National patient safety legislation that would encourage the confidential reporting of medical errors is critically needed in todays health care system, urged Dennis OLeary, MD, president of the Joint Commission.
Synopsis: A patient receiving the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) citalopram developed fatal serotonin syndrome after beginning therapy with linezolid for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection.
A widespread salmonella outbreak that infected 101 health care workers, patients, and visitors at St. Louis Childrens Hospital may be linked to an asymptomatic worker or a common contaminated food, investigators tell Hospital Infection Control.
Nosocomial outbreaks of scabies have occurred in a variety of health care settings, including intensive care units, rehabilitation centers, long-term care facilities, hospital wards, a dialysis unit, and a health care laundry, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations move to target infection control in surprise inspections next year could actually help ICPs in programs that lack administrative support, observers note.