Editor's Note This study from HCA Healthcare, Nashville, Tennessee, finds an increase in healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in patients with COVID-19, but no increase in patients without COVID-19. More than 5 million hospitalizations in 182 hospitals between 2020 and 2022 were included in the analysis. The incidence of HAIs per 100,…

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Editor's Note In this study, researchers from the Duke Infection Control Outreach Network Surveillance Team, Duke University School of Medicine,  Durham, North Carolina, find that surgical site infection (SSI) rates did not decrease in community hospitals from 2013 to 2018. SSI data was collected from patients having 26 common surgical…

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Editor's Note This Japanese study finds that surgical site infections (SSIs) were lower after intraoperative wound irrigation with normal saline than with povidone-iodine. A total of 941 patients having gastroenterological surgery were randomized to intraoperative wound irrigation for 1 minute before skin closure with 40 mL of aqueous povidone-iodine (study…

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Editor's Note This investigation by the Kentucky Department for Public Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of eight cases of rapidly growing mycobacteria (RGM) infections in a Kentucky hospital after total joint replacement procedures found that the presence of a particular OR nurse was significantly associated with the…

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Editor's Note The FDA on March 15 issued its third warning letter to endoscope manufacturer Olympus Medical, following a manufacturing site inspection and 160 complaints of device failure, as reported by Beckers. The warning letter comes after a Tokyo, Japan facility inspection, where the Single-Use Distal Covers for Duodenoscopes and…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission, on March 22, announced that it is seeking comments on proposed new requirements to address environmental sustainability for the hospital and critical access hospital programs. The aim of the proposed new Leadership (LD) Standard LD.05.01.01 is to help facilities minimize their carbon footprints as they…

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Congratulations. You have worked hard to master your skills in the sterile processing department (SPD). You have prepared, been interviewed, and finally been promoted to a leadership position. Now, what? Yesterday you were working as a peer in your department, and now you are the leader. Are you prepared for…

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Protecting patient safety in the OR is everyone’s business. No single group should shoulder the full responsibility for reducing healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). In addition to infection preventionists, epidemiologists, and environmental services personnel, it is the duty of everyone involved in patient care to provide an optimal clean and aseptic surgical…

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The use of electrosurgical instrumentation is common in minimally invasive surgery (MIS). However, while these instruments are common, processing them is complex and time-consuming. Insulated electrosurgical instrumentation can cause patient harm, including an electrical burn, if there is a breach in the insulation. These instruments are designed to have an…

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Editor's Note This study led by nurse researchers at the School of Health Professions, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, finds that a disinfection routine measurably reduced surface contamination on mobile phones of ICU nurses. Surface bioburden of personal mobile phones and shared phones of 30 ICU nurses was estimated with…

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