Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on July 26 issued a new report titled “Antibiotic Use in the United States, 2017: Progress and Opportunities.” The report includes information on the current status of antibiotic use in healthcare settings, highlighting programs and resources to support antibiotic stewardship (ie,…

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Editor's Note Despite widespread adoption of contact precautions for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE), there is no strong clinical trial evidence to support the mandated use of these precautions, three noted infection prevention researchers say. Without the support of evidence, policy makers from 2000 to 2010 passed…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on May 3 published an update to its 1999 guideline for the prevention of surgical site infections. Among the recommendations: Patients should shower or bathe with soap or an antiseptic agent on at least the night before a surgical procedure. Antimicrobial…

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Editor's Note More adults are getting screening tests for colorectal cancer but not for breast or cervical cancers, according to new data from the Centers Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). From 2000 to 2015, the rate of colorectal cancer screening increased from 33% to 62% in men and from 35%…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced March 3 that they are collaborating on a project designed to adapt, enhance, and disseminate CDC guidelines related to infection prevention in ambulatory healthcare settings. The goal of the initiative, called “ADOPT (Adaptation and Dissemination Outpatient…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported March 2 that the proportion of US pregnancies with Zika-associated birth defects is approximately 20 times higher than it was before introduction of the virus into the US. Between January 15 and September 22, 2016, the US Zika Pregnancy…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is accepting comments on the draft update to its recommendations for the use of chlorhexidine (CHG)-impregnated dressings to prevent intravascular catheter-related infections. The draft addresses new and updated strategies and is based on a review of the evidence since 2010…

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Editor's Note The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in October announced new targets for reducing healthcare associated infections (HAIs) in acute care hospitals. The new targets are part of the agency’s "National Action Plan to Prevent Health Care-Associated Infections: Road Map to Elimination." The targets use data…

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Editor's Note In this study, surgical site infection (SSI) rates were similar for general surgery patients whether hair was clipped or not. Of 1,543 patients included in the study, 768 were in the clipped group and 775 were in the not-clipped group. The overall rate of SSIs was 6.12% in…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on October 13 updated its Safety Alert on the Stӧckert 3T Heater-Cooler System by LivaNova to provide new information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) about Mycobacterium chimaera infections associated with the use of the system in US patients…

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