American journal of infection control
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Am J Infect Control · Oct 2007
Comparative StudyIn vitro antibacterial activities of oral care products against ventilator-associated pneumonia pathogens.
Oral and oropharyngeal decontamination is one of the main issues for preventing ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). ⋯ CHX and H(2)O(2) have good antibacterial effects against most isolated VAP pathogens in vitro. They could be suggested as oropharyngeal decontamination agents for reducing VAP incidence.
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Am J Infect Control · Sep 2007
A modified "cover your cough" campaign prevents exposures of employees to pertussis at a children's hospital.
In the 4th quarter of 2004, there was an increase in patients seeking medical care for pertussis symptoms at the Children's Hospital, Omaha, NE. The Hospital Epidemiology service noted a sharp rise in exposures of Children's Hospital employees to these patients, requiring employee testing, prophylactic antibiotic prescriptions, and relief from duty. ⋯ Availability of PPE along with posters regarding cough etiquette at entry points of the hospital interrupted employee exposure to patients/personnel with pertussis symptoms significantly, when an employee educational initiative alone was unable to achieve this outcome.
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Am J Infect Control · Aug 2007
A long-term study of sharps injuries among health care workers in Japan.
The risk of transmission of occupational blood-borne infection is a serious problem for health care workers (HCWs) in Japan. Although the Japanese version of Exposure Prevention Information Network (EPINet) was introduced in 1997, no published data in the clinical setting have been available yet. ⋯ With the problem of underreporting aside, a detailed study, such as ours, comprising by job category and by kind of instrument or the like would provide more useful and effective information in terms of sharps injury prevention.
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Am J Infect Control · Aug 2007
Disaster preparedness lessons learned and future directions for education: results from focus groups conducted at the 2006 APIC Conference.
Infection control professionals (ICP) who have experienced disaster response have not been assessed in terms of the lessons they have learned, gaps they perceive in disaster preparedness, and their perceived priorities for future emergency response training. ⋯ Infection control must continue to partner with public health and other responding agencies to address gaps in disaster planning.
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Am J Infect Control · Jun 2007
Legionnaires' disease among residents of a long-term care facility: the sentinel event in a community outbreak.
A long-term care facility (LTCF) reported an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease (LD) in September 2004. ⋯ Residents of LTCFs can acquire LD from community sources. A cluster of LD cases among LTCF residents does not necessarily indicate transmission from within the LTCF.