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Infectious Disease Reports
Special Issues
Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Healthcare-Associated Infections
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Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Healthcare-Associated Infections

A special issue of Infectious Disease Reports (ISSN 2036-7449). This special issue belongs to the section "Infection Prevention and Control".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2026 | Viewed by 552

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Emine Alp Meşe

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology, Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University, Ankara 06810, Türkiye
Interests: healthcare-associated infections; infection prevention and control; antimicrobial stewardship; sepsis

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) continue to be a major global challenge, compromising patient safety and imposing a significant burden on healthcare systems. These infections, acquired during healthcare delivery, are associated with increased morbidity, mortality, prolonged hospital stays, and increased healthcare costs. Common HAIs include bloodstream infections, surgical site infections, ventilator-associated pneumonia, and catheter-associated urinary tract infections. While improvements in infection control practices have reduced their incidence in some settings, emerging antimicrobial resistance, protocol failures, and evolving healthcare delivery models continue to pose risks.

This Special Issue invites original research, reviews, and case studies focused on the prevention, diagnosis, management, and surveillance of HAIs. We welcome interdisciplinary contributions examining microbiological, clinical, environmental, and systemic factors affecting infection risk, as well as innovative strategies such as antimicrobial stewardship programs, rapid diagnosis, and behavioral interventions. Our aim is to promote the exchange of knowledge and highlight best practices that can inform policy and improve patient outcomes globally.

Prof. Dr. Emine Alp Meşe
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Infectious Disease Reports is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • healthcare-associated infections (HAIs)
  • infection prevention and control
  • antimicrobial resistance
  • hospital epidemiology
  • catheter-associated infections
  • surgical site infections
  • nosocomial infections
  • hand hygiene compliance
  • environmental disinfection
  • patient safety

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 910 KiB  
Article
Antimicrobial Effect of Gentamicin/Heparin and Gentamicin/Citrate Lock Solutions on Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa Clinical Strains
by Daniel Salas-Treviño, Arantxa N. Rodríguez-Rodríguez, María T. Ramírez-Elizondo, Magaly Padilla-Orozco, Edeer I. Montoya-Hinojosa, Paola Bocanegra-Ibarias, Samantha Flores-Treviño and Adrián Camacho-Ortiz
Infect. Dis. Rep. 2025, 17(4), 98; https://doi.org/10.3390/idr17040098 - 6 Aug 2025
Viewed by 277
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Hemodialysis catheter-related bloodstream infection (HD-CRBSIs) is a main cause of morbidity in hemodialysis. New preventive strategies have emerged, such as using lock solutions with antiseptic or antibiotic capacity. In this study, the antimicrobial effect was analyzed in vitro and with a catheter [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Hemodialysis catheter-related bloodstream infection (HD-CRBSIs) is a main cause of morbidity in hemodialysis. New preventive strategies have emerged, such as using lock solutions with antiseptic or antibiotic capacity. In this study, the antimicrobial effect was analyzed in vitro and with a catheter model of lock solutions of gentamicin (LSG), gentamicin/heparin (LSG/H), and gentamicin/citrate (LSG/C) in clinical and ATCC strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. Methods: The formation, minimum inhibitory concentration, and minimum inhibitory concentration of the biofilm and minimum biofilm eradication concentration of the lock solutions were determined. Additionally, colony-forming unit assays were performed to evaluate the antimicrobial efficacy of the lock solutions in a hemodialysis catheter inoculation model. Results: The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of planktonic cells of both P. aeruginosa and S. aureus for LSG/H and LSG/C was 4 µg/mL. In the minimum biofilm inhibitory concentration (MBIC) tests, the LSG/H was less effective than LSG/C, requiring higher concentrations for inhibition, contrary to the minimum biofilm eradication concentration (MBEC), where LSG/H was more effective. All lock solutions eradicated P. aeruginosa biofilms in the HD catheter model under standard conditions. Nevertheless, under modified conditions, the lock solutions were not as effective versus ATCC and clinical strains of S. aureus. Conclusions: Our analysis shows that the lock solutions studied managed to eradicate intraluminal mature P. aeruginosa in non-tunneled HD catheters under standard conditions. Biofilm inhibition and eradication were observed at low gentamicin concentrations, which could optimize the gentamicin concentration in lock solutions used in HD catheters. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Healthcare-Associated Infections)
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12 pages, 234 KiB  
Article
Bedside Risk Scoring for Carbapenem-Resistant Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections in Patients with Hematological Malignancies
by Sare Merve Başağa, Ayşegül Ulu Kılıç, Zeynep Ture, Gökmen Zararsız and Serra İlayda Yerlitaş
Infect. Dis. Rep. 2025, 17(4), 92; https://doi.org/10.3390/idr17040092 - 1 Aug 2025
Viewed by 166
Abstract
Background/Objectives: This study aimed to create a ‘carbapenem resistance score’ with the risk factors of carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative bacterial infections (GNBIs) in patients with hematological malignancies. Methods: Patients with carbapenem-resistant and susceptible GNBIs were included in this study and compared in terms of risk [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: This study aimed to create a ‘carbapenem resistance score’ with the risk factors of carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative bacterial infections (GNBIs) in patients with hematological malignancies. Methods: Patients with carbapenem-resistant and susceptible GNBIs were included in this study and compared in terms of risk factors. Three models of “carbapenem resistance risk scores” were created with statistically significant variables. Results: The study included 154 patients with hospital-acquired GNBIs, of whom 64 had carbapenem-resistant GNBIs and 90 had carbapenem-susceptible GNBIs. Univariate and multivariate analyses identified several statistically significant risk factors for carbapenem resistance, including transfer from another hospital or clinic (p = 0.038), prior use of antibiotics like fluoroquinolones (p = 0.009) and carbapenems (p = 0.001), a history of carbapenem-resistant infection in the last six months (p < 0.001), rectal Klebsiella pneumoniae colonization (p < 0.001), hospitalization for ≥30 days (p = 0.001), and the presence of a urinary catheter (p = 0.002). Notably, the 14-day mortality rate was significantly higher in the carbapenem-resistant group (p < 0.001). Based on these findings, three risk-scoring models were developed. Common factors in all three models were fluoroquinolone use in the last six months, rectal K. pneumoniae colonization, and the presence of a urinary catheter. The fourth variable was transfer from another hospital (Model 1), a history of carbapenem-resistant infection (Model 2), or hospitalization for ≥30 days (Model 3). All models demonstrated strong discriminative power (AUC for Model 1: 0.830, Model 2: 0.826, Model 3: 0.831). For all three models, a cutoff value of >2.5 was adopted as the threshold to identify patients at high risk for carbapenem resistance, a value which yielded high positive and negative predictive values. Conclusions: This study successfully developed three practical risk-scoring models to predict carbapenem resistance in patients with hematological malignancies using common clinical risk factors. A cutoff score of >2.5 proved to be a reliable threshold for identifying high-risk patients across all models, providing clinicians with a valuable tool to guide appropriate empirical antibiotic therapy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Healthcare-Associated Infections)
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