| Methods |
Controlled before and after study conducted during the winters of 1983‐84 (retrospectively), 1984 to 1985 and 1985 to 1986 (prospectively) to assess whether the introduction of infection control measures halted transmission of RSV in a special nursery in Boston, USA. Record review for the retrospective part and prospective study for the 2 seasons following the introduction of infection control measures |
| Participants |
HCW and patients in the special care baby unit |
| Interventions |
From the 1984 to 1985 season the following were introduced:
Active surveillance
Extensive cohorting of patients and staff
Respiratory precautions on suspicion of respiratory case
Gown, mask and gloves used on contact
Restricted visiting policy
Segregation of cases |
| Outcomes |
Laboratory: RSV culture
Effectiveness: RSV cases with symptoms and laboratory confirmation
Safety: N/A |
| Notes |
Risk of bias: high
Notes: the authors conclude that there were 7 cases in the season "before" and no cases in the following seasons (no transmission per 1000 patient days in the post‐intervention period compared 8 per 1000 patient‐days in the pre‐intervention period). No denominators are provided (hence no data can be extracted) and exposure is generically quantified by aggregate patient‐days of exposure. It is unclear how the circulation of RSV outside related to the claimed success of the measures, as no information is provided |
| Risk of bias |
| Bias |
Authors' judgement |
Support for judgement |
| Random sequence generation (selection bias) |
Unclear risk |
N/A |
| Allocation concealment (selection bias) |
Unclear risk |
N/A |
| Blinding (performance bias and detection bias)
All outcomes |
Unclear risk |
N/A |
| Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias)
All outcomes |
Unclear risk |
N/A |
| Selective reporting (reporting bias) |
Unclear risk |
N/A |
