Current endoscope reprocessing methods are not consistently effective in eliminating organic soil or microbes, and the off-label use of products for defoaming, lubrication, and bleeding control may be contributing to reprocessing failures. Though endoscope manufacturers have cautioned against the use of these products, endoscopists still commonly use them, and many…

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Editor's Note The risk of adverse events increases with each additional day of surgical antimicrobial prophylaxis, and extended duration does not lead to additional surgical site infection (SSI) reductions, finds this study. In this study of 79,058 patients having surgical procedures in the VA healthcare system, increasing the duration of…

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Editor's Note A visible-light continuous environmental disinfection (CED) system, used with manual cleaning, resulted in a significant reduction in microbial surface contamination and surgical site infections (SSIs) in an orthopedic OR, in this study. Samples were taken from 25 surfaces within two contiguous ORs sharing an air supply after manual…

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Editor's Note Large numbers of healthcare workers go to work with symptoms of cold, flu, and other acute respiratory illnesses, this study finds. In this survey of healthcare workers from nine Canadian hospitals during four influenza seasons, 94.6% reported working while sick with an acute respiratory illness, most often because…

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The Leapfrog Group’s spring 2019 Hospital Safety Grade Report shows some progress in patient safety: an estimated 160,000 avoidable deaths nationwide, down from 205,000 in 2016. But 160,000 is a large number. “There’s still a lot of needless death and harm in American hospitals,” says Leah Binder, Leapfrog’s president and…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced June 14 in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report that four hospital patients developed sepsis after receiving platelet transfusions contaminated with bacteria. The CDC found that the platelets contained Acinetobacter calcoaceticus-baumannii complex and Staphylococcus saprophyticus. The agency is still…

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Editor's Note Because of the potential risk of selecting mutants carrying genes for cross-resistance to chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) and antibiotics, it is advisable to reserve the use of CHG for purposes other than hand hygiene, this study finds. A review of studies showed no significant difference in healthcare-associated infection rates…

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Editor's Note A closed ICU model was associated with significantly reduced rates of central line associated blood stream infection (CLABSI), catheter associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI), and ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) in this study, presented May 22 at ATS 2019, the annual international conference of the American Thoracic Society in Dallas.…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on May 21 issued Quick Safety 49: Disinfection of tonometers and other ophthalmology devices. The Joint Commission noted that the American Academy of Ophthalmology has reported that transmission of adenovirus and herpes simplex virus HIV, hepatitis C virus, enterovirus 70, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus,…

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Editor's Note Antibiotic delivery is significantly faster for sepsis patients treated in an emergency department (ED) if they are assigned a higher score on an acuity scale used for patient triage, finds this study presented May 22 at ATS 2019, the annual international conference of the American Thoracic Society in…

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