Microbiology thesis topics, with the design and feasibility for eachMicrobiology thesis topics, with the design and feasibility for each

The sample figure on each plate is a planning range read off the design, not a calculated answer. Your own number comes from a calculation against your own assumptions — the difference you would call clinically meaningful, the variability in your setting, the power you want — and it belongs in the synopsis with those assumptions written beside it.

• Topic 01 / 44

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  Phenotypic detection of extended spectrum beta-lactamase production in Enterobacterales from clinical specimens and the associated antibiogram

  DesignCross-sectionalFeasibilityStraightforward

  Primary outcome

  Proportion of isolates producing extended spectrum beta-lactamase on a phenotypic confirmatory test, with the resistance pattern to other agents

  Collection time

  12 months

  Sample, as a planning figure

  roughly 200 to 350 isolates, subject to a proper calculation

  What your unit must already have

  • Routine culture and sensitivity workload across urine, pus and blood
  • Combined disc or double disc synergy reagents with a known positive control strain
  • CLSI interpretive tables for the current year

  What derails it

  Repeat isolates from the same patient inflate the denominator, so write a de-duplication rule into the protocol, such as the first isolate per patient per specimen type per admission.

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• Topic 02 / 44

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  Phenotypic characterisation of carbapenem resistance in Gram-negative isolates from inpatient specimens

  DesignCross-sectionalFeasibilityModerate

  Primary outcome

  Proportion of carbapenem non-susceptible isolates and the distribution of carbapenemase phenotypes identified by the chosen confirmatory tests

  Collection time

  12 to 15 months

  Sample, as a planning figure

  roughly 120 to 200 carbapenem non-susceptible isolates, subject to a proper calculation

  What your unit must already have

  • Modified carbapenem inactivation or comparable reagents with control strains
  • An inpatient and intensive care workload that yields these isolates steadily
  • Secure storage for isolates, since tests are run in batches

  What derails it

  Isolates kept on slopes in a laboratory refrigerator lose viability over months, so set up glycerol stocks at minus seventy if that is available, or run the confirmatory test weekly rather than storing everything for one final batch.

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• Topic 03 / 44

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  Nasal carriage of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus among healthcare workers in selected hospital areas

  DesignCross-sectionalFeasibilityStraightforward

  Primary outcome

  Proportion of screened healthcare workers with nasal carriage of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, with the antibiogram of the isolates

  Collection time

  9 months

  Sample, as a planning figure

  roughly 200 to 350 participants, subject to a proper calculation

  What your unit must already have

  • Cefoxitin discs and a control strain for methicillin resistance detection
  • Institutional and ethics approval, since staff are the participants
  • A written policy on what is told to a carrier and who arranges decolonisation

  What derails it

  Staff will not consent if they fear the result reaching administration, so the protocol must state that results are confidential and given only to the participant, and the head of department should endorse that in writing before swabbing starts.

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• Topic 04 / 44

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  Biofilm formation by isolates from indwelling device-associated infections assessed by a microtitre plate method

  DesignCross-sectionalFeasibilityModerate

  Primary outcome

  Proportion of isolates classified as strong, moderate or non-biofilm producers, with the antimicrobial resistance pattern in each category

  Collection time

  12 to 15 months

  Sample, as a planning figure

  roughly 120 to 200 isolates, subject to a proper calculation

  What your unit must already have

  • Microtitre plates, crystal violet and an ELISA reader for optical density
  • A clinical pathway that sends catheter tips and device-associated samples
  • A reference strain for each run to anchor the cut-offs

  What derails it

  Optical density cut-offs shift between plate batches and readers, so include the negative control wells and a reference strain in every plate and define the cut-off from those, not from a value copied out of a paper.

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• Topic 05 / 44

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  Surveillance of catheter-associated urinary tract infection in intensive care using a defined case definition

  DesignProspective observationalFeasibilityModerate

  Primary outcome

  Infection rate per thousand catheter days, with the microbiological profile and resistance pattern of the isolates

  Collection time

  12 to 15 months

  Sample, as a planning figure

  roughly 3000 to 6000 catheter days, subject to a proper calculation

  What your unit must already have

  • Daily device-day counting, which means a person visiting the unit every day
  • An agreed written case definition adopted by the infection control committee
  • Intensivist co-operation for sampling by the defined criteria

  What derails it

  Device days must be counted every single day and a weekend gap cannot be reconstructed, so arrange a named alternate to count on your leave days before enrolment begins.

