Influenza represents a threat to global health and health care workers (HCWs) have an increased risk of contracting the influenza virus in the workplace. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought back the importance of influenza vaccination, as the influenza virus can circulate together with SARS-CoV-2. The aim of this report is to describe the actual flu vaccination coverage among healthcare workers of a research hospital and the trend changes, with respect to the past flu vaccination campaigns, in light of the present pandemic and COVID-19 vaccination. A Pearson’s χ² test was used to test the correlation of flu vaccination coverage, across all professional categories, between the last two years. A linear regression model was adopted to predict the total vaccination coverage of this year. A statistically significant decrease (p < 0.01) was observed in vaccination coverage among all the professional categories with a 50% reduction in vaccination trends between the last two years. Analyzing the data from the previous six flu vaccination campaigns, the expected value, according to the linear regression model, was estimated to be 38.5% while the observed value was 24%. The decrease in vaccination coverage may be due to the fear of the pandemic situation and especially to the uncertainty related to the consequences of a concurrent administration which may overload the immune system or may be more reactogenic. The COVID-19 pandemic represents an opportunity to promote and support large-scale influenza vaccination among HCWs through structured programs, adequate funding, and tailored communication strategies.

: Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs) and Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) involve high costs both in health and economic terms for patients and health systems. Implementing Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) programs is critical to decrease infectious agents' transmission in healthcare settings. The aim of this study is to assess if the monitoring of Contact Precautions could decrease the incidence of Multi-Drug Resistant Organisms (MRDOs) infections. This pilot study was conducted in a teaching hospital in Rome. A checklist of 16 items was developed to assess the compliance to Contact Precautions in 11 hospital wards in which MRDOs were detected between November and December 2020. It was administered on-site both interviewing healthcare professionals and through direct observation. A paired t-test with α = 5% was used to compare the number of alert organisms in the first quarter of 2020 respect to the first quarter of 2021 before and after implementing the surveillance checklist. A total of 30 checklists were analyzed. The rate of compliance to Contact Precautions was high for the proper use of personal protective equipment (100%), the intensified room cleaning (100%) and the presence of isolation mark (100%), while it was low for the active screening of contacts (53%). Mean MDROs infections rate decreased from 4.94 to 4.37 for every 1000 hospitalization day, with an average decrease of 0.57. However, the paired t-test showed that there was no statistically significant difference between the mean number of MDROs infections before and after the implementation of the checklist (p > 0.05). Despite the good adherence to IPC program, the low infection rate decrease, is probably due to the impact of COVID-19 on the HAIs surveillance and prevention practices. Even if the check-list administration could be a useful tool to reduce MDROs infections, it should be associated to other prevention strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to achieve a successful outcome. Key messages: Preventing Healthcare-Associated Infections represents a priority public health challenge in order to improve patient safety and health system economic sustainability. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that healthcare facilities should enhance efforts in their IPC programs to reduce Healthcare-Associated Infections.

Background: Cardiovascular diseases represent a significant public health issue, and the promotion of healthy lifestyles plays a major role in their prevention. Good adherence to the Mediterranean diet has a protective effect on cardiovascular health and may reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Our prospective study aimed to evaluate the impact of educational lifestyle interventions on cardiovascular risk parameters and the improvement in adherence to the Mediterranean diet of the involved population. Methods: Participants have been recruited by General Practitioners in Torresina neighborhood in Rome. From December 2018 to June 2020, 41 patients were involved in nutritional, psychological, and physical activity meetings by a multidisciplinary team of healthcare professionals. In particular, a nutritionist provided information to patients on balanced nutrition, considering the Mediterranean diet as a dietary model. Information on lifestyle, dietary habits and physical activity, anthropometric data and laboratory measurements were collected at baseline and after 12 months. The variations of the evaluated parameters were analyzed by paired t-test e Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results: The analysis showed statistically significant decreases in weight (p = 0.03) and BMI (p = 0.02), as well as in systolic (p < 0.001) and diastolic (p = 0.001) blood pressure and in total (p = 0.02) and LDL (p = 0.01) cholesterol level. Results also showed an improvement in the adherence to the Mediterranean diet (p = 0.001): the frequency of consumption of fruits and vegetables, legumes, cereals and fish has increased significantly, while the consumption of meat, milk and dairy products and alcohol decreased. Conclusions: This study highlights that a multidisciplinary educational program can be effective in improving healthy habits and in reducing cardiovascular risk factors, supporting its implementation in primary prevention at the community level. Key messages: • Promoting healthy lifestyle through primary prevention and health promotion actions is critical to reduce the onset of cardiovascular diseases. • A population-based multidisciplinary educational intervention may be effective in improving adherence to a healthy, balanced diet and decreasing cardiovascular risk factors.

: Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs) are a global concern, requiring surveillance strategies as Point Prevalence Surveys (PPS) to estimate their burden and investigate associated risk factors for targeted interventions in high-risk areas. This study aims to assess the prevalence of HAIs, identify determinants and evaluate antimicrobial use in a teaching hospital in Rome. A PPS was carried out from June 19th to 23rd, 2023, in accordance with the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) protocol for HAIs and antimicrobial use in European acute care hospitals (version 6.1). Pearson’s chi-squared test was employed to investigate correlations between potential risk factors and HAIs. The survey included 829 patients with an average age of 56.3 years (SD: ±24.6). Of these, 48.4% were female and over half had visited the hospital’s Emergency Department (53.7%). The prevalence of active HAIs was 8.7%, with 72 patients diagnosed. Furthermore, 51.0% of all patients received at least one systemic antimicrobial agent, and 16.7% of those treated had an HAI. Penicillins (39.7%) and third-generation cephalosporins (37.8%) were the most frequently prescribed antimicrobials. The primary HAIs were bloodstream infections (34.1%), followed by urinary tract (27.3%), surgical site (23.9%), lower respiratory tract (6.8%), and gastrointestinal infections (7.9%). Escherichia coli (13.2%), Staphylococcus aureus (9.2%), and Clostridium difficile (6.6%) were the most frequently isolated pathogens. Intensive Care Unit admission, use of medical device, recent antibiotic therapy and prior hospitalization or surgery significantly correlated (p < 0.05) with increased HAIs risk. The detected prevalence of HAIs is lower than the national rates observed in 2022 (10.2%), which have increased since 2016. HAIs surveillance is essential for developing effective infection prevention and control programs and for optimizing resource allocation in hospital settings. Key messages: • Surveillance of Healthcare-Associated Infections is crucial for developing targeted Infection Prevention and Control programs and optimizing hospital resource allocation. • Point Prevalence Surveys offer essential information for assessing the burden of Healthcare-Associated Infections and directing intervention strategies in hospitals.