Infectious disease

Preparatory Measures

• Postpone all elective surgeries (for at least one month) and if possible, postpone urgent surgeries until the case is no longer contagious or until a test rules out the possibility of COVID-19 for a patient with compatible symptoms.
• Prepare for all urgent surgery scenarios for suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19 with the various teams: technical services, IPC, operating room, surgeons, anesthesiologists, etc.
• Determine whether the surgery has a high risk of generating aerosols (see below) by discussing with the surgeon.
• Favor epidural or locoregional anesthesia whenever possible a…

This professional practice guide is a basic reference on the quality of water used for reusable medical devices reprocessing (MDR) and flexible endoscopic devices reprocessing (EDR). It aims to support activity management, to standardize practices and to improve the quality of MDR. It is intended for all persons working in health care institutions who are directly or indirectly responsible for quality assurance in MDR, including managers, MDR institution respondents, MDR staff, and persons responsible for the supply of drinking water and water treatment systems (Technical Services and Biomedical Engineering Department).

This professional practice guide compiles normative, scientific and technical information on the quality of water used to reprocess reusable medical devices. It also discusses potential breakdowns (including issues related to water used in reprocessing: quality or interruption of service), quality assurance and the development of contingency plans. This documen…

The last report issued by the Comité sur l’immunisation du Québec (CIQ) concerning the Programme d’immunisation contre l’influenza du Québec (PIIQ) [Québec’s Influenza Immunization program] was published in 2007. An update became necessary, given the many scientific advances that have occurred in this field.

The primary objective of the PIIQ must be to reduce influenza-associated hospitalizations and deaths.

To attain this objective, the CIQ recommends maintaining a targeted vaccination strategy for individuals at high risk for hospitalization and death and giving priority to achieving vaccine uptake of at least 80% in these groups.

It is recommended to withdraw healthy children aged 6–23 months and healthy adults aged 60–74 years from the list of groups at high risk for influenza-associated hospitalization and death, but to maintain the other groups currently included in the PIIQ.

The CIQ recommends that all healthcare workers receive the va…

The Identification guide for ticks found in Québec was developed for physicians, veterinarians and other health professionals to inform them about the main types of ticks found in Québec and to help them identify specimens brought to them by their patients.

There are about 900 tick species worldwide. Ticks are Acari that parasitize most vertebrates, including humans, by feeding on their blood.

In Québec, 12 tick species have been identified so far. Some tick species are reservoirs and vectors of viruses, bacteria and parasites: they are the second leading vector of human disease, after the mosquito. The black-legged tick (Ixodes scapularis) is the tick that transmits the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, the agent responsible for Lyme disease (in french).

Given the desire to harmonize medical and nursing practices in the field of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and the need to provide better guidance on the intervention known as expedited partner therapy (EPT), the Institut national de santé publique du Québec received a request from the Collège des médecins du Québec and the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux. The purpose of this request was to issue a scientific opinion, including recommendations, on the effectiveness, benefits and drawbacks of the EPT strategy for Chlamydia trachomatis (Ct) and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (Ng) infections, the best practice to endorse as well as the conditions required to promote its appropriate use.

In Québec, two STI preventive interventions targeted for infected people and their partner are recommended for people infected with a sexually transmitted infection and their partners, that is:

• the passive approach, whereby infected persons personall…

The frequency of adverse events (incidents and accidents) related to medical device reprocessing (MDR) is a concern for health care services. By definition, an incident means that a medical device breaches a recognized standard for MDR without having been used on a patient. An accident refers to any use on a patient of a medical device which does not meet a recognized standard for MDR, with that use potentially affecting the patient’s health status (INSPQ, 2014).

This report describes the results of monitoring incidents and accidents related to MDR in Quebec between April 1, 2016 and March 31, 2017. Over this year, a total of 3,476 adverse events related to MDR were reported as of June 15, 2017. Of those, 2,933 (84%) were incidents and 543 (16%) were accidents, involving a total of 545 patients. Distribution of these events using the MSSS severity scale (Appendix 1) was:

• 19% (n = 660) were severity A incidents: circumstances or situations w…