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• Topic 06 / 44

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  Microbiological profile of ventilator-associated pneumonia in a medical intensive care unit

  DesignProspective observationalFeasibilityModerate

  Primary outcome

  Organism distribution and resistance pattern in endotracheal aspirate cultures meeting the study case definition, with the rate per thousand ventilator days

  Collection time

  12 to 15 months

  Sample, as a planning figure

  roughly 80 to 140 episodes, subject to a proper calculation

  What your unit must already have

  • Semi-quantitative or quantitative culture of endotracheal aspirates
  • Daily ventilator day counting in the unit
  • An agreed clinical and radiological case definition used by the treating team

  What derails it

  Colonisation of the tube is indistinguishable from pneumonia on culture alone, so the case definition must combine clinical, radiological and quantitative criteria and be applied by someone other than the resident who wants the case to count.

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• Topic 07 / 44

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  Surgical site infection following clean and clean-contaminated procedures, with the organisms isolated and their resistance profile

  DesignCohortFeasibilityModerate

  Primary outcome

  Surgical site infection rate within thirty days of surgery, with organism distribution and susceptibility

  Collection time

  15 to 18 months including follow-up

  Sample, as a planning figure

  roughly 300 to 500 operations, subject to a proper calculation

  What your unit must already have

  • An agreement with the surgical units for wound inspection at fixed days
  • A follow-up route for patients discharged before day thirty
  • Culture of discharging wounds rather than a clinical label alone

  What derails it

  Infections appear after discharge and patients go to a local doctor, so a telephone follow-up at day thirty with a defined question set is mandatory, and undocumented cases must be counted as such rather than as non-infections.

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• Topic 08 / 44

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  Blood culture contamination rate and the factors recorded at collection

  DesignRetrospectiveFeasibilityStraightforward

  Primary outcome

  Contamination rate defined by a stated organism and single-bottle rule, by collecting area and time of collection

  Collection time

  4 to 6 months

  Sample, as a planning figure

  roughly 1500 to 3000 blood culture sets, subject to a proper calculation

  What your unit must already have

  • A register or laboratory information system recording the ward and time of collection
  • An agreed list of probable contaminant organisms
  • A waiver of consent for record review

  What derails it

  Single bottles submitted instead of paired sets make contamination impossible to judge, so record set completeness as a separate finding rather than treating a lone bottle as a set.

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• Topic 09 / 44

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  Hand hygiene compliance before and after a structured training and feedback intervention in selected wards

  DesignComparative interventionalFeasibilityStraightforward

  Primary outcome

  Observed compliance with the defined moments of hand hygiene, before and after the intervention

  Collection time

  9 to 12 months

  Sample, as a planning figure

  roughly 400 to 800 observed opportunities in each phase, subject to a proper calculation

  What your unit must already have

  • A trained observer using a standard observation form
  • Uninterrupted availability of alcohol hand rub at the point of care
  • Support from nursing supervisors for the training sessions

  What derails it

  Compliance rises simply because an observer is standing there, so record whether staff knew observation was in progress and keep the observer, the form and the time of day identical in both phases.

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• Topic 10 / 44

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  Cartridge-based nucleic acid amplification testing of sputum in presumptive pulmonary tuberculosis, with mycobacterial culture as the reference standard

  DesignDiagnostic accuracyFeasibilityModerate

  Primary outcome

  Sensitivity and specificity of the molecular test against culture, overall and in smear-negative samples

  Collection time

  15 to 18 months

  Sample, as a planning figure

  roughly 200 to 350 samples, subject to a proper calculation

  What your unit must already have

  • An accredited laboratory link for liquid or solid mycobacterial culture
  • Cartridge supply through the national programme, confirmed for the study period
  • Biosafety arrangements for sputum processing

  What derails it

  Culture results take six to eight weeks and a proportion are contaminated or fail, so the reference standard is incomplete for months; build that lag into the timetable and report the failed cultures rather than dropping them.

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• Topic 11 / 44

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  Pattern of NS1 antigen and IgM antibody positivity in clinically suspected dengue by day of illness

  DesignCross-sectionalFeasibilityStraightforward

  Primary outcome

  Proportion positive for each marker by the day of illness recorded at sampling

  Collection time

  the dengue season of two consecutive years, or one season in a high-transmission district

  Sample, as a planning figure

  roughly 250 to 400 samples, subject to a proper calculation

  What your unit must already have

  • Kits supplied through routine or programme channels with stable lot availability
  • A clinical proforma recording the exact day of fever at sampling
  • A medicine or paediatric unit referring suspected cases

  What derails it

  Day of illness is recorded carelessly in the fever OPD and the whole analysis depends on it, so ask the question yourself at sampling rather than taking it from the requisition slip.

