Here are 12 infection control findings from the past month, beginning with the most recent.
1. Considering differential risk factors' weights between superficial and organ-space surgical site infections may be a potential way to improve SSI rate reduction, according to an article published in JAMA Surgery.
2. The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America and Ronald McDonald House Charities published a pioneering set of patient- and family-centric guidelines to improve infection control in Ronald McDonald Houses.
3. A study published in JAMA Internal Medicine found rates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus declined by 54.2 percent in nine U.S. metropolitan areas between 2005 and 2011.
4. A project to reduce the rate of catheter-associated urinary tract infections, run by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, has decreased baseline CAUTI rates by 16.1 percent, according to an interim data report.
5. Low-dose antibiotic treatments appear to be as effective as high-dose antibiotic treatments in eradicating C. diff infections.
6. A study showed the rate of Clostridium difficile infections in U.S. hospitals nearly doubled from 2001 to 2010.
7. Interdisciplinary team rounds decreased the number of days patients had urinary catheters and the rate of catheter-associated urinary tract infections at Newark (N.J.) Beth Israel Medical Center, according to a study in the American Journal of Medical Quality.
8. Design features of a healthcare facility can affect the transmission and acquisition of healthcare-associated infections.
9. A nationwide initiative to reduce catheter-associated urinary tract infections includes five main components, according to a report in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.
10. A study published in the American Journal of Infection Control found that all student nurses have observed lapses in infection control protocols, with the most common lapses associated with hand hygiene compliance.
11. The top five hospital-acquired infections cost hospitals in the U.S. approximately $9.8 billion annually, according to new research published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
12. An algorithm to identify surgical site infections saved nearly 600 hours of manual chart review, according to a study in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.