Hospital Infection Control & Prevention
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WHO Convenes Zika Panel: Fate of the Olympics
Relenting to a growing chorus of international concern, the WHO will seek the opinion of a committee of infectious disease experts before it makes a final decision on allowing the Summer Olympics to be held in Rio de Janeiro.
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Another Brick in the Wall: Colistin-resistant E.coli
The possible emergence of untreatable E. coli — a common cause of urinary tract and other infections in the community — is enough to rudely awake a medical epidemiologist in the middle of the night. It is a sobering development that the CDC has been concerned about for some time.
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FDA Issues Alert on Devices
The FDA issued a June 1, 2016, alert that some of the Mycobacterium chimaera infections acquired by cardiothoracic patients in the U.S. may be linked to the Stöckert 3T Heater-Cooler System manufactured by the Sorin Group in Germany.
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New CDC Guidelines to Identify NTM Infections
Hospitals performing surgeries requiring cardiopulmonary bypass should consider taking the following steps to identify patients at risk, the CDC recommends. Patients meeting the following criteria may represent heater-cooler unit-associated infection and may warrant additional investigation.
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Cardiac Surgery Devices Linked to Fatal Infections
An “insidious” under-the-radar outbreak of waterborne bacteria aerosolized by heater-cooler devices commonly used in cardiothoracic surgery is emerging as a clear and present danger to patient safety, a veteran epidemiologist recently warned at a meeting of infectious disease physicians in Atlanta.
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NIOSH, OSHA Guidance to Prevent Zika
As previously reported in Hospital Infection Control & Prevention, the spread of Zika virus in the U.S. calls for rigorous compliance with standard precautions and sharps safety in healthcare settings.
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New CDC Infection Control Guidelines for HCWs Will Cover the Healthcare Continuum
New guidelines to prevent infections in healthcare workers will expand beyond the hospital to include outpatient settings, according to the CDC.
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EIS: No Transplant PTs in Neg Pressure Rooms
Medical detectives with the CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service are warning infection preventionists and their colleagues not to place solid-organ transplant patients in negative pressure isolation rooms.
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30% of Outpatient Antibiotics Unnecessary
We often hear of inappropriate antibiotic use, including the wrong drug for the bug, the wrong duration of therapy, and the failure to scale down from a broad spectrum drug once the etiology of an infection is determined. But what if you took almost a third of your drug formulary and hurled it out the window, where it will do nothing except help kill off susceptible bacteria in the environment and select out resistant strains?
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Dolan Takes Helm as APIC Meets in Charlotte
As APIC assembles thousands of infection preventionists in Charlotte, NC June 11-13 for its annual conference, an IP with 20 years experience in the rapidly changing field will deliver the 2016 presidential address.