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. The top influencing factor for healthcare workers in deciding to receive vaccinations is self-protection, followed by desire to protect friends and family, according to a study in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.
2. The severity of Clostridium difficile infections is growing, and inpatient C. diff costs can be anywhere between $3,000 and $15,000 per episode, according to an expert guidance document by the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. The guidance document outlines eight strategies for C. diff infection prevention.
3. The increased focus on infection control in healthcare has produced growth in demand in the global disposable medical glove market. The market is projected to be valued at $5.5 billion by 2020, according to a Global Industry Analysts report.
4. The University of California, Davis Children's Hospital has opened the Recurrent MRSA Clinic, dedicated to the treatment of community-associated recurrent methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.
5. Researchers analyzing the effectiveness of C. diff detection techniques found real-time polymerase chain reaction was less accurate than an assay or a toxigenic culture for identifying the pathogen, according to a study in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.
6. Although surgical site infections are one of the most common and most expensive healthcare-associated infections, approximately 60 percent can be prevented using evidence-based guidelines, according to a study in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology. The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology released an expert guidance document outlining 15 best practices to prevent SSIs.
7. The combination drug trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole cuts the risk of recurrent urinary tract infections in children with vesicoureteral reflux by up to 80 percent, according to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine.
8. The global hospital-acquired disease testing market is expected to reach $7.5 billion in 2019, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 19.3 percent, according to a Transparency Market Research report.
9. Officials at UPMC Presbyterian in Pittsburgh reported one patient died in 2013 due to Legionella bacteria found in its ice machines, according to a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review report.
10. Clinical trial reports and systematic reviews assessing the clinical efficacy of chlorhexidine and alcohol combinations as skin disinfectants may be misleading, as reported disinfectant properties only consider the chlorhexidine component, according to a study in Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotheraphy.
11. A study in the Journal of Hospital Medicine found sepsis patients who also develop hospital-onset C. diff experience increased mortality, lengths of stay and costs.
12. Up to 69 percent of bloodstream infections in the intensive care unit may be preventable, according to a study in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.
13. The median duration for treatment of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis is 32.3 months, and the median duration for treatment of multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis is 24.1 months, according to the CDC.
14. Concord (N.H.) Hospital has employed two ultraviolet light-emitting robots to disinfect hospital rooms, becoming the first hospital in the state to use such a robot, according to a Concord Monitor report.