Here are 10 articles on medical research study findings from the week of July 20.
1. A recent study published in American Journal of Infection Control quizzed medical students on healthcare-associated infections and standard and isolation precautions and found three factors were associated with a higher level of knowledge among the students. Read more.
2. Using infection control measures to manage vancomycin-resistant enterococci is a hotly debated topic, so researchers assessed the efficacy of two infection prevention measures in a recent study. Read more.
3. New research from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests it may be possible to rein in the spread of "superbug" infections without having to develop new antibiotics. Read more.
4. Scientists have developed a universal flu vaccine that, when tested in mice, protected the animals against eight different flu strains. Read more.
5. Australian scientists have developed a synthetic sugar that can kill bacteria without harming humans. Read more.
6. Research was recently presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Thoracic Surgeons on the adverse events that occur when surgical robots make mistakes. Read more.
7. Variation in antibiotic prescription is driven more by providers than patients, according to new research from the VA Salt Lake City Health Care System and the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. Read more.
8. Children who take antibiotics may be at an increased risk of developing juvenile arthritis, according to a new study. Read more.
9. Hospitals can increase safety in their psychiatric wards by implementing a set of ten low-cost interventions, according to a study published in the International Journal of Nursing Studies. Read more.
10. Scientists at the Public Health England's laboratory at Heartlands Hospital in Birmingham, U.K., are claiming a 90 percent success rate for Clostridium difficile patients treated with fecal transplants after conventional antibiotics failed to rid them of the infection. Read more.