American journal of infection control
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Am J Infect Control · Nov 2015
Randomized Controlled TrialAlcohol handrubbing and chlorhexidine handwashing are equally effective in removing methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus from health care workers' hands: A randomized controlled trial.
We conducted a randomized controlled trial in a tertiary-care hospital in a real-time setting to evaluate the effectiveness of 3 hand hygiene protocols in reducing hand carriage of methicillin-resistant and methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus among health care workers. Our study shows that use of alcohol handrub, either covering all hand surfaces in no particular order or using the 7-step technique, and chlorhexidine handwashing were equally effective in removing hand carriage of these pathogens.
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Am J Infect Control · Oct 2015
Assessment of an automated surveillance system for detection of initial ventilator-associated events.
Surveillance for initial ventilator-associated events (VAEs) was automated and compared with nonautomated review of episodes of mechanical ventilation. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of automated surveillance were very high (>93%), and automated surveillance reduced the time spent on detection of VAEs by >90%.
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Am J Infect Control · Sep 2015
Improved hand hygiene compliance after eliminating mandatory glove use from contact precautions-Is less more?
Guidelines recommend that health care personnel (HCP) wear gloves for all interactions with patients on contact precautions. We aimed to assess hand hygiene (HH) compliance during contact precautions before and after eliminating mandatory glove use. ⋯ Eliminating mandatory glove use in the care of patients on contact precautions increased HH compliance in our institution, particularly before invasive procedures and before patient contacts. Further studies on the effect on pathogen transmission are needed before revisiting the current official guidelines on the topic.