Hospital Infection Control & Prevention
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Presenteeism: Working Sick Appears to Be Endemic
Healthcare facilities should have specific criteria clarifying when infected healthcare workers should stay home, as gray areas and disincentives currently result in exposures to patients and colleagues, the CDC reports.
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CDC Drafts Infection Control Guidelines for HCWs
The CDC has issued draft guidelines for preventing infections in healthcare workers, urging collaboration between infection preventionists and employee health professionals. The guidelines, which are open for comment through Dec. 14, recommend that occupational health services engage administration and other departments in infection prevention activities.
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Get Patients ‘Up’ to Reduce Pneumonia, Other HAIs
The American Hospital Association’s “Up” campaign can reduce the incidence of nonventilator-associated pneumonia, the leading HAI in a recent study. The campaign urges basic interventions that reduce patient harm.
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Hospital-acquired Pneumonia, C. diff Leading HAIs
Significant progress is being made in reducing surgical site and urinary tract infections, but Clostridium difficile and pneumonia are entrenched in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) sentinel hospitals, researchers report.
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AFM Peaking Every Other Year
In an unusual pattern that adds to the mystery of acute flaccid myelitis (AFM), the paralytic syndrome in children is peaking every other year in a fall seasonal pattern that began in 2014. -
Tips and Info on AFM From an Experienced IP
Sue Dolan, RN, an infection preventionist at Colorado Children’s Hospital in Denver, has extensive experience dealing with acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) and the viruses that can trigger the paralytic condition. She provided tips for IPs to Hospital Infection Control & Prevention.
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What Is Causing Acute Flaccid Paralysis Syndrome in Children?
The recent increase of acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) in pediatric patients has parents distraught and investigators looking at more questions than answers. Typical onset includes weakness in the arms and legs, with the median age of afflicted children being four years old.
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Surgical Smoke State Laws: What IPs Need to Know
Rhode Island recently became the first state to require healthcare facilities to take measures to protect healthcare workers from the hazardous plume. With other states likely to follow, infection preventionists may want to revisit this issue, particularly the presence of toxic chemicals in the plume and the risk of possible infections and disease. -
Intervention Reduces Infection Threat Posed by Therapy Dogs
While most patients can enjoy the benefits of pet therapy without risk of infection, those with cancer and other immune deficiency disorders are less protected. Researchers have pilot-tested a protocol that would make this activity safe for oncology patients, with plans now to test it in larger clinical settings. -
Is Outpatient Prescribing Out of Control?
While restricting antibiotic use in hospitals has been heavily emphasized to stave off the rise of drug-resistant infections, a new study shows such efforts are conspicuously absent in outpatient settings — where 80% of these life-saving drugs are prescribed.