Epidemiology News and Research

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Analgesics can decrease risk of breast or ovarian cancer

Postmenopausal women who regularly use aspirin and other analgesics (known as painkillers) have lower estrogen levels, which could contribute to a decreased risk of breast or ovarian cancer.

24 Mar 2010

First reported Australian swine flu case of 2010 – gearing up with protective measures

Swine flu a form of influenza, became a major health scare assuming pandemic proportions starting in Mexico early last year. There were 37,000 confirmed cases in Australia with 5,000 hospitalizations, 700 admissions in intensive care units and 191 deaths.

23 Mar 2010

Two scientific poster presentations on InVision-Plus connectors featured at SHEA meeting

Two scientific poster presentations that demonstrate the infection prevention capabilities of InVision-Plus® with Neutral Advantage™ technology were featured at the annual conference of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.

22 Mar 2010

SHEA, IDSA release new clinical practice guidelines for CDI in adults

A joint panel of experts from the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology and the Infectious Diseases Society of America today released online new clinical practice guidelines for Clostridium difficile infection in adults. The guidelines, to be published in the May issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, update recommendations regarding the epidemiology, diagnosis, treatment and infection control and environmental management of this disease.

22 Mar 2010

HAIs in southeast U.S. community hospitals: Infection rates for CDI surpass MRSA's

Researchers studying epidemiology of healthcare-associated infections in community hospitals in the southeast U.S. found that rates of Clostridium difficile infections (CDI) surpassed infection rates for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Scientists also discovered that healthcare-associated CDI, which is a bacterium that causes diarrhea and more serious intestinal conditions such as colitis, occurs more often (21 percent) than healthcare-associated infections due to MRSA.

22 Mar 2010

Bleach solution effective in reducing hospital-acquired infections

Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) is the one of the leading pathogens causing hospital-acquired infection in the United States. It may cause diarrhea, colitis, sepsis and lead to prolonged hospitalization and death.

20 Mar 2010

SHEA, APIC awarded first Partnership in Prevention Award to National Guard Health Affairs in Saudi Arabia

During the Fifth Decennial International Conference on Healthcare-Associated Infections, the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America and the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology awarded their first Partnership in Prevention Award to the National Guard Health Affairs in Saudi Arabia.

20 Mar 2010

ITDS can be effective for screening fever during H1N1 influenza pandemic: UNMC researchers

Researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center found an Infrared Thermal Detection System to be a fast and effective fever screening tool in clinical settings during the H1N1 influenza pandemic. The ITDS detected fever in patients through split-second, non-contact skin temperature measurements.

20 Mar 2010

Breast cancer survivors at increased risk of developing second cancer: Study

Certain rare mutations in the ataxia telangiectasia mutated gene, combined with radiation exposure, may increase a woman's risk of developing a second cancer in the opposite breast, according to a study published online March 19 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

20 Mar 2010

Exposure to pesticide chlorpyrifos associated with early childhood developmental delays: Study

Exposure to the pesticide chlorpyrifos-which is banned for use in U.S. households but is still widely used throughout the agricultural industry-is associated with early childhood developmental delays, according to a study by researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health.

20 Mar 2010

Research roundup: Insurance crisis tough on middle class; Hospitals' profit margins on private patients up

Private-Payer Profits Can Induce Negative Medicare Margins - "Hospitals' profit margins on privately insured patients have risen dramatically in recent years, while profit margins on Medicare patients have fallen," write the authors, who all work for MedPAC.

20 Mar 2010

Study reveals higher-than-normal blood levels of fructose in pancreatic cancer patients

Patients with pancreatic cancer have higher-than-normal blood levels of the refined sugar fructose, according to a recent study in the journal Pancreas, official journal of the American Pancreatic Association and the Japan Pancreas Society. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading provider of information and business intelligence for students, professionals, and institutions in medicine, nursing, allied health, and pharmacy.

19 Mar 2010

Implementation of evidenced-based practices reduces all healthcare-associated MRSA infections

Scientists at The Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center found that an emphasis on compliance with non-pathogen specific infection control practices such as hand hygiene, efforts to reduce device-related infections and chlorhexidine bathing (a daily bath with the same antibacterial agent used by surgeons to "scrub in" before an operation), is successful in reducing rates of healthcare-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

19 Mar 2010

Rates of breast cancer occurrences in Asian women rising among specific ethnic groups

Research scientists from the Cancer Prevention Institute of California (CPIC) released the results of a study of breast cancer in Asian women which examined their cancer rates by ethnicity, age and immigrant status. The findings challenge the notion that breast cancer rates are uniformly low across the population of Asian women and indicate rising rates of occurrences in specific ethnic groups. CPIC scientists studied Asian populations in California, the state with the largest and most diverse Asian population in the U.S.

19 Mar 2010

French National Program finds significant decreases in the rates of HAIs since 2004

Researchers evaluating France's national infection control program for healthcare facilities found significant decreases in the rates of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) since 2004. The drop in HAIs, including MRSA and surgical site infections, could be attributed to important changes in the national infection control system.

18 Mar 2010

Early baldness may not be associated with risk of prostate cancer

Men who start losing their hair at an early age may be less likely to develop prostate cancer in the future, new research suggests.

18 Mar 2010

I-SPY 2: The Biomarkers Consortium launches clinical trial for high risk, fast-growing breast cancers

The Biomarkers Consortium, a unique public-private partnership that includes the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and major pharmaceutical companies, led by the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH), today announced the launch of a highly anticipated clinical trial to help screen promising new drugs being developed for women with high risk, fast-growing breast cancers—women for whom an improvement over standard treatment could dramatically change the odds of survival.

18 Mar 2010

Studies examine ways to increase healthcare personnel vaccination rates through social networking

Healthcare personnel influenza immunization rates have remained low, despite recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other leading healthcare organizations that all healthcare personnel receive annual flu vaccines.

17 Mar 2010

Delphi Screener devices help detect HPV in women

More cases of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection - the major cause of cervical cancer - could be detected if home-testing kits were given to women who cannot attend conventional cervical screening, a Dutch study has found.

17 Mar 2010

BioVigil's second generation hand hygiene monitoring system released

BioVigil LLC has released the second generation of the BioVigil hand hygiene monitoring system. The innovative system enables hospitals to more effectively combat Hospital-Acquired Infections (HAIs) by dramatically increasing hand hygiene compliance among healthcare workers.

16 Mar 2010

Epidemiology News and Research

Analgesics can decrease risk of breast or ovarian cancer

First reported Australian swine flu case of 2010 – gearing up with protective measures

Two scientific poster presentations on InVision-Plus connectors featured at SHEA meeting

SHEA, IDSA release new clinical practice guidelines for CDI in adults

HAIs in southeast U.S. community hospitals: Infection rates for CDI surpass MRSA's

Bleach solution effective in reducing hospital-acquired infections

SHEA, APIC awarded first Partnership in Prevention Award to National Guard Health Affairs in Saudi Arabia

ITDS can be effective for screening fever during H1N1 influenza pandemic: UNMC researchers

Breast cancer survivors at increased risk of developing second cancer: Study

Exposure to pesticide chlorpyrifos associated with early childhood developmental delays: Study

Research roundup: Insurance crisis tough on middle class; Hospitals' profit margins on private patients up

Study reveals higher-than-normal blood levels of fructose in pancreatic cancer patients

Implementation of evidenced-based practices reduces all healthcare-associated MRSA infections

Rates of breast cancer occurrences in Asian women rising among specific ethnic groups

French National Program finds significant decreases in the rates of HAIs since 2004

Early baldness may not be associated with risk of prostate cancer

I-SPY 2: The Biomarkers Consortium launches clinical trial for high risk, fast-growing breast cancers

Studies examine ways to increase healthcare personnel vaccination rates through social networking

Delphi Screener devices help detect HPV in women

BioVigil's second generation hand hygiene monitoring system released

Industry Focus: Infectious Diseases eBook

Improving healthcare sustainability through carbon data

A New Approach to Preventing Bladder Cancer Recurrence

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

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