American journal of infection control
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Am J Infect Control · Oct 2017
ReviewImplementation in the midst of complexity: Using ethnography to study health care-associated infection prevention and control.
Contextual factors associated with health care settings make reducing health care-associated infections (HAIs) a complex task. The aim of this article is to highlight how ethnography can assist in understanding contextual factors that support or hinder the implementation of evidence-based practices for reducing HAIs. ⋯ Ethnography is well-suited for HAI prevention, especially video-reflexive ethnography, for activating patients and clinicians in infection control work. In this era of increasing pressure to reduce HAIs within complex work systems, ethnographic methods can promote understanding of contextual factors and may expedite translation evidence to practice.
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Am J Infect Control · Feb 2017
Review Meta AnalysisSkin antisepsis with chlorhexidine versus iodine for the prevention of surgical site infection: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Surgical site infection (SSI) is one of the most frequent health care-associated infections. One of the practices to reduce their incidence is preoperative skin antisepsis. Two of the most commonly active components used are chlorhexidine gluconate and povidone iodine. Of 3 reviews conducted between 2010 and 2012 comparing antiseptics, 2 were in favor of chlorhexidine; however, the latest was unable to draw conclusions. ⋯ There is moderate-quality evidence supporting the use of chlorhexidine for preoperative skin antisepsis and high-quality evidence that the use of chlorhexidine is associated with fewer positive skin cultures. Further rigorous trials will be welcomed to attain stronger evidence as to the best antiseptic to be used before surgery.
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Am J Infect Control · Feb 2017
Review Meta AnalysisSkin antisepsis with chlorhexidine versus iodine for the prevention of surgical site infection: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Surgical site infection (SSI) is one of the most frequent health care-associated infections. One of the practices to reduce their incidence is preoperative skin antisepsis. Two of the most commonly active components used are chlorhexidine gluconate and povidone iodine. Of 3 reviews conducted between 2010 and 2012 comparing antiseptics, 2 were in favor of chlorhexidine; however, the latest was unable to draw conclusions. ⋯ There is moderate-quality evidence supporting the use of chlorhexidine for preoperative skin antisepsis and high-quality evidence that the use of chlorhexidine is associated with fewer positive skin cultures. Further rigorous trials will be welcomed to attain stronger evidence as to the best antiseptic to be used before surgery.
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Am J Infect Control · Sep 2016
ReviewAirborne spread of infectious agents in the indoor environment.
Since the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome epidemic, scientific exploration of infection control is no longer restricted to microbiologists or medical scientists. Many studies have reported on the release, transport, and exposure of expiratory droplets because of respiratory activities. This review focuses on the airborne spread of infectious agents from mucus to mucus in the indoor environment and their spread as governed by airflows in the respiratory system, around people, and in buildings at different transport stages. ⋯ We have shown the opportunities for infection control at different stages of the spread. We propose that the short-range airborne route may be important in close contact, and its control may be achieved by face masks for the source patients and use of personalized ventilation. Our discussion of the effect of thermal stratification and expiratory delivery of droplets leads to the suggestion that displacement ventilation may not be applicable to hospital rooms where respiratory infection is a concern.
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Am J Infect Control · Jul 2015
Review Meta AnalysisImpact of antibiotic- and silver-impregnated external ventricular drains on the risk of infections: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
External ventricular drainage (EVD) is one of the most common and effective procedures in neurosurgery practice. However, catheter-related infection (CRI), which is associated with significant mortality and morbidity, plagues this procedure. We evaluated the efficacy of antibiotic-impregnated EVD (AI-EVD) and silver-impregnated EVD (SI-EVD) catheters compared with plain EVD catheters for the prevention of CRI. ⋯ Our restults indicate that both AI-EVDs and SI-EVDs are more effective than plain EVDs for the prevention of CRI. There is no conclusive evidence on the preference of AI-EVDs vs SI-EVDs because of insufficient data. Further well-designed, multicenter randomized controlled trials are required to confirm the findings of this meta-analysis.