Review of a journal article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Review of a journal - Article Example The researchers determined occupational exposure’s frequency as well as the characteristics associated with this exposure. The electronic health record (EHR) was reviewed to determine the frequency of potential missed exposures. The EHR data revealed the cases of laboratory-confirmed pertussis that were not included in the records of OH or IPC. The researchers found 1193 confirmed cases of HCW’s exposure to pertussis linked with a total of 219 index cases in the course of the period of study. 38.8 per cent of these cases were infants up to 6 months of age whereas 7 cases were of HCWs. 77.5 per cent of the exposures had taken place in an ambulatory site or the emergency department whereas 27.0 per cent of the exposures had taken place after the IPC precautions had been initiated in documents. The researchers’ EHR review led to the discovery of 450 cases of pertussis confirmed in the laboratory of which 49.8 per cent had taken place without any IPC or OH investigat ion. Most of the cases that had not been investigated belonged to the ambulatory sites. The conclusions that can be drawn from this research are that occupational exposure to pertussis is something that takes place in the pediatric health care settings quite frequently in spite of the appropriate guidelines provided by IPC. Consistent and effective implementation of the practices suggested by IPC imparts a need for interventions and timely reporting of the cases of pertussis index so that exposure of the HCWs to pertussis and the infection’s transmission to patients can be prevented. This cross-sectional study was based on a retrospective review of the records of IPCD and OHD in which the data was retrieved from a large quaternary pediatric care network. A strength of the research is that the researchers identified all investigated cases of exposure of the HCWs to