Here are the latest studies, news and updates on infection control, compiled from Becker's Hospital Review and Becker's ASC Review over the past two weeks, starting with the most recent.
1. Enterobacteriaceae bloodstream infections are now more common than infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus, according to a Medscape report. Additionally, the report suggests S. aureus are becoming less resistant to methicillin while Enterobactericeae are becoming more resistant to cephalosporins.
2. Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston used microsecond-pulsed, high-voltage, nonthermal electric fields to kill antibiotic-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii in induced burns in mice. They suggest this new method of treating infected burn wounds without using antibiotic may help reduce the need for antibiotics, which play a role in increasing bacterial resistance.
3. More than 900 patients at PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center in Vancouver, Wash., may have been exposed to hepatitis C through the actions of a former hospital employee suspected of diverting drugs for personal use. Patients are advised to be tested for the virus.
4. The rate of pediatric central line-associated bloodstream infection incidences and the cost of treating them have both decreased from 2008 to 2011, according to a study in Pediatrics. The rate of CLABSI fell 44 percent, and the cost fell by 11.8 percent, from $111,852 to $98,621. However, researchers said CLABSI still presents a significant burden, and further efforts are required to prevent CLABSI and to lower care management costs.
5. Although previous literature discourages administering the rotavirus vaccine in the neonatal intensive care unit because of the risk of live attenuated virus transmission, a study in Pediatrics found the practice to be safe.
6. More than 3,000 patients may have been exposed to hepatitis and HIV after officials discovered insulin pens meant for single-use may have been used on multiple patients at Griffin Hospital in Derby, Conn., according to a report by The Middletown Press.
7. Bundled simulation-based training in medical ICUs reduced the CLABSI rate by 85.3 percent and increased infection control compliance to 100 percent compliance in a study in American Journal of Infection Control. Researchers suggest this type of training intervention can help significantly reduce HAIs.
8. Sepsis contributes to up to half of all hospital deaths in the United States, though it is only found in one-tenth of all admitted patients, according to a study presented at the American Thoracic Society's annual conference.
9. Implementing ultraviolet environmental disinfection decreased the rates of hospital-acquired, multi-drug-resistant organism and Clostridium difficile infections by 20 percent, according to a study in American Journal of Infection Control.
10. The concentration of antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli in hospital wastewater is approximately 33 times higher than in community wastewater, which may be contributing to the overall spread of antibiotic resistance in bacteria, according to a study in Clinical Infectious Diseases.
11. Humans and companion animals like dogs and cats carry a shared population of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, according to a study recently published in mBio, the journal of the American Society for Microbiology.
12. Approximately 10 percent of elderly patients are readmitted due to C. diff infections, according to preliminary data reported in MedPage Today. Fifty-eight percent of C. diff readmissions occurred within 25 days after hospital discharge, and 80 percent occurred within 73 days. Additionally, 22 percent of patients were readmitted more than once.