Here are 14 articles on medical research study findings from the week of Sept. 7.
1. Infants who get whooping cough, or pertussis, are likely getting it from their brothers and sisters, not their mothers, according to a recent study. Read more.
2. University of California, San Diego School of Medicine researchers have documented the accuracy of three new tests for drug-resistant forms of the bacteria responsible for tuberculosis infections. Read more.
3. Allowing hospitalized children to receive sibling visitors in pediatric playrooms requires special measures to reduce the risk of infection transmission, according to a study published in the American Journal of Infection Control. Read more.
4. The complexity of surgical instruments can add to surgical risk and increase burden on operating room supply chain, according to a study published in Journal For Healthcare Quality. Read more.
5. A study from Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Medical Center that examined the efficacy of preexposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, to prevent HIV infections found zero new HIV infections among patients during more than two and a half years of observation. Read more.
6. Researchers from NYU Langone Medical Center have revealed why one strain of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus — known as hospital-acquired MRSA, or HA-MRSA — is more deadly than other strains. Read more.
7. When elderly patients undergo elective surgery, both delirium and major postoperative complications are related with adverse outcomes, according to a study in JAMA Surgery. Read more.
8. Findings from a recent study provide a standardized way for patients to bathe with chlorhexidine gluconate prior to surgery that optimizes skin surface concentrations of CHG. Read more.
9. When more adults under the age of 65 get their flu shots, they are not only protecting themselves from influenza, but are also protecting the elderly, according to a study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases. Read more.
10. Many patients are mistakenly diagnosed with Clostridium difficile infections and given unnecessary antibiotic treatments, according to research from UC Davis Health System in Sacramento, Calif. Read more.
11. Despite being prone to complications, the survival rate of extremely preterm infants — those born before 28 weeks' gestation — is on the rise thanks in part to improved infection control, according to recent research. Read more.
12. A recently published study suggests there may be a reason to worry about microorganisms frozen in Arctic soil that have been preserved across millennia. Read more.
13. Although bacterial virulence, a factor that affects the severity and outcome of an infection, is widely accepted as being driven by high pathogen toxicity levels, a recent study found that this may not be true for S. aureus. Read more.
14. The next big thing in infection prevention could be bandages that coax harmful bacteria from open wounds due to their nanofiber makeup, according to a new study. Read more.