin might be limited to tertiary care hospitals. Efforts to create antibiotic formularies may be linked to efforts within countries to create or update essential medicine lists (EML).
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Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) January 16, 2015 / 64(01);20-27
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR):
Recommendations of the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee and the HICPAC/SHEA/APIC/IDSA Hand Hygiene Task Force
Acute Radiation Syndrome (ARS) (sometimes known as radiation toxicity or radiation sickness) is an acute illness caused by irradiation of the entire body (or most of the body) by a high dose of penetrating radiation in a very short period of time (usually a matter of minutes). The major cause of thi...s syndrome is depletion of immature parenchymal stem cells in specific tissues. Examples of people who suffered from ARS are the survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombs, the firefighters that first responded after the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant event in 1986, and some unintentional exposures to sterilization irradiators.
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Injury to the skin and underlying tissues from acute exposure to
a large external dose of radiation is referred to as cutaneous
radiation injury (CRI). Acute radiation syndrome (ARS) 1 will
usually be accompanied by some skin damage; however, CRI
can ...occur without symptoms of ARS. This is especially true with
acute exposures to beta radiation or low-energy x-rays, because
beta radiation and low-energy x-rays are less penetrating and less
likely to damage internal organs than gamma radiation is. CRI can
occur with radiation doses as low as 2 Gray (Gy) or 200 rads 2 and
the severity of CRI symptoms will increase with increasing doses.
Most cases of CRI have occurred when people inadvertently came
in contact with unsecured radiation sources from food irradiators,
radiotherapy equipment, or well depth gauges. In addition, cases of
CRI have occurred in people who were overexposed to x-radiation
from fluoroscopy units.
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Recommendations from the American Nurses Association/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Workgroup on the Role of Registered Nurses in Hospital Antibiotic Stewardship Practices
Antibiotic stewardship refers to coordinated efforts and activities that seek to measure and improve use of antibiotics. Implementation of ASPs has demonstrated positive public health and clinical impacts including reducing costs, lengths of hospital stays, and the burden of antibiotic resistance wh...ile maintaining or improving patient outcomes. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released the Core Elements of Hospital Antibiotic Stewardship Programs in 2014, which outlines essential components for ASPs in hospitals and provides practical guidance for implementing a robust ASPin an acute care facility. Variations to the Core Elements have been developed to deal with the particular challenges in small, rural or critical access hospitals in the United States and in outpatient facilities and nursing homes.
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Update 1 October 2020.
This document provides guidance to Member States on the effective use of face masks/coverings in the community by individuals without COVID-19 symptoms in order to reduce potential transmission of SARS-CoV-2.a It also provides advice on the use of masks during home care for ...patients with COVID-19.
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A public health emergency operation center (PHEOC) serves as a hub for better coordinating the preparation, response, and recovery for public health emergencies. A functional PHEOC is critical for the implementation of the International Health Regulations (IHR 2005). The Framework for a Public Healt...h Emergency Operations Centre provides high-level guidance for establishing or strengthening a PHEOC. To establish and/or strengthen a PHEOC, it is vital for Member States to align with standardized policies, guidelines, and tools.
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This Cardiac Rehabilitation Change Package was completed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in collaboration with the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation (AACVPR) with the purpose of helping cardiac rehabilitation programs, hospital quality improv...ement teams, and public health professionals who partner with these groups to implement systems and strategies that improve care for patients who are eligible for cardiac rehabilitation. AACVPR is a multidisciplinary professional association comprised of health professionals who serve in the field of cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation.
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The strategy recommends that AU Member States should enhance, where feasible, existing COVID-19 surveillance to include:
Community-based surveillance to detect symptomatic cases early for treatment and to avert viral transmission;
Sentinel surveillance in high-risk populations to detect ...and track both presymptomatic and asymptomatic cases; and
Wastewater surveillance to monitor early environmental signs of virus transmission and identify communities where targeted interventions can be implemented to decrease transmission.
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This guidance addresses rationale, risk-based scenarios, practical considerations prior to adoption of the self-testing products, quality assurance, safety and ethical considerations, and data management considerations for COVID-19 self-testing. The Africa CDC recommends the use of rapid antigen sel...f-testing within two key scenarios. The first includes testing for case identification within scenarios with a high risk of infection, including symptomatic cases and contacts of a confirmed case. The second scenario involves general screening within scenarios of low or unknown risk exposure allowing for self-care such as before gatherings with at-risk individuals and prior to participation in events involving members of different households. Within these scenarios, a positive test result indicates likelihood of current infection, while a negative test result indicates a lower risk of active infection, though it does not rule out infection altogether. All positive cases should be managed following the national COVID-19 management protocol of Member States.ssur
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