Hospital acquired Infection News and Research

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One-third of Americans experience Hospital Acquired Infection: Xenex Healthcare survey

Nearly one-third of Americans have experienced a Hospital Acquired Infection (HAI) or have a friend or relative who contracted one, according to a new survey from Xenex Healthcare. HAIs (such as C. diff, MRSA, staph infections and pneumonia) are the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and while hospitals have stepped up efforts to prevent these deadly infections, more needs to be done.

9 Sep 2010

Quality issue roundup: J & J revamping controls; The odds for orthopedic surgery; Automatic prescription refills and patient compliance

The New York Times: Johnson & Johnson has said it will "revamp its quality controls, creating a single framework for its drug, medical device and consumer health care divisions." The move comes after the drugmaker saw a number of recalls of its medicines, such as Tylenol and Motrin, as well as probes by a congressional committee and the FDA into actions at its McNeil Consumer Healthcare subsidiary.

20 Aug 2010

Simple, low-cost interventions reduce most common hospital-acquired infections

Urinary catheters are often left in place longer than needed, and new research shows that reminder systems that encourage hospital staff to remove catheters promptly can reduce the rate of catheter-associated urinary tract infections by 52 percent.

17 Aug 2010

Beryl Institute publishes White paper on patient experience from different healthcare organizations

The Beryl Institute has published a new White Paper, Zeroing in on the Patient Experience: Views and Voices from the Frontlines, which takes a close look into the efforts of three patient experience leaders from different healthcare organizations. The White Paper covers what it takes to launch and sustain patient experience efforts and includes practical advice and tips for hospitals that want to begin to focus on improving the patient experience.

10 Aug 2010

Hospitals participate in CMS "pay-for-reporting" program

Beginning next year, consumers across the country will be able to find out how their hospital stacks up when it comes to preventing certain infections under new hospital acquired infection reporting regulations adopted by the Department of Health & Human Services.

3 Aug 2010

Meridian Bioscience, DiaSorin sign world-wide product development and distribution agreement

Meridian Bioscience, Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio today announced that it has entered into an exclusive, world-wide product development and distribution agreement with DiaSorin S.p.A. Under terms of the agreement, DiaSorin will utilize key Meridian technology to develop several infectious disease products for use on their LIAISON systems.

8 Jul 2010

PolyMedix awarded $150,000 grant to support development of antimicrobial sutures to reduce SSIs

A new discovery may help curb surgical site infections through the use of a novel antibiotic agent that can be incorporated into sutures. SSIs are the third most common hospital-acquired infection and may be associated with severe morbidity and mortality. Since more than 60% of SSIs occur in the area of the incision, the use of sutures coated with an antibacterial agent called PolyCides, created by Radnor, PA-based PolyMedix Inc., may reduce infection rates.

14 Jun 2010

Inquiry into the hospital acquired killer bug starts

A Second World War veteran John Boyle died of Clostridium difficile infection after being admitted to hospital for the first time at the age of 90. He was diagnosed with the infection on January 25 this year and succumbed to it two weeks later. He was one of 18 patients to die at a Scottish hospital when the outbreak of this hospital-acquired infection was reported.

8 Jun 2010

National Science Foundation supports PolyMedix with $150,000 grant for development of antimicrobial sutures

PolyMedix, Inc., an emerging biotechnology company focused on developing new therapeutic drugs to treat serious acute cardiovascular disorders and infectious diseases, has received a grant in the amount of $150,000 from the National Science Foundation to support the development of antimicrobial sutures. PolyMedix has developed a series of novel antimicrobial polymers for device and material applications, which it collectively calls the PolyCides™.

27 May 2010

NovaBay first-quarter net loss increases to $1.6 million

NovaBay Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical stage biotechnology company developing first-in-class, anti-infective compounds for the treatment and prevention of antibiotic-resistant infections, today reported financial results for the first quarter of 2010.

12 May 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

sanofi-aventis reports 2009 fourth-quarter and full-year net earnings

Commenting on the Group's 2009 performance, sanofi-aventis Chief Executive Officer Christopher A. Viehbacher said, "2009 was the first year of implementation of our new strategy. Major steps have already been achieved in strengthening our growth platforms and reinforcing our R&D pipeline while delivering a double-digit EPS(1) growth".

10 Feb 2010

Malaria nasal vaccine, antimicrobial peptide against MRSA, and safer method to prolong orange juice shelf life

An experiemental nasally administered malaria vaccine prevented parasite transmission from infected mice to mosquitoes and could play an important role in the fight against human malaria. The researchers from Japan report their findings in the December 2009 issue of the journal Infection and Immunity.

19 Dec 2009

Portable bladder volume ultrasound now included in 2009 CDC guidelines for the prevention CA-UTIs

Verathon®, maker of BladderScan® bladder volume instruments is pleased to announce that portable bladder volume ultrasound is now included in the new 2009 CDC guidelines for the Prevention of Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections (CA-UTIs).

17 Dec 2009

Flowers can uplift patients’ mood and reduce pain and anxiety

Does flower water harbour potentially deadly bacteria? Do bedside blooms compete with patients for oxygen? Do bouquets pose a health and safety risk around medical equipment?

17 Dec 2009

Syntiron grants sanofi pasteur exclusive world-wide license to its human vaccine against MRSA

Syntiron today announced that it has granted sanofi pasteur an exclusive world-wide license to its human vaccine against Staphylococcus aureus. The agreement includes an undisclosed initial licensing fee, milestone payments and royalty payments on future sales of the product. Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA (pronounced Mer-sa) is an important hospital-acquired infection and is a major cause of illness and death resulting in excess of 18,000 US deaths a year and a half million hospitalizations, creating a significant economic burden of approximately $3.4 billion annually to the American health care system.

16 Dec 2009

Copper may help fight against healthcare-associated infections

In a busy Birmingham teaching hospital, researchers swapped a conventional toilet seat, tap-handles and a ward door push-plate for similar items made from 70% copper. They compared the number of microbes on the copper surfaces against the number of bacteria on the same items from another ward and found that the copper surfaces had 90-100% fewer live bacteria than the non-copper surfaces.

2 Dec 2009

Kane Biotech announces Harvard Medical School's research publication on its DispersinB product

Kane Biotech Inc. (TSX VENTURE:KNE), a biotechnology company engaged in the development of products that prevent and disperse microbial biofilms is pleased to announce a recent research publication by Harvard Medical School on their finding of DispersinB® enzyme specific substrate in Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii).

3 Sep 2009

Hospital room design can have effect on patient care, outcomes, studies show

Hospital room design can help reduce medical errors, infections and falls, as well as patient stress, according to results emerging from more than 1,500 studies, the New York Times reports.

19 May 2009

Anti-microbial catheter to cut infection risk for dialysis patients

Medical experts at The University of Nottingham have shown that an innovative anti-microbial catheter could vastly improve treatment and the quality of life for many community-based dialysis patients.

24 Mar 2009