Healthcare Associated Infection HAI News and Research

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Study reveals substantial economic impact of HAIs following cardiac surgery

After cardiac surgery, healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are common complications associated with increased morbidity, mortality, and use of resources.

19 Nov 2013

Health anxiety therapies: an interview with Professor Peter Tyrer, Imperial College, London

Health anxiety is a relatively new diagnosis and has not been adopted fully. The nearest approximation and formal classification systems is ‘illness anxiety’ as diagnosed in DSM-5, published in May 2013 (DSM-5, American Psychiatric Association, p.315).

5 Nov 2013

MRSA cases continue to decline in VA medical centers

Five years after implementing a national initiative to reduce methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) rates in Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers, MRSA cases have continued to decline, according to a study in the November issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, the official publication of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC).

30 Oct 2013

Researchers identify obesity as possible risk factor for clostridium difficile infection

Researchers from Boston Medical Center and Boston University School of Medicine have identified obesity as a possible risk factor for clostridium difficile infection. These findings, which appear online in Emerging Infectious Diseases, may contribute to improved clinical surveillance of those at highest risk of disease.

25 Oct 2013

Swallowing pills containing fecal bacteria stops recurrent bouts of C. diff infection

Swallowing pills containing a concentrate of fecal bacteria successfully stops recurrent bouts of debilitating Clostridium difficile (C. diff) infection by rebalancing the bacteria in the gut, suggests a study being presented at the IDWeek 2013- meeting today.

5 Oct 2013

Study estimates total annual costs for five major health care-associated infections

A study estimates that total annual costs for five major health care-associated infections (HAIs) were $9.8 billion, with surgical site infections contributing the most to overall costs, according to a report published by JAMA Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication.

3 Sep 2013

DebMed introduces new dispenser that provides access to hand sanitizer

DebMed®, creator of the world's first electronic hand hygiene compliance monitoring system based on the World Health Organization's (WHO's) Five Moments for Hand Hygiene, introduced today the availability of a new dispenser that provides access to hand sanitizer in the immediate area within the patient zone.

31 Aug 2013

ATF3 gene may be the crucial link between stress and breast cancer: Study

In an unexpected finding, scientists have linked the activation of a stress gene in immune-system cells to the spread of breast cancer to other parts of the body.

23 Aug 2013

Novel therapeutic approach prevents dengue virus replication by artificial microRNAs

Mosquito-borne dengue viruses cause an estimated 50 million cases of human dengue fever a year and are a significant public health threat worldwide. A novel therapeutic approach prevents dengue virus from reproducing in humans by targeting and silencing key regions of the dengue genome essential for viral replication.

12 Jul 2013

Study reveals that contaminated ultrasound gel causes healthcare-associated infection

After a 2011 outbreak of P. aeruginosa, investigators at Beaumont Health System near Detroit, Michigan determined contaminated ultrasound gel was the source of bacteria causing the healthcare-associated infection.

10 Jul 2013

Rebiotix receives FDA Fast Track designation for RBX2660 to treat patients with CDI

Rebiotix Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted Fast Track designation for the investigation of RBX2660 (microbiota suspension), intended for the treatment of recurrent Clostridium difficile infection.

25 Jun 2013

UT candidate wins AHA fellowship to support research in cardiovascular, stroke discoveries

University of Texas at San Antonio biomedical engineering Ph.D. candidate Anand Srinivasan has been awarded a $25,000, one-year doctoral fellowship from the American Heart Association (AHA).

20 Jun 2013

Proventix Systems honors physicians for excellence and leadership in hand hygiene

Proventix Systems, Inc. of Birmingham, Ala. today awarded the Lathem Physician Leadership Award in Hand Hygiene to five physicians who demonstrate a commitment to hand hygiene excellence and leadership in their facilities.

7 Jun 2013

Study: Hospitals' adoption of electronic hand hygiene systems could have sustained improvement

GOJO Industries, a leader in hand hygiene and skin health and inventors of PURELL- Hand Sanitizer, will present its scientific research study, "Impact of Electronic Monitoring and a Hand Hygiene Improvement Program on Compliance Rates" at the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology Conference, June 8-10, 2013.

29 May 2013

CCSC, HHS honor hospitals, health care facilities for preventing HAIs

The Critical Care Societies Collaborative, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, announces recipients in the 2013 National Awards Program to Recognize Achievements in Eliminating Health Care-Associated Infections.

24 May 2013

Biomedical engineers grow 3D human heart muscle that acts just like natural tissue

Duke University biomedical engineers have grown three-dimensional human heart muscle that acts just like natural tissue. This advancement could be important in treating heart attack patients or in serving as a platform for testing new heart disease medicines.

7 May 2013

New research collaboration may help in developing TB vaccine for bovines and humans

Scientists at The University of Nottingham are studying whether harmful bacteria found in cattle could be harnessed to protect livestock from the devastating disease bovine tuberculosis (TB).

26 Apr 2013

SynCon universal H1N1 influenza vaccine generates protective antibody levels in phase 1 study

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that its SynCon universal H1N1 influenza vaccine generated protective antibody levels comparable to a current FDA-approved seasonal influenza vaccine against a currently circulating influenza strain.

19 Apr 2013

AACN Practice Alert outlines evidence-based protocols related to bathing adult patients

The long-held tradition of using a basin, soap and water to bathe bed-bound hospitalized patients is no longer the recommended standard of practice, according to the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses.