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Germ-fighting robot gives boost to hospital's infection control program

A germ-fighting robot that uses pulsed xenon ultraviolet (UV) light to sanitize rooms at Trinity Hospital is giving a boost to the hospital's infection control program.

5 Jun 2018

Research may pave way for new C. diff antitoxins and anti-cancer drugs

Researchers from the University of California, Irvine and Harvard University have discovered how the Clostridium difficile toxin B recognizes the human Frizzled protein, the receptor it uses to invade intestinal cells and lead to deadly gastrointestinal infections.

14 May 2018

Researchers identify how smaller hospitals can reduce inappropriate use of antibiotics

Researchers at Intermountain Healthcare and University of Utah Health in Salt Lake City have completed a study identifying how community hospitals with fewer than 200 beds can develop antibiotic stewardship programs that work to prevent the growth of antibiotic-resistant organisms, or "superbugs," which are becoming more common and deadly.

30 Apr 2018

The training of Dr. Robot: Data wave hits medical care

The technology used by Facebook, Google and Amazon to turn spoken language into text, recognize faces and target advertising could help doctors combat one of the deadliest killers in American hospitals.

14 Feb 2018

Researchers show association between microbiome and cancer-related blood infections

Cancer patients receive essential medicines, fluids, blood and nutrients through long, flexible tubes called central venous catheters, or central lines.

22 Jan 2018

Study finds link between dietary sugar and increasing bacterial epidemics

The rising frequency and severity of Clostridium difficile infections may be caused by the commonly used food additive, trehalose, according to Nature.

5 Jan 2018

Medicare penalizes group of 751 hospitals for patient injuries

The federal government Thursday lowered a year's worth of Medicare payments to 751 hospitals to penalize them for having the highest rates of patient injuries.

21 Dec 2017

Study: Many patients change their behaviors after suffering repeated bouts of C. diff infections

After suffering repeated bouts of debilitating Clostridium difficile infections, many patients significantly change their behaviors, but some precautions may do little to prevent future infections, according to a first-of-its-kind study.

8 Nov 2017

Germ-killing robots use UV radiation to safeguard patients from health care-associated infections

Germ-killing robots are being enlisted to further safeguard Vanderbilt University Medical Center patients from health care-associated infections.

30 Oct 2017

Antibiotics prescribed by dentists may contribute to serious C. diff infections

Antibiotics prescribed by dentists may contribute to the growing problem of Clostridium difficile (C. diff), a serious and potentially deadly infection that causes severe diarrhea, suggests research presented at IDWeek 2017. And many of those antibiotics are likely unnecessary, researchers note.

6 Oct 2017

Robot emits UV light to destroy infection-causing bugs in hard-to-clean places

Hospitals around the world are looking for new and innovative ways to battle deadly pathogens and kill multidrug resistant organisms that can cause hospital-acquired infections, or HAI.

4 Aug 2017

Scientists reveal key role of excess gut calcium in C. diff infections

It lurks in hospitals and nursing homes, surviving the cleaning crew's attempt to kill it by holing up in a tiny hard shell. It preys upon patients already weak from disease or advanced age.

13 Jul 2017

UAB researchers demonstrate persistence of donor microbes in recipients after fecal transplant

University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers have made the first direct demonstration that fecal donor microbes remained in recipients for months or years after a transplant to treat the diarrhea and colitis caused by recurrent Clostridium difficile infections -- a serious and stubborn cause of diarrhea after an antibiotic treatment for some other illness.

14 Jun 2017

Study finds 22% antibiotic failure rate in pneumonia treatment

The new study presented at the 2017 American Thoracic Society International Conference has found that about 22.1%, approximately one in four adults, failed to respond to antibiotics for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) treatment.

23 May 2017

Study: Antibiotic therapy does not work for nearly one in four adults with community-acquired pneumonia

Approximately one in four (22.1 percent) adults prescribed an antibiotic in an outpatient setting (such as a doctor's office) for community-acquired pneumonia does not respond to treatment, according to a new study presented at the 2017 American Thoracic Society International Conference.

22 May 2017

Case Western Reserve and Q2 Pharma partner to develop antivirulence agents that disarm superbugs

Case Western Reserve University and Q2 Pharma Ltd., an Israeli biopharmaceutical company, have signed a two-year option to license small molecule, antivirulence technology to potentially treat bacterial infections such as methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), the first known scientific effort of its kind.

31 Mar 2017

Pill form of C-diff treatment could be effective, easier for patients and physicians, study shows

Frozen and freeze-dried products for Fecal Microbiota Transplantation are nearly as effective as fresh product at treating patients with Clostridium difficile infection, according to researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health and Kelsey Research Foundation.

14 Mar 2017

New treatment for C.diff infections reduces recurrences by 40%, study finds

A new treatment for Clostridium difficile (C.diff) infections reduces recurrent infections by nearly 40%, a large study has found.

25 Jan 2017

Preventing C. difficile infections could save thousands of lives and millions of health care dollars

The constant fear of having an embarrassing bathroom accident paralyzed Judy Post. Mental, physical and emotional stress consumed her. She wondered if her life would ever return to normal.

7 Dec 2016

Preventative strategy in stem cell transplant recipients may help thwart C. diff infections

It may be possible to safely prevent one of the most common - and costly to treat - infections contracted by hospitalized patients undergoing bone marrow transplantation for the treatment of blood cancers, according to a study from the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania.

29 Nov 2016