Hospital Infection Control & Prevention – December 1, 2017
December 1, 2017
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IDWeek 2017: Resistant Bugs Rampant in Long-term Care
The nation’s long-term care facilities are teeming with multidrug-resistant organisms, giving pathogens that can cause virtually untreatable infections access to vulnerable patient populations across the healthcare continuum.
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Decolonization Protocol Yields Mixed Results
A decolonization protocol that has reduced infections in ICU patients did not translate that overall efficacy when researchers tried it on non-critical care patients. However, when they targeted non-ICU patients with central and other lines in place, they saw MRSA and VRE infections drop by one-third.
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Driving C. diff to Zero? It’s Possible
An infection preventionist in Ohio drove C. diff to zero for a stunning 341 days with a multifaceted program that had buy-in from healthcare colleagues and hospital administration.
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Do Long-sleeved Physician Coats Spread C. diff?
The “bare below the elbows” approach to infection control, wherein physicians wear short sleeves rather than their traditional white coats, has been met with some derision as a misguided approach by “fashion police.”
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Vaccine Rash Confounds Investigation of Measles Outbreak
A disease once declared eradicated in the U.S. exploded after Somali families in Minnesota chose to not vaccinate their children.
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Heater-cooler Infections Linked to Tap Water
Heater-cooler devices used in cardiac surgery continue to be implicated in patient infections, and the take-home lesson from one recently reported outbreak is use only sterile water in the units.
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APIC to CDC: Need for Legionella Guidance
In light of numerous Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks in the last few years, the CDC has asked clinicians in the field what should be emphasized in revised guidance to reduce the growth and transmission of Legionella spp. in healthcare water systems.
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CDC: Clinicians Should Be Vigilant in Watching for Post-hurricane Infections
The period of increased risk could run through March 2018 if the current pace of restoration efforts continues.
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Rapid Test for Emerging C. auris Under Development
If the test is validated in this larger trial, it will enable hospitals to rapidly identify C. auris in patients or the hospital environment.