Good hygiene practice and a strong Infection Control program are only half the battle against antibiotic resistant infections. Improper use of antibiotics is only increasing the speed by which bacteria develop resistance, something that science has been aware of for years. It might therefore be surprising to find out that many doctors still prescribe antibiotics in cases where there is little to no point in doing so. To this end, Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates has launched an antibiotics awareness campaign. “Eighty percent of adults with acute bronchitis should not be placed on antibiotics, yet many are given a prescription,” says Ben Kruskal, pediatrician and director of infection control at Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates. “Acute bronchitis is almost always the result of a viral infection. Antibiotics are used to kill bacteria, not viruses.” Read the rest of this entry »
Americans are six times more at risk of contracting antibiotic resistant staph infections from their community than their British counterparts, according to a recent U.S. government study.
Researchers working with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that the rate of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bloodstream infections (BSIs) was much higher in U.S. communities than in U.K. communities, despite the fact that the rate of hospital-acquired infections linked to MRSA were about the same. Read the rest of this entry »
Courtesy WTSP.com
Tampa, Florida – On the first floor of UCH’s Pepin Hospital, a bright blue light illuminated an otherwise dark hallway.
Through the glass of a patient room, UCH’s newest weapon in its battle against bacteria and germs churned out the blue light and an invisible wave length that seems more science fiction than cleaning agent. Read the rest of this entry »
The Royal Bolton hospital have successfully managed to eradicate MRSA with no new cases for 116 days. In addition, just 24 people contracted C diff between April and September; a major turnaround from 2007/8 when the trust came under fire when MRSA infections reached 31 and infection rates of C diff were in the 20-30 cases a month range. What does the trust attribute to such a reversal of fortune? Read the rest of this entry »
Becker’s ASC Review carries an interview with Dr. Ralph Gambardella, an orthopedic surgeon and president of Kerlan-Jobe Surgery Center in Los Angeles. His center succumbed to two infections in three months but took quick and decisive action, meeting with the board and coming up with new protocols to implement that were hoped to reduce rates of infection. These turned out to be very successful and Dr. Gambardella has noted 5 key aspects of these procedures that have led to reduced infection rates: Read the rest of this entry »
Australian schools are a distribution centre for bacteria and viruses, an infection control conference has heard, and yet school toilets were not required to contain soap. Read the rest of this entry »
You might have thought that glove use would go ‘hand in hand’ with lowered infection rates. However, a new report suggests that the contrary may actually be the case. A large, U.K. based research study of nurses, physicians, and other health care personnel, showed that they were consistently less likely to disinfect or clean their hands before and after gloved patient contacts than ungloved ones. Most concerning of all, this was particularly true for the high-risk contacts involving body fluids or aseptic techniques. Read the rest of this entry »
NHS trusts must publish figures on various Hospital Acquired Infections (HAI’s) as part of new health policies coming into effect in January 2011. The policies are designed to help the public make “informed choices” about where to go for treatment.
On Tuesday, Andrew Lansley, the health secretary, said in his speech to the Conservative party conference that patients need more information about the quality of services at different hospitals before they make decisions about their health. The published information will include numbers on incidence of infections such as MSSA (a relation of MRSA) and E.Coli will be included in the future. Read the rest of this entry »
First responders to emergency situations are not only essential to increasing survival chances for victims, but also often have to place themselves in situations of increased risk in order to provide assistance. There has to be few more intimidating jobs than being a first responder in the middle of a potentially lethal pandemic. However, new research suggests that given such a situation, more than 50% of essential response staff may be either unable or unwilling to work. Read the rest of this entry »
Becker’s Orthopedic and Spine Review have published what should be a very useful article for any healthcare worker in charge of Infection Control measures: 6 Best Practices for Implementing an Effective Infection Control Program. The advice comes from Denise Kesler, director of Athens (Ga.) Orthopedic Ambulatory Surgery Center, who presents examples of Infection Control policies and measures that have been tried and tested in real world scenarios. Read the rest of this entry »
