Editor's Note Medicare’s Nonpayment Program of 2008, which withholds hospital reimbursement for costs related to hospital-acquired conditions (HACs), was associated with a decline in the incidence of selected HACs in this study. The decline was greater in hospitals with higher Medicare utilization ratios (MURs). In this analysis of nearly 868,000…

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Editor's Note The American College of Surgeons (ACS) and Surgical Infection Society (SIS) on December 1 announced their newly released guidelines for the prevention, detection, and management of surgical site infections (SSIs). The guidelines give clinicians step-by-step ways to address SSIs and educate patients on ways to contribute to their…

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Editor's Note Chlorhexidine is the best antiseptic for skin prep when a prolonged effect is needed, such as when implanting medical devices or performing surgical procedures, this study finds. Of 135 healthy volunteers tested, at 24 hours: unscrubbed control bacterial counts were 288 CFU/cm2 scrubbed control counts were 96 CFU/cm2…

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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 A global outbreak of Mycobacterium chimaera has been linked to heater-cooler devices used in cardiac surgery, this study finds. Investigators found M chimaera in heater-cooler device water circuits and air samples while the devices were running, suggesting airborne transmission from the device to the surgical site. New heater-cooler…

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Even when recommended cleaning and disinfection protocols are followed, residual contamination of instruments is possible, researchers have found (OR Manager, November 2016, 1, 10-11). Visual inspection can catch some signs of contamination, but it won’t reveal problems within channels and other areas of complex medical devices. That’s why it’s important…

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Editor's Note This study from the UK is the first to link antibiotic resistance with exposure to the disinfectant chlorhexidine. In five of six strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae exposed to chlorhexidine-containing disinfectants in the laboratory, adaptation to chlorhexidine led to resistance to the last resort antibiotic colistin. The risk of…

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Editor's Note This study from the Mayo Clinic found that intraoperative hypothermia was not significantly associated with surgical site infections (SSIs). Among the findings: Compliance with Surgical Care Improvement Project Performance Measure “Surgery Patients with Perioperative Temperature Management” (SCIP-Inf-10) overall and its components (maintenance of minimum body temperature and use…

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Editor's Note The World Health Organization (WHO) on November 3 released the “Global Guidelines for the Prevention of Surgical Site Infection,” which includes a list of 29 recommendations (13 preoperative and 16 intra- and postoperative). Included in the recommendations are: ensuring patients take a preoperative bath or shower no shaving…

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Editor's Note This study from the University of Colorado Hospital, Centennial, found that the five primary high touch surfaces in the OR (in order) are: anesthesia computer mouse OR bed nurse computer mouse OR door anesthesia cart. The study also demonstrated that low touch areas were less contaminated than high…

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