Follow our live coverage via news alerts, tweets and this very blog as we cover the landmark 40th annual conference of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) June 8-10 in Fort Lauderdale. With some 2,500 infection…
One of the Joint Commission’s 2013 patient safety goals calls for hospitals to implement “evidence-based practices to prevent central line–associated bloodstream infections. This requirement covers short- and long-term central venous catheters and peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) lines.” A good…
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has created an on-line hepatitis risk assessment to help people determine whether they should be tested. The “5 minute Hepatitis Risk Assessment” is part of the CDC’s effort to get people tested, particularly…
While hospital ICUs have made significant strides in reducing central line associated blood stream infections, hemodialysis settings remain a dangerous area for patient care. Some 37,000 bloodstream infections occur each year among dialysis patients with central lines, posing a risk…
An “antibacterial envelope” product used with implantable heart devices reduced major infection rates by more than 90%, researchers and the product manufacturers report. It’s always advisable to infuse a bit of skepticism in reviewing claims and study findings by medical corporations,…
Due to issues in both diagnostics and surveillance, many hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections are going undiagnosed and untreated, with some progressing to mortality at a surprisingly young age, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports. “New infections continue…
Early in the 2009 influenza A H1N1 pandemic obese patients comprised a surprisingly high percentage of serious infections for reasons that could not be immediately explained. Obesity was an independent risk factor for the flu infected, increasing the likelihood of hospitalization,…
Investigation of a cluster of cases of a novel cornavirus has confirmed that the emerging infection can be transmitted between humans, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports. Sixteen of the 27 confirmed cases have died, a fatality rate of 59%. In…
Employee health and infection control professionals have made a lot of progress in reducing the risk of needlesticks that could lead to infections with bloodborne viruses like HCV. However, the problem is still beset by a “gap in knowledge,” says…
It may be time to rethink policies that allow hospital employees to home-launder scub attire, as significant levels of bacteria can remain on the clothing even after washing, researchers have found. “Hospital scrubs that people took home and laundered almost had…