Olympus told US executives not to issue warning on infections from tainted scopes
Editor's Note Despite “superbug” outbreaks and alerts issued in Europe, Japanese device manufacturer Olympus Corp told US executives in early 2013 not to issue a broad warning to American hospitals about potentially deadly infections from tainted duodenoscopes, the July 24 Los Angeles Times reports. At the time, Olympus was aware…
Assessment tool reduces UTI rates across surgical, nonsurgical departments
Editor's Note A program for analyzing processes associated with catheter placement and removal for surgical patients decreased urinary tract infections (UTIs) for all hospitalized patients in this study presented at the 2016 American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program Conference in San Diego. The STOP UTI quality assessment…
Automated communication system helps prevent SSIs
Editor's Note An automated text and voice messaging system improved communication about preventive steps orthopedic patients should take a week before surgery and the postoperative signs of infection to report in the 2 weeks after surgery. The system reminds patients to fill their prescriptions for antibiotic ointment and body wash…
Reducing OR traffic during total joints lowers SSIs
Editor's Note Implementing strategies to reduce the number of OR door openings during total hip and knee procedures helped lower surgical site infections (SSIs) in this study presented at the 2016 American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program Conference in San Diego. Strategies included stopping all traffic in…
Process improvements raise SPD standards and quality
When audits revealed areas of deficit in the sterile processing departments (SPDs) of the Memorial Hermann Health System in Houston, leaders pulled together a team to help implement a quality improvement plan. By analyzing and standardizing their processes, creating auditing tools, and educating staff, they significantly increased quality scores throughout…
Study finds large colorectal polyps pose low cancer risk
Editor's Note In the majority of patients with large or difficult to remove colorectal polyps, the incidence of cancer is much lower than previously thought, suggesting advanced endoscopic treatments may be a viable option to traditional colon resection, this study finds. Of 439 patients who had a colectomy at the…
Toolkit for monitoring endoscope reprocessing effectiveness
Editor's Note In this study, a preassembled toolkit that facilitated the aseptic collection of samples for culturing detected viable microbes on fully reprocessed endoscopes. Biopsy ports and suction/biopsy channels of 5 gastroscopes, 5 colonoscopes, and 5 bronchoscopes were aseptically sampled with the toolkit after the scopes were fully processed. Bacteria…
SSI risk factors after ACL reconstruction
Editor's Note The overall risk for deep wound surgical site infections (SSIs) after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction is low, but it varies by graft type, this study finds. Of 1,452 patients included in the study, 55 had deep wound infections. Infection risk was highest for hamstring autograft (2.5%), compared…
Johns Hopkins students design improved Ebola protection suit
Editor's Note Johns Hopkins University engineering students have designed an Ebola protection suit with a more comfortable hood and face mask that makes breathing easier, and it has a battery-powered system that lowers humidity in the suit. The University and DuPont have signed license and collaboration agreements allowing DuPont to…
Viral contamination of healthcare workers’ mobile phones
Editor's Note A significant association was found between the presence of viral RNA and the mobile phones of healthcare workers in this study from France. Virus RNA was detected on 42 of 109 (38.5%) mobile phones tested: rotavirus was found on 39, respiratory syncytial virus on 3, and metapneumovirus on…
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