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• Topic 12 / 44

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  Uropathogens and their antimicrobial susceptibility in community-onset compared with hospital-onset urinary tract infection

  DesignCross-sectionalFeasibilityStraightforward

  Primary outcome

  Organism distribution and susceptibility pattern by the defined community-onset or hospital-onset category

  Collection time

  12 months

  Sample, as a planning figure

  roughly 300 to 500 significant isolates, subject to a proper calculation

  What your unit must already have

  • Quantitative urine culture with a stated significance threshold
  • A definition of hospital onset based on time from admission and prior contact
  • Access to admission dates for every patient sampled

  What derails it

  Community onset and hospital onset cannot be separated without the admission date and prior hospitalisation history, and neither is on the urine requisition, so collect them from the ward file at the time of culture.

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• Topic 13 / 44

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  Species distribution of Candida isolates from clinical specimens and their antifungal susceptibility

  DesignCross-sectionalFeasibilityModerate

  Primary outcome

  Species-wise distribution with the susceptibility pattern to the antifungal agents tested

  Collection time

  12 to 15 months

  Sample, as a planning figure

  roughly 100 to 180 isolates, subject to a proper calculation

  What your unit must already have

  • Chromogenic medium or a validated scheme for species identification
  • Antifungal susceptibility discs or broth dilution panels with control strains
  • An intensive care and oncology workload generating candidaemia and candiduria

  What derails it

  Species identification by germ tube and chromogenic colour alone will not separate the closely related species that matter for resistance, so state exactly how far your identification goes and do not assign a species your method cannot distinguish.

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• Topic 14 / 44

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  Bacterial isolates and their antimicrobial susceptibility in blood cultures from neonates with suspected sepsis

  DesignCross-sectionalFeasibilityStraightforward

  Primary outcome

  Organism distribution and susceptibility pattern, separated into early-onset and late-onset sepsis by the defined age cut-off

  Collection time

  12 months

  Sample, as a planning figure

  roughly 150 to 250 culture-positive episodes, subject to a proper calculation

  What your unit must already have

  • Paediatric blood culture bottles with an adequate volume policy
  • A neonatal unit that draws cultures before starting antibiotics
  • A record of antibiotic exposure before sampling

  What derails it

  Neonatal blood cultures are often drawn after the first antibiotic dose and with under a millilitre of blood, so record the volume and the prior dose for each sample, because both drive your yield far more than the organism does.

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• Topic 15 / 44

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  Blood culture in suspected enteric fever compared with a rapid serological test, with culture as the reference standard

  DesignDiagnostic accuracyFeasibilityModerate

  Primary outcome

  Sensitivity and specificity of the rapid serological test against blood culture isolation of Salmonella

  Collection time

  12 to 15 months

  Sample, as a planning figure

  roughly 200 to 350 suspected cases, subject to a proper calculation

  What your unit must already have

  • An adequate blood volume policy, since yield depends on it
  • Rapid test kits with a single lot where possible
  • A fever clinic or medicine OPD referring suspected cases before antibiotics

  What derails it

  Almost everyone has taken an antibiotic from a local pharmacy before reaching the hospital, which suppresses the culture and makes your reference standard falsely negative, so record prior antibiotic intake and analyse that subgroup separately.

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• Topic 16 / 44

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  Aerobic bacterial profile and susceptibility pattern in diabetic foot infections by the grade of ulcer recorded clinically

  DesignCross-sectionalFeasibilityStraightforward

  Primary outcome

  Organism distribution and resistance pattern by the clinical grade of the ulcer

  Collection time

  12 months

  Sample, as a planning figure

  roughly 120 to 200 patients, subject to a proper calculation

  What your unit must already have

  • Deep tissue or curetted specimens rather than superficial swabs
  • A surgery or medicine unit with a diabetic foot clinic
  • A grading system recorded by the treating team at sampling

  What derails it

  A superficial swab grows skin flora and changes the whole profile, so insist on a curetted or deep tissue sample in the protocol and discard superficial swabs rather than analysing the two together.

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• Topic 17 / 44

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  Environmental sampling of intensive care surfaces and equipment for multidrug-resistant Gram-negative organisms

  DesignCross-sectionalFeasibilityModerate

  Primary outcome

  Proportion of sampled sites yielding a multidrug-resistant Gram-negative isolate, by site category

  Collection time

  9 to 12 months

  Sample, as a planning figure

  roughly 300 to 500 surface samples across defined site categories, subject to a proper calculation

  What your unit must already have

  • A sampling plan naming the sites, the time of day and the interval from cleaning
  • Transport media and a neutraliser if disinfectant residue is expected
  • Permission from the intensive care unit head and the infection control nurse

  What derails it

  A swab taken immediately after cleaning and one taken eight hours later are different studies, so fix the interval from the last cleaning round and record it for every sample, since this is the variable that determines your result.

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• Topic 18 / 44

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  Audit of physical, chemical and biological monitoring of steam sterilisation in the central sterile services department

  DesignRetrospectiveFeasibilityStraightforward

  Primary outcome

  Proportion of cycles with complete documented monitoring, and the proportion with a failed indicator and a recorded corrective action

  Collection time

  4 to 6 months

  Sample, as a planning figure

  roughly 400 to 800 sterilisation cycles, subject to a proper calculation

  What your unit must already have

  • Cycle logs with printouts or chart records retained for the period audited
  • Spore strip or biological indicator records
  • Permission from the in-charge of the sterile services department

  What derails it

  Biological indicators are frequently run weekly rather than per load and the records are kept in a separate register, so establish what the department's written policy actually requires before you judge a cycle incomplete.

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• Topic 19 / 44

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  Reported needle-stick and sharps injuries among hospital staff and completion of the recommended post-exposure evaluation

  DesignRetrospectiveFeasibilityStraightforward

  Primary outcome

  Proportion of reported exposures with documented baseline and follow-up serological testing as per the institutional protocol

  Collection time

  4 to 6 months

  Sample, as a planning figure

  roughly 150 to 300 reported exposures, subject to a proper calculation

  What your unit must already have

  • An existing exposure reporting register in the infection control or casualty office
  • The institutional post-exposure protocol as the audit standard
  • A waiver of consent and a plan that keeps staff identity out of the dataset

  What derails it

  Most sharps injuries are never reported, so be explicit that you are studying reported exposures and the completeness of their follow-up, not incidence, because an examiner will otherwise read your number as a rate.

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• Topic 20 / 44

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  Seroreactivity for transfusion-transmissible infections among blood donors in a hospital blood centre

  DesignRetrospectiveFeasibilityStraightforward

  Primary outcome

  Seroreactivity rate for each screened infection by donor type and age group

  Collection time

  4 to 6 months

  Sample, as a planning figure

  roughly 4000 to 8000 donor records, subject to a proper calculation

  What your unit must already have

  • Blood centre screening records for the period chosen
  • A waiver of consent and an anonymised extraction format
  • Permission from the blood centre medical officer

  What derails it

  Reactive donors are counselled and their identity is confidential, so your dataset must be anonymised at extraction and never carry the donor identification number into your working file.

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• Topic 21 / 44

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  Factors associated with multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bloodstream infection in inpatients: a case-control comparison

  DesignCase-controlFeasibilityModerate

  Primary outcome

  Association of prior antibiotic exposure, device use and length of stay with multidrug-resistant compared with susceptible bloodstream isolates

  Collection time

  15 to 18 months

  Sample, as a planning figure

  roughly 70 to 110 per group, subject to a proper calculation

  What your unit must already have

  • A laboratory record linking every isolate to the patient's admission
  • Case files available for exposure history, including drugs given before admission
  • An agreed definition of multidrug resistance fixed in advance

  What derails it

  Controls must be patients with a susceptible bloodstream isolate admitted in the same period and the same type of unit, because controls drawn from a different ward will differ in exposures for reasons that have nothing to do with resistance.

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• Topic 22 / 44

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  Antimicrobial consumption in selected wards expressed in defined daily doses per hundred bed days

  DesignRetrospectiveFeasibilityStraightforward

  Primary outcome

  Consumption in defined daily doses per hundred bed days by antimicrobial class and ward

  Collection time

  4 to 6 months

  Sample, as a planning figure

  roughly 6 to 12 months of pharmacy issue data for the selected wards, subject to a proper calculation

  What your unit must already have

  • Pharmacy issue or indent records that can be attributed to a ward
  • Bed occupancy data for the same wards and period
  • The current WHO defined daily dose values for the agents studied
  • Permission from the pharmacy in charge and the medical superintendent to use issue and occupancy data

  What derails it

  Ward indents include drugs carried to other areas and returned stock, so reconcile issues with returns for at least a sample of months, otherwise consumption will be overstated exactly where the stock cupboard is shared.

