Latest Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology Stories

Patient empowerment seen as possible tool to raise hand hygiene behaviors According to a new study published online today, most patients at risk for healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) agree that healthcare workers should be reminded to wash their hands, but little more than half would feel comfortable asking their physicians to wash. The study is published in the December issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of...

Infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) doubled at academic medical centers in the U.S. between 2003 and 2008, according to a report published in the August issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. Researchers from the University of Chicago Medicine and the University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC) estimate hospitalizations increased from about 21 out of every 1,000 patients...

A small cluster of unusual illnesses at a Colorado children’s hospital prompted an investigation that swiftly identified  alcohol prep pads contaminated with Bacillus cereus bacteria, according to a report in the July issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. The investigation ultimately led to an international recall of the contaminated products. “At Children’s Hospital Colorado, three patients in the...

Hospitalization rates in New York City for patients with community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA), a potentially deadly bacterial infection that is resistant to antibiotic treatment, more than tripled between 1997 and 2006, according to a report published in the July issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. Most cases of MRSA are acquired in hospitals, nursing homes, or other...

Drug dispensing robots designed to quickly prepare intravenous medications in a sterile environment can harbor dangerous bacteria, according to a report in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. During a routine screening in 2010, personnel at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina discovered Bacillus cereus bacteria in samples dispensed by their machine, the Intellifill IV. "To our knowledge, this is...

Patients whose symptoms of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) start outside of the hospital setting have a higher risk of colectomy due to severe infection, according to a large multicenter study funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and published in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. Infection from C. difficile is associated with antibiotic use and results in colitis and diarrhea....

SHEA, IDSA, PIDS position paper outlines a national approach to antimicrobial stewardship As the supply of life-saving antibiotics becomes increasingly threatened, infectious diseases experts urge healthcare systems and policymakers to step up efforts to protect patients by preserving the effectiveness of available antibiotics through antimicrobial stewardship initiatives. A new position paper from the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA), Infectious Diseases Society of...

May Also Help Decrease Risk of MRSA Transmission to Patients The use of antimicrobial impregnated scrubs combined with good hand hygiene is effective in reducing the burden of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) on health care workers’ apparel and may potentially play a role in decreasing the risk of MRSA transmission to patients, according to a new study from Virginia Commonwealth University researchers. Previous findings have shown that hospital textiles may...

A 2010 outbreak of Legionnaires' disease in Wisconsin has been linked to a decorative fountain in a hospital lobby, according to a study published in the February issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. When the outbreak of Legionnaires' disease was detected among eight people in southeast Wisconsin, state and local public health officials worked closely with hospital staff to launch an investigation to...

A California hospital raised its employee influenza vaccination rate above 90 percent by shifting from a voluntary vaccination program to one mandating all healthcare workers either get vaccinated or wear a mask at work for the entire flu season (December through March). A five-year study of evolving flu vaccination programs at University of California Irvine Medical Center is published in the January 2012 issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for...