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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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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Editor's Note A 16-hour delay from emergency department (ED) admission or a 12-hour delay from hospital admission to performance of an appendectomy was not associated with an increased risk of surgical site infections (SSIs), in this study. Of 1,338 patients included in the study, 70% had a diagnosis of simple…

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Editor's Note An investigation by the Pasadena Public Health Department, Pasadena, California, into the outbreak of Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacterial infections from duodenoscopes found that 16 patients at Huntington Hospital were infected from January 2013 to August 2015, including 11 who have now died, the June 1 Los Angeles Times reports.…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on June 1 issued a safety alert that the agency had received reports of US patients infected with Mycobacterium chimaera after undergoing cardiothoracic surgery that involved the use of the Stockert 3T Heater-Cooler System by Sorin Group Deustchland GmbH. Efforts are underway…

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Editor's Note In patients having endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) with a contaminated duodenoscope, biliary stent placement, a diagnosis of bile duct cancer, and hospital inpatient status were independently associated with an increased risk of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) transmission, this study finds. The findings were based on data from a 2015…

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