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• Topic 23 / 44

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  Concordance between empirical antimicrobial therapy and the subsequent culture and susceptibility report in inpatients

  DesignProspective observationalFeasibilityStraightforward

  Primary outcome

  Proportion of patients whose empirical therapy covered the eventual isolate, and the proportion in whom therapy was de-escalated after the report

  Collection time

  12 months

  Sample, as a planning figure

  roughly 200 to 350 patients with a positive culture, subject to a proper calculation

  What your unit must already have

  • A record of the antibiotic started before the culture report was available
  • Daily access to the treatment chart of enrolled patients
  • The susceptibility report timing recorded, not only its content

  What derails it

  De-escalation can only be judged if you know when the report actually reached the ward, so record the time of report release and the time of the next drug change, because a clinician who never saw the report has not declined to act on it.

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• Topic 24 / 44

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  Rapid diagnostic testing for malaria compared with peripheral smear microscopy in febrile patients

  DesignDiagnostic accuracyFeasibilityStraightforward

  Primary outcome

  Sensitivity and specificity of the rapid test against thick and thin smear microscopy as the reference standard, by species

  Collection time

  one transmission season, or 12 months in an endemic district

  Sample, as a planning figure

  roughly 250 to 400 febrile patients, subject to a proper calculation

  What your unit must already have

  • Kits supplied through the national programme for the study period
  • A trained microscopist and a second reader for discordant slides
  • A fever OPD or outreach clinic in a transmission area

  What derails it

  Smear microscopy is an imperfect reference and a single reader misses low parasitaemia, so build in independent re-reading of all positives and a sample of negatives, and state who adjudicated disagreements.

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• Topic 25 / 44

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  Intestinal parasitic infection in school-age children in a defined area by stool microscopy after concentration

  DesignCross-sectionalFeasibilityModerate

  Primary outcome

  Proportion with one or more parasites identified, by species and by age group

  Collection time

  9 to 12 months

  Sample, as a planning figure

  roughly 300 to 500 children, subject to a proper calculation

  What your unit must already have

  • School and education department permission in addition to ethics approval
  • Parental consent and the child's assent, documented
  • A concentration technique, since direct smears alone will under-detect

  What derails it

  Deworming is given routinely through the school health programme, so record the date of the last dose for every child, because a survey run a month after a deworming round measures the programme rather than the community.

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• Topic 26 / 44

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  Diagnostic yield of smear, molecular testing and culture in extrapulmonary specimens from suspected tuberculosis

  DesignCross-sectionalFeasibilityModerate

  Primary outcome

  Proportion positive by each method, by specimen type

  Collection time

  15 to 18 months

  Sample, as a planning figure

  roughly 200 to 350 specimens, subject to a proper calculation

  What your unit must already have

  • Molecular testing available for non-respiratory specimens under programme rules
  • Culture facility or a funded referral pathway
  • Clinical categorisation of each case by the treating unit

  What derails it

  Paucibacillary specimens such as pleural fluid and lymph node aspirate give very low yields by every method, so state the expected specimen mix in advance, because a series dominated by fluids will look like a failed study rather than a finding.

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• Topic 27 / 44

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  Clinical significance of coagulase-negative staphylococci isolated from blood cultures judged against a defined criteria set

  DesignCross-sectionalFeasibilityModerate

  Primary outcome

  Proportion of such isolates classified as clinically significant by the pre-stated criteria, with the species and resistance pattern

  Collection time

  12 months

  Sample, as a planning figure

  roughly 100 to 180 isolates, subject to a proper calculation

  What your unit must already have

  • A criteria set agreed with clinicians and fixed before the first case
  • Paired sets drawn from separate sites where policy allows
  • Access to the clinical file for the features in the criteria set

  What derails it

  Whether the isolate is a contaminant cannot be decided by the microbiologist alone, so the adjudication must be written down in advance and applied by a pair that includes a clinician, otherwise the classification will be circular.

