Editor's Note This study by researchers at the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Washington, DC, finds that the COVID-19 pandemic had a differential impact on healthcare associated infections (HAIs) of various types in VA facilities. A total of 128 acute-care and 132 long-term care VA facilities were included in…

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Editor's note Researchers at Australia-based RMIT University have developed a new antimicrobial suture material that can reduce infections and simplify postoperative monitoring. Laboratory testing on the surgical suture finds it is easily visible in CT scans and that it has strong antimicrobial properties, killing 99% of highly drug-resistant bacteria after…

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Editor's Note This study from Ohio State University researchers finds that infection preventionists (IPs) who worked shorter shifts and had more organizational wellness support had better wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 926 IPs responded to a survey of Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC)…

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Editor's Note This study led by nurse researchers at the School of Health Professions, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, finds that a disinfection routine measurably reduced surface contamination on mobile phones of ICU nurses. Surface bioburden of personal mobile phones and shared phones of 30 ICU nurses was estimated with…

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Editor's Note This study led by epidemiologist Cori L. Ofstead, MSPH, and associates, St Paul, Minnesota, found visible damage and residue or debris in 100% of 25 processed flexible endoscopes, using a new visual inspection program that included magnification and borescopes. Fully processed endoscopes were examined twice during a 2-month…

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Editor's Note US Children’s hospitals are seeing a surge in invasive group A strep infections, NBC News reported on December 14, December 15 Becker’s Hospital Review reports. Physicians in Arizona, Colorado, Texas and Washington told NBC that they are detecting higher numbers of cases compared to past years, with Texas…

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Editor's Note This study by nursing researchers from Turkey, finds that serious game implementation significantly increased senior nursing students’ knowledge of infection prevention and safe behaviors during COVID-19. A total of 62 nursing students completed a socio-demographic questionnaire, COVID-19 information form, and game usability form, and their responses were analyzed…

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Editor's Note This study, by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, and California Department of Public Health, finds significant increases in healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in California acute-care hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically, central-line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bloodstream infections (BSIs). The researchers found…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on November 4 posted the incidence of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) reported by US hospitals in 2021. The report showed that rates for four of six tracked infections had increased: Central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) increased 7%, with the largest increase…

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Editor's Note This study from the University of Maryland, Baltimore, finds that full and partial COVID-19 vaccination reduced postoperative complications. Researchers analyzed data from patients having surgery at 1,283 VA medical facilities nationwide. Of 87,073 surgical patients, 20% were fully vaccinated, 15% were partially vaccinated, and 65% were unvaccinated. Among…

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