Hand hygiene
References 1.WHO: Hand Hygiene Improvement programmes (2017) 2.CDC: Reduction of Healthcare-Associated Infections by High Compliance with Hand Hygiene (2016) 3.Lydon et al.: ICU Hand Hygiene Compliance Systematic Review (2017) 4.Systematic review: ED Hand Hygiene Practices (2022) 5.WHO/UNICEF JMP: WASH in Health Care Facilities Report (2019) 6.CDC: Clinical Safety—Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizers Guidance (2024) 7.Evidence-based practices to […]
Pathogen-Associated Histological Features
Advertisement Cellular Feature Associated Pathogen Description Owl's eye cells Cytomegalovirus (CMV) Large cells with intracellular inclusions surrounded by a clear halo, resembling an owl's eye. Pathognomonic of CMV infection. Decoy cells BK virus Virally infected epithelial cells found in urine. Named for their resemblance to cancer cells, potentially causing diagnostic confusion between viral infection and urothelial malignancy. Haufen […]
Summary: Global guideline for the diagnosis and management of candidiasis: an initiative of the ECMM in cooperation with ISHAM and ASM
Introduction Candida species are the predominant cause of fungal infections in patients treated in hospital settings, causing significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. This clinical practice guide summarises evidence-based recommendations from the European Confederation for Medical Mycology (ECMM) global guideline initiative, developed in cooperation with the International Society of Human and Animal Mycology (ISHAM) and the […]
Using LLMs effectively for academic work
This summary reflects my experience with LLMs over the past several months. I have interacted with Gemini (formerly Bard), ChatGPT (including version 4.5), Perplexity, Claude, and Grok3, along with some use of DeepSeek, Mistral, AllenAI, Leonardo, Midjourney and Copilot. Every LLM has its strengths and weaknesses, and no one LLM is the best at doing […]
Journal review: Emergence and Spread of C difficile Isolates With reduced Fidaxomicin Susceptibilti in an Acute Care Hospital.
Sarah N Redmond et al, Emergence and Spread of Clostridioides difficile Isolates With Reduced Fidaxomicin Susceptibility in an Acute Care Hospital, Clinical Infectious Diseases, 2025;, ciaf028, https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciaf028 Introduction & Background: Methods: Key Findings: Discussion & Implications: Some points to consider
Types of studies
Research Category Types Experimental Studies - Randomized Controlled Trials (RCT)- Laboratory Experiments- Field Experiments- Quasi-experimental Studies- Pre-test/Post-test Design Observational Studies - Cohort Studies- Case-Control Studies- Cross-sectional Studies- Longitudinal Studies- Ecological Studies Qualitative Studies - Ethnographic Research- Phenomenological Studies- Grounded Theory Studies- Case Studies- Narrative Research- Focus Groups Mixed Methods - Sequential Mixed Methods- Concurrent Mixed […]
Dengue vaccine - Greenbook Summary
Vaccine Description and Composition "The dengue vaccination Qdenga® is a tetravalent live attenuated vaccine. It is produced in Vero cells by recombinant DNA technology and contains serotype-specific surface protein genes of the four dengue serotypes, engineered into a dengue type 2 backbone." Storage and Presentation "Vaccines should be stored in the original packaging at +2C̊ […]