American journal of infection control
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Am J Infect Control · Nov 2013
Efficacy of an infection control program in reducing ventilator-associated pneumonia in a Chinese neonatal intensive care unit.
Measures employed in preventing ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) in developing countries are rarely reported. This study evaluates the efficacy of an infection control program in reducing VAP in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in China. ⋯ Implementing a multifaceted infection control program resulted in a significant reduction in VAP rate with long-term effects. Such interventions could be extended to other low-income countries.
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Am J Infect Control · Nov 2013
Infection prevention in anesthesia practice: a tool to assess risk and compliance.
Transmission of bacterial and viral infections to patients from improper anesthesia infection prevention and control practices continues to be reported. "Recommendations for Infection Control for the Practice of Anesthesiology" were recently revised. The process used to develop an anesthesia infection prevention assessment tool is described. The tool is intended to encourage collaboration between infection preventionists and anesthesia providers in an effort to assess infection prevention and control practices in various health care anesthesia settings.
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Am J Infect Control · Nov 2013
Immunizing health care workers against influenza: a glimpse into the challenges with voluntary programs and considerations for mandatory policies.
Vaccination of health care workers (HCWs) is an important patient safety initiative. It prevents influenza infection among patients and reduces staff illness and absenteeism. Despite these benefits, HCW influenza immunization uptake is low. Therefore, strategies to achieve high immunization coverage in HCWs, barriers to uptake, and perceptions of mandatory influenza immunization policies were discussed in key informant interviews with influenza immunization program planners. ⋯ Participants believed immunization coverage in health care organizations will continue to be suboptimal using existing program strategies. Although participants discussed mandatory immunization as a way to improve uptake, potential obstacles will need to be addressed for this to be implemented successfully.