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• Topic 28 / 44

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  Bacteriological quality of drinking water and dialysis water in the hospital against the applicable standard

  DesignCross-sectionalFeasibilityStraightforward

  Primary outcome

  Proportion of samples exceeding the permissible total viable count or coliform limit at each sampling point

  Collection time

  9 months

  Sample, as a planning figure

  roughly 150 to 250 samples across sampling points and visits, subject to a proper calculation

  What your unit must already have

  • Membrane filtration or multiple tube apparatus with appropriate media
  • A sampling map agreed with the engineering and dialysis units
  • The applicable national standard as the comparison benchmark

  What derails it

  A sample collected after running the tap for two minutes and one collected from the first flush give different results, so fix the collection method at every point and record whether the outlet had been in use that morning.

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• Topic 29 / 44

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  Faecal carriage of vancomycin-resistant enterococci among patients in high-risk wards

  DesignCross-sectionalFeasibilityModerate

  Primary outcome

  Proportion of screened patients with carriage of a vancomycin-resistant enterococcus, with species identification and resistance confirmation

  Collection time

  12 months

  Sample, as a planning figure

  roughly 200 to 350 patients, subject to a proper calculation

  What your unit must already have

  • Selective media for enterococcal screening with control strains
  • Confirmation of vancomycin resistance by a quantitative method
  • Consent for a screening swab that brings no direct benefit to the patient

  What derails it

  Screening identifies carriers who may then be isolated, so the protocol must say what the ward is told and what happens next, and the infection control committee should approve that pathway before the first swab.

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• Topic 30 / 44

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  Catheter-related bloodstream infection in patients on haemodialysis through a temporary central venous catheter

  DesignCohortFeasibilityModerate

  Primary outcome

  Infection rate per thousand catheter days with the organism profile of confirmed episodes

  Collection time

  15 to 18 months

  Sample, as a planning figure

  roughly 120 to 200 catheters followed, subject to a proper calculation

  What your unit must already have

  • A dialysis unit that will record insertion and removal dates reliably
  • Paired peripheral and catheter hub cultures when infection is suspected
  • A defined case definition applied by the nephrology team

  What derails it

  Catheters are removed in another unit or at another hospital and the removal date is lost, so build a weekly reconciliation of the dialysis register into your routine rather than reconstructing catheter days at the end.

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• Topic 31 / 44

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  Hepatitis B and hepatitis C seroreactivity among patients on maintenance haemodialysis and its relation to duration on dialysis

  DesignCross-sectionalFeasibilityStraightforward

  Primary outcome

  Seroreactivity proportion for each virus and its relation to time on dialysis and the number of transfusions recorded

  Collection time

  9 to 12 months

  Sample, as a planning figure

  roughly 120 to 200 patients, subject to a proper calculation

  What your unit must already have

  • A dialysis unit register with the date of first dialysis for every patient
  • Screening kits with a confirmatory plan for reactive samples
  • Counselling arrangement for patients found reactive

  What derails it

  Dialysis units already screen periodically, so you may find every patient has a recent result in the file, making a fresh test redundant and the committee unlikely to approve it; design this around the unit register and a single defined round.

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• Topic 32 / 44

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  Bacteriological profile of burn wound infection by week of admission and the susceptibility pattern of the isolates

  DesignProspective observationalFeasibilityModerate

  Primary outcome

  Organism distribution by the week of stay at which the sample was taken, with susceptibility pattern

  Collection time

  12 to 15 months

  Sample, as a planning figure

  roughly 100 to 160 patients, subject to a proper calculation

  What your unit must already have

  • A burns unit with a fixed dressing schedule that allows timed sampling
  • Quantitative or semi-quantitative culture of wound tissue or swab by a stated method
  • Agreement on the sampling days, since sampling at every dressing is not feasible

  What derails it

  The flora changes week by week, so the comparison only means anything if every patient is sampled on the same scheduled days; patients who die or are discharged early will break that schedule, and must be handled by a stated rule.

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• Topic 33 / 44

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  In-use testing of hospital disinfectant solutions at the working dilution

  DesignCross-sectionalFeasibilityStraightforward

  Primary outcome

  Proportion of in-use disinfectant samples yielding bacterial growth above the stated acceptance limit, by area and solution type

  Collection time

  6 to 9 months

  Sample, as a planning figure

  roughly 120 to 250 in-use samples, subject to a proper calculation

  What your unit must already have

  • A neutraliser appropriate to each disinfectant being tested
  • A sampling schedule agreed with housekeeping supervisors
  • The hospital disinfection policy, stating the intended dilution and contact time

  What derails it

  Housekeeping staff prepare a fresh solution when they see you coming, so collect samples unannounced with the supervisor's standing permission rather than on a declared round.

