In our usual Christmas episode, Brett, Phil and Martin choose our papers and podcasts of 2023. Also this time, Martin set the three of us a challenge: to find an interesting IPC-related paper from the years of our birth (more challenging for some than others..). Martin also reveals the No 1 single in our respective countries on the day of our birth. For Martin, a near miss. For Phil, a very apt song and for Brett... well, his karaoke debut cannot be far off.. Happy holidays everyone!

Martin's 1955 paper: Lowbury, E. J. (1955). "Cross-infection of wounds with antibiotic-resistant organisms." Br Med J 1(4920): 985-990. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.1.4920.985

Phil's 1964 paper: Murray, D. G. (1964). "Wound Infections after Surgery for Fractured Hip. A Follow-up Study." JAMA 190: 505-508. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.1964.03070190025005

Brett's 1979 paper: Ehrenkranz, N. J. and S. J. Pfaff (1979). "Growth of hospital infection control programme and the infection control nurse." J R Soc Med 72(12): 888. https://doi.org/10.1177/014107687907201204

Our top papers

Martin's favourite paper: Wolfensberger, A., L. Clack, S. von Felten, M. Faes Hesse, D. Saleschus, M. T. Meier, K. Kusejko, R. Kouyos, L. Held and H. Sax (2023). "Prevention of non-ventilator-associated hospital-acquired pneumonia in Switzerland: a type 2 hybrid effectiveness-implementation trial." Lancet Infect Dis 23(7): 836-846. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(22)00812-X

Phil's favourite paper: Peel, T. N., S. Astbury, A. C. Cheng, D. L. Paterson, K. L. Buising, T. Spelman, A. Tran-Duy, S. Adie, G. Boyce, C. McDougall, R. Molnar, J. Mulford, P. Rehfisch, M. Solomon, R. Crawford, T. Harris-Brown, J. Roney, J. Wisniewski, R. de Steiger and A. T. Group (2023). "Trial of Vancomycin and Cefazolin as Surgical Prophylaxis in Arthroplasty." N Engl J Med 389(16): 1488-1498. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2301401

Brett's favourite paper: Seidelman, J. L., C. R. Mantyh and D. J. Anderson (2023). "Surgical Site Infection Prevention: A Review." JAMA 329(3): 244-252. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2022.24075