Hospital Infection Control & Prevention
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Highly Drug-resistant C. auris Continues to Emerge in U.S.
The CDC is urging infection preventionists and their clinical colleagues to have a high index of suspicion for emerging Candida auris, a fungus that spreads more like bacteria, can be highly drug-resistant, and survives on skin and environmental surfaces for prolonged periods.
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CDC Updating Measles Guidelines for HCWs
The CDC is preparing to review its guideline for measles and healthcare workers, as the once-eradicated childhood infection spreads in ongoing outbreaks in the U.S. and Europe.
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High-risk Patients, High-risk Infections
If there is a worst-case scenario in infection control, it likely involves a life-threatening infection spreading in a vulnerable patient population. They don’t get much more vulnerable than babies in a neonatal ICU, or adults undergoing bone marrow transplant. With their frail immune systems compromised, central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) pose a serious threat warranting an immediate infection control response.
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Twin Peaks: A Persistent Norovirus Outbreak
A nasty, easily transmitted bug
that has ruined many a cruise vacation, norovirus can cause chaotic, labor-intensive outbreaks in hospitals. In that regard, an infection preventionists recently described a norovirus outbreak that kept reigniting in different locations in a situation somewhat akin to fighting a forest fire in high wind. -
Resistance to Change? Try Motivational Interviewing
How do you get someone to change behavior when simply telling them to do so is met with resistance — the “righting reaction” as APIC closing plenary speaker Sanjay Saint, MD, terms it. One approach is called “motivational interviewing,” which first demonstrated efficacy in the addiction field, said Saint, director of the University of Michigan Patient Safety Enhancement Program.
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Novel Approaches to Change Behavior and Protect Patients
Much of infection control work — a frustrating portion to many IPs — is trying to change human behavior. One need look no further than the historic struggle with hand hygiene and the various carrots and sticks that have been dangled and cracked in the name of compliance for decades.
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Ebola Outbreak Ends; Lessons of 2014 Resonate
The WHO declared the end of the most recent outbreak of Ebola virus on July 2, 2017, saying two 21-day incubation cycles had passed since the last confirmed case in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. There were eight cases, four of whom died.
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Why Antibiotic Stewardship Teams Need IPs
Patti Kieffer, BSN, RN, CIC, FAPIC, infection prevention consultant at BJC HealthCare in St. Louis, had a much different talk in mind when she originally thought of addressing her IP colleagues on the antibiotic stewardship.
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Waterborne Outbreaks Go Beyond Legionella
Legionella is not the only bug in hospital water capable of threatening patients with deadly infections. Hospital Infection Control & Prevention recently talked to two investigators in the CDC’s vaunted Epidemic Intelligence Service. Investigating two separate waterborne outbreaks, these medical detectives offered some sage advice in the form of an observation and a caveat.
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APIC 2017: Amid Change, Hold to Core Values
Amid rapid change and new challenges, it is critical for infection preventionists to preserve their core values, including protecting patients and families, APIC President Linda Greene, RN, MPS, CIC, FAPIC, said recently in Portland at the annual conference of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC).