American journal of infection control
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Am J Infect Control · Oct 2014
Implementation of electronic surveillance of catheter use and catheter-associated urinary tract infection at Nurses Improving Care for Healthsystem Elders (NICHE) hospitals.
Manual surveillance of indwelling urinary catheters (IUCs) and catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) is resource intense. ⋯ A centralized electronic surveillance strategy for CAUTI is feasible and sustainable. Baseline performance of participating sites was exemplary, with very low SIRs at baseline.
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Am J Infect Control · Oct 2014
Observational StudySubglottic secretion drainage and continuous control of cuff pressure used together save health care costs.
Preventive strategies to reduce ventilator-associated respiratory infection (VARI) include the use of an endotracheal tube incorporating a lumen for subglottic secretion drainage (SSD) and a system for continuous control of endotracheal tube cuff pressure (CCCP). The health care costs associated with the combined use of these 2 measures aimed at preventing VARI are not known, however. The objective of this study was to determine whether the simultaneous use of these 2 preventive measures for VARI could save health care costs. ⋯ The combined use of SSD and CCCP reduced the incidence of VARI and saved health care costs.
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Am J Infect Control · Oct 2014
Randomized Controlled TrialImpact of Detection, Education, Research and Decolonization without Isolation in Long-term care (DERAIL) on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus colonization and transmission at 3 long-term care facilities.
We tested infection prevention strategies to limit exposure of long-term care facility residents to drug-resistant pathogens in a prospective, cluster randomized 2-year trial involving 3 long-term care facilities (LTCFs) using methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) as a model. We hypothesized that nasal MRSA surveillance using rapid quantitative polymerase chain reaction and decolonization of carriers would successfully lower overall MRSA colonization. In year 1, randomly assigned intervention units received decolonization with nasal mupirocin and chlorhexidine bathing and enhanced environmental cleaning with bleach every 4 months. ⋯ In year 2, the colonization rate was 10.55% (P < .001) compared with baseline. The transmission rates were 1.66% and 3.52% in years 1 and 2, respectively (P = .034). The planned interventions of screening and decolonization were successful at lowering MRSA colonization.
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Am J Infect Control · Oct 2014
National HIV/AIDS mortality, prevalence, and incidence rates are associated with the Human Development Index.
HIV/AIDS is a worldwide threat to human health with mortality, prevalence, and incidence rates varying widely. We evaluated the association between the global HIV/AIDS epidemic and national socioeconomic development. ⋯ Less-developed countries are likely to have more severe HIV/AIDS epidemic. There is a need to pay more attention to HIV/AIDS control in less-developed countries, where lower socioeconomic status might have accelerated the HIV/AIDS epidemic more rapidly.
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Am J Infect Control · Oct 2014
Multicenter StudySurgical site infection rates in 4 cities in Colombia: findings of the International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium (INICC).
Surgical site infections (SSIs) are a threat to patient safety. However, there are no available data on SSI rates stratified by surgical procedure (SP) in Colombia. ⋯ Compared with CDC-NHSN rates, SSIs rates in our study hospitals were higher in most types of SPs, whereas compared with INICC, they were similar in 5 of the analyzed types, and higher in 4 types. This study represents an important advance toward knowledge of epidemiology in Colombia that will allow us to introduce targeted interventions.