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• Topic 34 / 44

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  Automated identification of clinical isolates compared with conventional biochemical identification

  DesignDiagnostic accuracyFeasibilityDemanding

  Primary outcome

  Agreement at genus and species level between the automated system and conventional identification as the reference standard

  Collection time

  12 months

  Sample, as a planning figure

  roughly 150 to 250 isolates, subject to a proper calculation

  What your unit must already have

  • An automated identification system in working order with current consumables
  • A full conventional biochemical panel for the same isolates
  • A plan for resolving discordant results, including sequencing or a referral laboratory

  What derails it

  Discordant identifications cannot be resolved without a third method, so name that method and its cost in the protocol, because a table of disagreements with no adjudication answers nothing.

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• Topic 35 / 44

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  Rotavirus antigen detection in children under five admitted with acute gastroenteritis, and the clinical severity recorded

  DesignCross-sectionalFeasibilityStraightforward

  Primary outcome

  Proportion antigen-positive, with the severity score recorded at admission in positive and negative groups

  Collection time

  12 months to cover seasonal variation

  Sample, as a planning figure

  roughly 200 to 350 children, subject to a proper calculation

  What your unit must already have

  • Antigen detection kits with stable supply across the study year
  • A paediatric ward that admits gastroenteritis through the year
  • A severity scoring sheet completed at admission

  What derails it

  Rotavirus detection is strongly seasonal, so a study run over six months will reflect the season chosen rather than the year; plan twelve months of collection or state the seasonal restriction in the objectives.

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• Topic 36 / 44

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  Microbiological profile of infective keratitis on corneal scraping with direct microscopy and culture

  DesignCross-sectionalFeasibilityModerate

  Primary outcome

  Proportion with fungal, bacterial or no growth, with species identification and the direct microscopy result for each

  Collection time

  12 to 15 months

  Sample, as a planning figure

  roughly 120 to 200 patients, subject to a proper calculation

  What your unit must already have

  • An ophthalmology unit performing scrapings with inoculation at the slit lamp
  • Potassium hydroxide or calcofluor preparation and fungal media
  • Prompt plating, since scraping material is minute

  What derails it

  Scrapings are inoculated at the bedside by the ophthalmology resident, so the plates and slides must be kept ready in the eye OPD and collected the same day, otherwise half your cultures will be sterile for handling reasons.

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• Topic 37 / 44

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  Two alcohol-based hand rub formulations and the immediate reduction in hand bacterial counts in healthy volunteers: a randomised comparison

  DesignRandomised controlledFeasibilityModerate

  Primary outcome

  Reduction in colony forming units from fingertip sampling immediately after application

  Collection time

  6 to 9 months

  Sample, as a planning figure

  roughly 30 to 50 volunteers with a defined number of paired applications each, subject to a proper calculation

  What your unit must already have

  • A standardised fingertip sampling method with a neutralising broth
  • Both formulations available from the same supply through the study
  • Ethics approval, written consent and CTRI registration before the first volunteer is enrolled, since an intervention is being allocated

  What derails it

  Baseline hand flora varies enormously between people and across the day, so use a crossover within each volunteer with a stated washout and record the time since the last hand wash for every sampling.

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• Topic 38 / 44

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  Bacteriological yield of ascitic fluid culture in suspected spontaneous bacterial peritonitis by culture method used

  DesignCross-sectionalFeasibilityModerate

  Primary outcome

  Proportion of fluid samples yielding growth by conventional plating compared with inoculation into blood culture bottles from the same tap

  Collection time

  12 to 15 months

  Sample, as a planning figure

  roughly 80 to 140 samples processed both ways, subject to a proper calculation

  What your unit must already have

  • A medicine unit tapping ascites in suspected infection
  • Blood culture bottles available for fluid inoculation
  • Bedside inoculation, which means being present at the tap or training the ward team
  • Ethics approval, since an additional bottle is inoculated at the bedside and the routine pathway is changed

  What derails it

  Yield depends on the volume inoculated and on inoculation at the bedside rather than in the laboratory an hour later, so fix both in the protocol and record who inoculated each sample.

