Annual Report 2023

Department of Safety Management, Office of Infection Control and Prevention

Osamu Kobayashi, Mika Shiotsuka, Yusuke Okuma, Takeyuki Wada, Junko Murakami, Minako Hitokuwada, Toshihisa Nakashima, Tomokazu Suzuki

Introduction

 The mission of the Infection Control and Prevention Office is to prevent and control healthcare-associated infections in cancer patients who undergo various cancer care including highly advanced cancer treatments. The office consists of infectious disease specialists, certified nurses in infection control, board certified pharmacists in infection control, an infection control microbiological technologist, and an office clerk. We execute our tasks in collaboration with the Infection Control Team and the Antimicrobial Stewardship Team which consist of cross-sectional members from various areas throughout our hospital. We also collaborate with “link nurses” to facilitate appropriate infection control practice in each ward.

The Team and What We Do

• Advise on infection control and prevention, especially focusing on healthcare-associated infections, problematic pathogens including multidrug-resistant bacteria or SARS-CoV-2, and occupational infections.
• Consult with physicians on appropriate diagnosis of and treatment for infectious diseases.
• Implement antimicrobial stewardship strategy based on the local data from our hospital and the current clinical evidence.
• Make weekly rounds in the wards to monitor the environmental maintenance and the compliance with the Infection Prevention and Control Manual.
• Conduct surveillance for healthcare-associated infections and drug-resistant bacteria.
• Provide education to the staff on standard practices regarding infection control and prevention with up-to-date evidence.
• Check the immunization status of the hospital staff and encourage those with insufficient protective immunity to be vaccinated.
• Advise on building and refurbishment projects from the perspective of infection control.
• Hold conferences or mutual site visits with other regional hospitals to promote improvement in one another’s infection control and prevention practices.

Research Activities

• Effective education on infection control practices, especially medical device management.
• Surveillance for surgical site infections and catheter-related blood stream infections.
• Appropriate dosing of antimicrobial drugs in cancer patients.
• Ideal system of infection control for cancer centers in the Japanese medical care system.
• COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in cancer patients.
• Educational effects of vaccination on oncology specialists to encourage them to continue with planned cancer treatment.

Education

 We provided training for infection control and management of infectious diseases aimed at physicians and medical personnel.

Future Prospects

 Our final goal is to establish an ideal and feasible model of an infection control system for cancer centers around the world.