American journal of infection control
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Am J Infect Control · Feb 2014
ReviewScreening for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: a comparative effectiveness review.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is an important cause of health care-associated infections. Although the evidence in support of MRSA screening has been promising, a number of questions remain about the effectiveness of active surveillance. ⋯ Although there is low SOE that universal screening of hospital patients decreases MRSA infection, there is insufficient evidence to determine the consequences of universal screening or the effectiveness of other screening strategies.
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Am J Infect Control · Feb 2014
Assessing the impact of an educational intervention on ventilator-associated pneumonia in a pediatric critical care unit.
Ongoing educational programs targeting health care professionals have shown positive outcomes by reducing the morbidity and mortality associated with health care-associated infections (HAIs). We undertook this study to measure the impact of such a program in a pediatric critical care unit of a developing country. ⋯ Educational programs have a positive impact on reducing the morbidity and mortality associated with HAIs. Incidence rates based on device-days should be compared by keeping the variations in device utilization ratio in mind.
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Am J Infect Control · Jan 2014
Multicenter StudyThe impact of a ventilator bundle on preventing ventilator-associated pneumonia: a multicenter study.
For prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), a bundle approach was applied to patients receiving mechanical ventilation in intensive care units. The incidence of VAP and the preventive efficacy of the VAP bundle were investigated. ⋯ Implementing the appropriate VAP bundle significantly decreased the incidence of VAP in patients with mechanical ventilation.
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Am J Infect Control · Jan 2014
Comparative StudyCase-control analysis of endemic Acinetobacter baumannii bacteremia in the neonatal intensive care unit.
We aimed to characterize the clinical manifestations and outcomes of patients with Acinetobacter baumannii bacteremia in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). ⋯ A baumannii bacteremia occurs endemically or sporadically in the NICU, primarily in low-birth-weight infants on TPN use and with CVC in situ. Although A baumannii does not often cause mortality, and multidrug-resistant A baumannii is uncommon, it contributes significantly to longer hospitalization.
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Am J Infect Control · Jan 2014
A multifaceted intervention to reduce rates of catheter-associated urinary tract infections in a resource-limited setting.
Health care-associated infections such as catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) are prevalent in resource-limited settings. This study was carried out to determine whether a multifaceted intervention targeting health care personnel would reduce CAUTI rates in a public hospital located in a resource-limited setting. ⋯ In this resource-limited setting, the baseline rate of CAUTIs was high. A low-cost, multifaceted intervention resulted in decreased urinary catheter use and CAUTI rates.