News

It’s in your hands – prevent sepsis in health care

WHO calls on health facilities to prevent health care-associated sepsis through hand hygiene and infection prevention and control (IPC) action. Sepsis is estimated to affect more than 30 million patients every year worldwide. At the Seventieth World Health Assembly in May 2017, Member States adopted a resolution on improving the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of sepsis.

For 5 May 2018, the theme of sepsis in health care was chosen with consideration for the current global concern about the burden of HAI and AMR spread in health care facilities. In addition to the committed IPC campaign advocates, the participation of other disciplines such as critical care medicine professionals is essential. Thus, a multidisciplinary community is invited to join the campaign:
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The 36th Annual Meeting of ESPID (European Society for Pediatric Infectious Diseases) held in Malmö, Sweden, on May 28 - June 2, 2018, included a wide range of educational seminars and lectures on the latest developments in the field of pediatric infections, epidemiology and immunology. The conference was attended by pediatricians, infectious practitioners, microbiologists and distinguished researchers from all over the world and presented original research work on the whole range of pediatric infections.
The CLEO team, headed by Prof. Theoklis Zaoutis, attended this year's conference and participated with the following abstracts:

1. Variability of length of therapy for possible early onset sepsis (EOS) and late onset sepsis (LOS): identifying opportunities for antibiotic stewardship in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
2. Variability in empiric antibacterial and antifungal use in pediatric oncology patients with febrile neutropenia.
3. Central line associated bloodstream infections in neonatal and pediatric units in greece.
4. Hand hygiene compliance rates and barriers in pediatric units in greece.
5. Surveillance for central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs): accuracy of different sampling strategies.
6. Vaccination during pregnancy: Women in Greece are unaware and express concerns for safety
7. Neonates treated for meningitis in a neonatal infection surveillance network (NEONIN)
8. Culture-proven infections in late preterm infants in a neonatal infection surveillance network (NEONIN)
9. Community onset central line associated bloodstream infections (CO-CLABSIs) in pediatric oncology patients: an underestimated problem?
10. Risk factors for community onset central line associated bloodstream infections (CO-CLABSIs) in pediatric oncology patients

The CLEO team also participated in the 10th ESPID RESEARCH MASTERCLASS (ERMC), a closed, seminar type of forum for active pediatric infectious diseases (PID) research groups in Europe. The primary aim of ERMC is to provide better opportunities for young researchers to present their studies and discuss their research with other junior colleagues as well as with European research group leaders. During the Masterclass, the junior researchers will be trained how to present their data, ask questions or chair a session. The second aim of the seminar is to provide the researchers a better view of recent PID research in Europe and also to stimulate discussions of new research collaborations among ESPID members.

Collaborative Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Outcomes Research (CLEO)-Ilisia

Job Responsibilities:
As a CRA you will:

• Prepare submission packets for hospital ethical committees (ERBs) and administrative boards, the National Ethics Committee (EED), and the National Organization for Medicines in Greece (EOF) for protocol approval
• Be responsible for adherence to monitoring procedures in accordance with GCP and ICH, local regulations, and Standard Operating Procedures
• Perform monitoring activities from pre-study start-up to study close-out. This may include, but is not limited to, conducting site facilities inspections, site initiation visits, on-site study specific training, ensuring completeness and quality of on-site files, electronic case report forms (eCRF) review, query generation and resolution, monitoring patient safety (adverse events, serious adverse events), addressing protocol deviations, and completing monitoring reports (as applicable)

Minimum requirements:

• University/college degree in scientific or healthcare discipline, or comparable
• 2+ years clinical research experience (prior pharmaceutical industry/contract research organization experience relating to clinical monitoring is a plus)
• Fluency in written and verbal English and Greek
• Computer literacy, including Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
• Prior database experience
• Solid understanding of ICH-GCP guidelines
• Strong communication skills and attention to detail
• Ability to manage sites independently. Proven ability to work independently with minimal supervision
• Ability to anticipate potential issues and take appropriate actions with or without supervision
• Ability to travel approximately 25%-50% of the time to sites within Greece

Work location: Athens, Greece
Employment type: Full-time position
Submit your application until: 26/11/2018

Please send your CV and a cover letter at info@cleoresearch.org.

The 37th Annual Meeting of ESPID (European Society for Pediatric Infectious Diseases) held in Ljubljana, Slovenia, on May 6-11, 2019, once again brought together the most important researchers in the field of pediatric infections, epidemiology and immunology, enabling trainees in the above fields to meet experts and colleagues from other countries and share their experiences. The ESPID’s programme was clinically oriented and promoted the best clinical practice for management of pediatric infections while it covered a wide range of educational seminars and interaction between trainees and faculty was strongly encouraged.
The CLEO team, headed by Prof. Theoklis Zaoutis, attended this year's conference and participated with the following abstracts:

1. The impact of a national electronic prescribing system on antibiotic prescribing in pediatric outpatients in Greece.

2. Impact of a care bundle on hand hygiene compliance rates in 15 neonatal intensive care units in Greece.

3. Ventilator- Associated Events in three PICUs in Greece.

4. Length of stay, cost and mortality of healthcare-acquired bloodstream infections in children and neonates A systematic review and meta-analysis.

5. Greek medical students’ perceptions, knowledge, and education about antimicrobial prescribing and resistance a cross-sectional study.

6. Central- line associated bloodstream infections in pediatric hematology units in Greece 2016- 2018. Impact of an intervention bundle.

7. Hospital- acquired infection surveillance among 11 European countries. A RANIN- KIDS survey.

The CLEO team also participated in the 11th ESPID RESEARCH MASTERCLASS (ERMC), a closed, seminar type of forum for active pediatric infectious diseases (PID) research groups in Europe. The primary aim of ERMC is to provide participants with a broad overview of the current research programs within ESPID. During Masterclass, young researchers are trained in how to present their data, ask questions or chair a session. The second objective of the seminar is to enhance the opportunities for future cooperation between ESPID members / teams.