Quality EOL indicators to evaluate the use of aggressive treatments toward the EOL for cancer patients are increasingly recommended and endorsed by peak bodies, including the National Quality Forum and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Quality Oncology Practice Initiative. Despite pancreatic cancer being the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the United States of America and Europe and the fifth leading cause of cancer death in Australia, few studies have examined the impact of palliative care on the quality of end-of-life (EOL) care received in this patient cohort.

Patients often experience significant physical symptom burden, treatment side effects, and psychosocial burden leading to depression and anxiety. Currently, less than 5вЂ“7% of Australians diagnosed with metastatic disease survive beyond five years. The median overall survival of metastatic pancreatic cancer is 8вЂ“11вЂ‰months and the median overall survival of locally advanced (but not metastatic) inoperable pancreatic cancer is 12вЂ“14вЂ‰months. A swift response by the state and local health departments at a tertiary-care healthcare center conveyed a positive mitigation of the highest clinical threats and decreased horizontal transmission of disease.A diagnosis of pancreatic cancer is unsettling for patients and their families, with late presentations at diagnosis and new therapeutic agents offering only modest improvements in survival. The study illustrates that in times of crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the burden of effective infection control requires much more multidisciplinary efforts to prevent unintentional lapses in patient safety. Conclusion: Control of CRE requires strategic planning with active surveillance, antimicrobial constructs, and infection control measures. Once PPE stock was replenished and isolation practices were reinstated, NDM infection rates decreased to 0.77 в‘.1 per 10,000 patient days. During this time, several infections occurred within patients on the same unit and/or patients with same treating team, suggesting possible horizontal transmission. Rates during the PPE shortage were significantly higher, averaging 3.6 в‘.1 cases per 10,000 patient days ( P =. Results: Overall, the average rate of NDM infections was 1.82 в‘.5 per 10,000 patient days. Patient characteristics were gathered by medical chart review and patient interviews by telephone. Isolates were confirmed resistant by NDM by molecular typing performed by the Michigan State Health Department. Rates of NDM per 10,000 patient days were compared between periods using the Wilcoxon signed rank-sum test. The following periods were established during 2020 based on PPE availability: (1) pre-PPE shortage (JanuaryвЂ“June), (2) PPE shortage (JulyвЂ“October), and (3) post-PPE shortage (NovemberвЂ“December).

Method: A retrospective study was conducted at a tertiary healthcare system in Detroit, Michigan, to determine the impact of PPE shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic on NDM infection rates. Studies have shown this depletion and shift in resources compromised the control of infections such CRE leading to rising horizontal transmission. As a result, routine infection practices, such as contact precautions, were violated.

Although healthcare systems normally have strict surveillance and infection control measures for CRE, the rapid emergence of novel SAR-CoV-2 and COVID-19 led to a shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) and medical supplies. Background: In 2019, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), had cost the lives of >35,000 patients, particularly the most virulent plasmid-mediated New Delhi metallo-ОІ-lactamase (NDM).

Retrospective study