AIMS AND CONTENT

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The teaching aims to:

• Provide students with basic information about the epidemiology, clinical presentation, diagnosis and prevention of infectious diseases
• Provide students with a general understanding of healthcare-associated infections
• Introduce pathogenetic aspects of infectious diseases of various systems, with particular attention to those involving the eye
• Introduce students to collaboration roles in the prevention and management of infectious diseases

At the end of the teaching, the student will be able to:

• Distinguish between colonization, infection and disease
• Recognize frequently encountered infectious diseases and emerging infectious diseases
• Recognize common clinical presentations of major infectious diseases
• Correctly apply/use, whenever necessary, isolation protocols and personal protective equipment
• Evaluate signs and symptoms of a patient with an infectious disease of the eye
• Classify infectious risks according to the presence or not of immunosuppression
• Identify clinical scenarios at risk for healthcare-associated infections 
• Recognize risk factors for antimicrobial resistance and prevent/contain the spread of antimicrobial resistant pathogens

TEACHING METHODS

• Frontal teaching. In case of unforeseen circumstances, telematic teaching could be considered
• Use of audiovisual material (videos, images, power point presentations)

Any Student with documented Specific Learning Disorders (SLD), or with any special needs, shall reach out to the Lecturer(s) and to the dedicated SLD Representative in the Department before class begins, in order to liase and arrange the specific teaching methods and ensure proper achievement of the learning aims and outcomes.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

• Introduction to infectious diseases: global impact, definitions, contagiousness, routes of transmission
• Risk factors, prevention, and management of antimicrobial resistance
• Biological risk and isolation measures
• Infections of the eye
  • Conjunctivitis
  • Keratitis
  • Endophthalmitis
  • Uveitis
  • Retinitis
  • Periocular infections
• Pneumonia
• SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19
• Sepsis and septic shock
• Meningitis

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Manuale di Malattie Infettive, eighth edition 2015. Italian text. Authors: Mauro Moroni, Spinello Antinori, Vincenzo Vullo.
• Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett’s Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases, ninth edition 2019. English text. Authors: John E. Bennet, Raphael Dolin, Martin J. Blaser.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The exam will be held within the integrated course, in written/oral form.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The aim of the exam is to verify the acquisition of key concepts in infectious diseases (both in general and specifically related to infectious diseases of the eye), the ability to rapidly recognize the presence of serious, life-threatening infections, and the ability to adopt appropriate measures to prevent the development and transmission of infectious diseases.