Infection Control News and Research

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Columbia Nursing researcher suggests ways to prevent nursing home infections

Nursing home infection rates are on the rise, a study from Columbia University School of Nursing found, suggesting that more must be done to protect residents of these facilities from preventable complications. The study, which examined infections in U.S. nursing homes over a five-year period, found increased infection rates for pneumonia, urinary tract infections (UTIs), viral hepatitis, septicemia, wound infections, and multiple drug-resistant organisms (MDROs).

8 Oct 2014

Study finds that hospitalized patients wash their hands infrequently

Hospital visitors and staff are greeted with hand sanitizer dispensers in the lobby, by the elevators and outside rooms as reminders to wash their hands to stop infections, but just how clean are patients' hands?

8 Oct 2014

Family physician answers questions related to Ebola virus

According to the Centers for Disease Control, the outbreak of Ebola in four West African countries is one of the largest outbreaks of the disease in history.

1 Oct 2014

Rapid and coordinated response helps control Ebola outbreak in Nigeria

The Ebola outbreak in Nigeria appears to be nearing a possible end thanks to a rapid response coordinated by Nigeria's Emergency Operations Center with assistance from international partners, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

1 Oct 2014

Cantel Medical achieves record revenue growth in fourth quarter 2014

CANTEL MEDICAL CORP. reported net income of $10,705,000, or $0.26 per diluted share, on a 15% increase in sales to a record $131,377,000 for the fourth quarter ended July 31, 2014, inclusive of $0.02 for charges related to acquisition and CFO retirement costs.

29 Sep 2014

C Diff Foundation to present 2014 "Raising C.difficile Awareness" conference in November

C Diff Foundation is proud to present the 2014 "Raising C.difficile Awareness" conference. Join us November 4th at 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Student Center, West 828 S. Wolcott Avenue, Thompson Room, Chicago, IL.

23 Sep 2014

Sanovas announces commercialization of MicroCam System via Healthmark Industries

Sanovas Inc., a Life Science company accelerating the development and commercialization of next-generation micro-invasive diagnostics, devices and drug delivery technologies, announced today that its MicroCam Inc. subsidiary has commenced commercialization of the MicroCam System via its OEM partnership with Healthmark Industries, which is launching its new product—Flexible Inspection Scope—this week.

22 Sep 2014

Widespread use of unnecessary antibiotics drives up avoidable healthcare costs

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Premier, Inc. have released new research on the widespread use of unnecessary and duplicative antibiotics in U.S. hospitals, which could have led to an estimated $163 million in excess costs.

11 Sep 2014

Peer pressure influences adherence to hand hygiene

Nationally, hand hygiene adherence by healthcare workers remains staggeringly low despite its critical importance in infection control.

11 Sep 2014

Researchers modify protocol to test dangerous form of antibiotic resistance

Researchers from Oregon State Public Health Lab have modified the protocol for a relatively new test for a dangerous form of antibiotic resistance, increasing its specificity to 100 percent.

8 Sep 2014

OSAP hosts 2015 Boot Camp for dental practitioners

Today the Organization for Safety, Asepsis and Prevention (OSAP) announced that they will host the 2015 Boot Camp: Infection Control Basic Training in Atlanta, Ga. from Jan. 12-14, 2015.

4 Sep 2014

Research roundup: Benefits of hip surgery; preventing surgical infections; assessing ACOs' predecessors

Surgical treatment of hip fractures can achieve better survival and functional outcomes than nonoperative treatment, but less is known about its economic benefits. ... We estimated the effects of surgical treatment for displaced hip fractures through a Markov cohort analysis of patients 65 years and older. ... Estimated average lifetime societal benefits per patient exceeded the direct medical costs of hip fracture surgery by $65,000 to $68,000 for displaced hip fractures. With the exception of the assumption of nursing home use, the sensitivity analyses show that surgery produces positive net societal savings (Gu, Koenig, Mather and Tongue, 8/5).

30 Aug 2014

NIH to start initial human testing of investigational Ebola vaccine next week

Initial human testing of an investigational vaccine to prevent Ebola virus disease will begin next week by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health.

29 Aug 2014

Respiratory infection control measures being adopted for Ebola patients are unnecessary and may heighten public panic

Respiratory infection control measures – which have been adopted by most health agencies to deal with the Ebola epidemic in west Africa – are unnecessary, and may heighten panic and fear among the public, according to the authors of a new letter, published in The Lancet, and written by Professor Jose M. Martin-Moreno from the University of Valencia in Spain, and colleagues.

28 Aug 2014

Researchers report that predominant CA-MRSA strain migrated from sub-Saharan Africa

The predominant strain of community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) infecting people in Europe, the Middle East and northern Africa derived from a single sub-Saharan ancestor, a team of international researchers reported this week in mBio-, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

26 Aug 2014

MRSA superbug control policies in hospitals lack evidence, say infectious disease experts

The jury is still out on the effectiveness of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) superbug control policies in hospitals, according to leading infectious disease experts in a Viewpoint published in The Lancet.

22 Aug 2014

Electronic alerts reduce urinary tract infections in hospital patients with urinary catheters

A Penn Medicine team has found that targeted automated alerts in electronic health records significantly reduce urinary tract infections in hospital patients with urinary catheters. In addition, when the design of the alert was simplified, the rate of improvement dramatically increased.

22 Aug 2014

Free fatty acids may be effective in treating catheter-related bloodstream infections

Researchers at Rhode Island Hospital, Veterans Affair Medical Center in Providence and University of Rhode Island have found that a free fatty acid, made up of compounds similar to those naturally made in the body, may be as effective at fighting certain infections as antibiotics.

19 Aug 2014

Rectal and groin areas are frequent sites of colonization of community-associated MRSA

Colonization of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) allows people in the community to unknowingly harbor and spread this life-threatening bacteria.

14 Aug 2014

Bacteria in critically ill patients may be growing increasingly resistant to common antiseptic

Bacteria that cause life-threatening bloodstream infections in critically ill patients may be growing increasingly resistant to a common hospital antiseptic, according to a recent study led by investigators at Johns Hopkins.