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• Topic 39 / 44

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  Serological evidence of leptospirosis in patients with acute undifferentiated fever during the monsoon

  DesignCross-sectionalFeasibilityModerate

  Primary outcome

  Proportion with IgM reactivity on a defined test, with the clinical and laboratory features recorded at presentation

  Collection time

  two monsoon seasons, or one in a high-incidence district

  Sample, as a planning figure

  roughly 200 to 350 patients, subject to a proper calculation

  What your unit must already have

  • IgM testing kits with supply secured through the fever season
  • A clinical proforma covering occupational and water exposure
  • A medicine unit admitting undifferentiated fever

  What derails it

  Acute undifferentiated fever is investigated for several causes at once and patients are recruited only if someone remembers to ask, so screen the admission register daily rather than relying on referrals from the treating team.

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• Topic 40 / 44

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  Vaginal and rectal carriage of group B Streptococcus in women in late pregnancy

  DesignCross-sectionalFeasibilityModerate

  Primary outcome

  Proportion of women with carriage on selective culture, with the antimicrobial susceptibility of isolates

  Collection time

  12 months

  Sample, as a planning figure

  roughly 250 to 400 women, subject to a proper calculation

  What your unit must already have

  • Selective enrichment broth, since direct plating under-detects
  • An antenatal clinic that will allow swab collection at the defined gestation
  • A plan for what is communicated to the obstetrician about a positive result

  What derails it

  A positive carriage result has implications for intrapartum antibiotics, so the protocol must state whether results go to the treating obstetrician and the committee will ask; decide this before you collect, not after.

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• Topic 41 / 44

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  Progression from respiratory tract colonisation to infection in ventilated patients

  DesignCohortFeasibilityDemanding

  Primary outcome

  Proportion of colonised patients who subsequently met the case definition for ventilator-associated pneumonia with the same organism

  Collection time

  18 months

  Sample, as a planning figure

  roughly 80 to 130 ventilated patients, subject to a proper calculation

  What your unit must already have

  • Twice-weekly surveillance aspirates, which means a fixed sampling round
  • Organism-level comparison, at minimum by species and antibiogram
  • Intensive care co-operation for a sampling schedule with no direct patient benefit

  What derails it

  Claiming the same organism requires more than the same species name, so state in advance that you are comparing antibiogram patterns and acknowledge that without typing you cannot prove identity.

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• Topic 42 / 44

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  Microbiological and treatment outcome records of patients with drug-resistant tuberculosis registered at a nodal centre

  DesignRetrospectiveFeasibilityModerate

  Primary outcome

  Distribution of resistance patterns at diagnosis and the recorded treatment outcome category at the end of therapy

  Collection time

  6 to 9 months

  Sample, as a planning figure

  roughly 150 to 300 registered patients, subject to a proper calculation

  What your unit must already have

  • Access to programme registers, with written permission from the district or state authority
  • Drug susceptibility records for the same patients
  • A waiver of consent and an anonymised extraction sheet

  What derails it

  Programme records belong to the national programme and not to the hospital, so permission from the district tuberculosis officer must be in hand before the synopsis, since the committee will ask to see it.

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• Topic 43 / 44

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  Minimum inhibitory concentration by a gradient strip method compared with disc diffusion interpretation for selected agents

  DesignDiagnostic accuracyFeasibilityModerate

  Primary outcome

  Categorical agreement between the two methods, with the proportion of very major and major discrepancies

  Collection time

  12 months

  Sample, as a planning figure

  roughly 120 to 200 isolates, subject to a proper calculation

  What your unit must already have

  • Gradient strips for the chosen agents, costed and sanctioned in advance
  • Control strains run with every batch
  • A single reader for zone and strip reading, with a second reader for a sample

  What derails it

  Gradient strips are expensive and a single strip per isolate leaves no room for repeats, so order for a stated repeat rate and record every test that had to be discarded for a control failure.

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• Topic 44 / 44

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  Bacterial co-infection in patients admitted with severe acute respiratory illness and the antimicrobial agents received

  DesignProspective observationalFeasibilityModerate

  Primary outcome

  Proportion with a bacterial pathogen isolated from a respiratory or blood specimen, with the antimicrobials administered before and after the culture report

  Collection time

  12 to 15 months

  Sample, as a planning figure

  roughly 150 to 250 patients, subject to a proper calculation

  What your unit must already have

  • A case definition for severe acute respiratory illness agreed with the medicine unit
  • Culture taken before the first antibiotic dose wherever possible
  • Access to the drug chart for the antimicrobial record

  What derails it

  Nearly every such patient receives an antibiotic in casualty before any sample is taken, so the protocol must place sampling at the point of admission and record the time of the first dose for each patient.

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