Study: Hospital Bedsheets Could Be Source of C. difficile Contamination
Researchers in the United Kingdom found that washing contaminated hospital bedsheets in a commercial washing machine with industrial detergent at high disinfecting temperatures failed to remove all traces of C. difficile, a bacteria that causes infectious diarrhea.
Last Flu Season Led to 80,000 Deaths
Over the last several flu seasons, coverage among children aged six months to 17 years has remained steady but fallen short of national public health goals, which are 80%.
Review Your Water Management Plan as CMS Intensifies Focus on Legionella
CMS recently updated a memo to its survey teams on reducing the risk of Legionella to specifically note that facilities must have a water management plan that surveyors can review. That plan should be written and managed by a multidisciplinary committee of people from throughout the hospital with a stake in water use.
Hospitals Can Improve Their Infection Prevention Strategies, Study Finds
Published in the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America’s (SHEA) journal Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, the study points out that hospitals can do much more to reduce infections.
FDA Unveils Proposed Hospital Subscription Plan for Antibiotic Use
The FDA, which also rolled out a new antimicrobial resistance information page, is in talks with CMS and other agencies to develop this and other approaches to reduce antimicrobial resistance.
The Pipes Are Calling: CMS Revises Legionella Requirements
The Legionella bacterium is responsible for legionellosis: a respiratory disease that can cause a type of pneumonia called Legionnaires’ disease, which kills about a quarter of the people who contract it.
SHEA to Host Inaugural Outbreak Prevention and Response Week
During the week of September 17-21, SHEA and its partners will lead activities and provide tips and information on a variety of infection prevention-related topics.
Joint Commission Revises Scoring for IC Standard
Effective as of September 1, the revisions are meant to hone in on the process steps that pose the highest risk to patients.
Rise in Outpatient Care Leads to Rise in Community-Associated Infections
An October 2017 study in Open Forum Infectious Diseases, “Risk Factors for Community-Associated Clostridium difficile Infection in Adults: A Case-Control Study,” found that from 2011 to 2014, instances of community-associated C. diff infections in the U.S. grew from 35% of all C. diff infections to 41%.
Advocacy Group Urges HHS to Halt Sepsis Trial
Public Citizen claims the Crystalloid Liberal or Vasopressors Early Resuscitation in Sepsis (CLOVERS) trial is dangerous because patients are being given one of two treatments for sepsis, both of which are risky and neither of which is considered standard treatment.