Department of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Antimicrob Resist Infect Control. 2023 Apr 1;12(1):27. doi: 10.1186/s13756-023-01231-1.
The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly challenged societies and healthcare systems in particular. To prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2, infection prevention and control (IPC) strategies had to be developed on the local, national and international level. The aim of this study is to provide details of the COVID-19 experience at the Vienna General Hospital (VGH) in the context of the national and international COVID-19 response for learning and improvement.
This is a retrospective report, outlining the evolution of IPC measures and challenges encountered at the health facility (VGH), the national (Austria) and global level between February 2020 and October 2022.
The IPC strategy at the VGH has been continuously adapted to changes in the epidemiological setting, new legal directives and Austrian by-laws. The current strategy, nationally and internationally, focuses on endemicity rather than maximum transmission risk reduction. For the VGH, this has recently resulted in an increase in COVID-19 clusters. To protect our particularly vulnerable patients, many COVID-19 precautions have been maintained. Barriers to adequate IPC implementation at the VGH and other hospitals include a lack of sufficient isolation options and non-adherence with universal face mask regulations. Globally, misinformation on COVID-19 hampered an effective response.
This retrospective analysis of the COVID-19 response at the VGH and international reports underline the need for pandemic preparedness, readiness and response by improving future hospital design and infrastructure, conducting regular trainings for protective attire and increasing health literacy as now recently published in a concise document by WHO.
COVID-19 大流行对社会和医疗保健系统造成了深远的挑战。为了防止 SARS-CoV-2 的传播，必须在地方、国家和国际层面制定感染预防和控制（IPC）策略。本研究的目的是在国家和国际 COVID-19 应对的背景下，提供维也纳综合医院（VGH）在 COVID-19 方面的经验细节，以用于学习和改进。
这是一份回顾性报告，概述了 2020 年 2 月至 2022 年 10 月期间，该卫生机构（VGH）、国家（奥地利）和全球层面的 IPC 措施的演变和遇到的挑战。
VGH 的 IPC 策略一直在不断适应流行病学环境、新的法律指令和奥地利的附属法规的变化。目前，无论是在国家层面还是国际层面，策略的重点都是地方性，而不是最大限度地降低传播风险。对于 VGH 来说，这最近导致 COVID-19 集群的增加。为了保护我们特别脆弱的患者，许多 COVID-19 预防措施得以保留。在 VGH 和其他医院实施充分的 IPC 存在障碍，包括缺乏足够的隔离选择和不遵守通用口罩规定。在全球范围内，有关 COVID-19 的错误信息阻碍了有效的应对。
对 VGH 和国际报告中 COVID-19 应对的回顾性分析强调了通过改善未来医院设计和基础设施、定期进行防护装备培训以及提高健康素养，为大流行的准备、应对和恢复做好准备的必要性，这在最近世界卫生组织发布的一份简明文件中得到了强调。
