Study: Critical Access Hospitals Face Infection Control Challenges
Public health officials reviewed infection prevention and control (IPC) practices at 36 Nebraska CAHs using the CDC’s IPC Assessment Tool. They found the largest gaps existed in the areas of injection safety, central line-associated bloodstream infection prevention, and catheter-associated urinary tract infection prevention, but problems were discovered in all IPC areas.
Study: Provider Preference Could Improve Use of Antibiotics
The study reports responses to a 20-question survey from 211 inpatient providers at Vanderbilt University Hospital in various specialties. The survey covered demographic questions, preferred feedback methods, barriers, and comparison metrics, and a hypothetical patient hospitalization scenario assigning provider responsibility for antibiotic use.
For Immunosuppressed Sepsis Patients, Hospital Experience Matters
The researchers analyzed medical records of 350,183 patients with sepsis at 60 hospitals. One of five of those patients was classified as being immunocompromised based on being HIV-positive or having an intrinsic immune disorder, having a blood cancer or being prescribed an immunosuppressive drug for certain medical conditions while hospitalized.
Outpatient Colonoscopy Infection Rates Much Higher Than Previously Thought
Using an all-payer claims database, the researchers examined 2014 data from six states — California, Florida, Georgia, Nebraska, New York and Vermont — to track infection-related emergency room visits and unplanned inpatient admissions within seven and 30 days after a colonoscopy or EGD.
AOHP Asks Healthcare Organizations to ‘Consider’ Mandatory Flu Shot Policies
AOHP, which calls itself “the only national professional organization with the exclusive mission of addressing the needs and concerns of occupational health professionals in healthcare settings,” recently released a position statement that recommends annual flu shots along with other mandatory vaccinations, including hepatitis B and MMR, for healthcare workers.
Study: Seasonal Spikes in Antibiotic Misuse
The study authors say their findings suggest that “current initiatives to improve the use of antibiotics in outpatient settings may not be enough to change clinicians’ prescribing practices.” And they feel clinicians must be better equipped “with the tools and knowledge to know when antibiotics are needed.”
Study: AHRQ Program Helps Hawaiian Hospitals Cut SSI Rate
Between January 2013 and June 2015, all hospitals across Hawaii participated in the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s (AHRQ) Safety Program for Surgery. The 15-hospital collaborative were part of an AHRQ-funded effort to improve surgical care across the country.
AORN Expects to Revise its Guideline for OR Headwear
Lisa Spruce, AORN’s director of evidence-based perioperative practice, tells OSHA Healthcare Advisor that AORN will still recommend complete hair coverage in that revised guideline, but “there’s not going to be a recommendation on which head covering.”
CDC Says Heparin Syringes May Have Caused Bloodstream Infection Outbreak
The infections occurred in seriously ill children who received intravenous medications through a catheter or central line in Tennessee, Colorado, Minnesota, and Ohio. No deaths have been associated with the infections and the number of cases is dwindling, the CDC said.
New Ebola Outbreak in the Congo: Is Your Organization Pandemic-Ready?
At the moment, the only confirmed current cases of Ebola were reported in a remote location in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; as of Monday, the World Health Organization reported 39 suspected, probable, and confirmed cases, including 19 deaths.