A recent alert from the Food and Drug Administration adds some clout to the longstanding effort to get surgeons to use blunt suture needles to close fascia and muscle and to reduce sharps injuries in the operating room. Sharps injuries in the OR put both surgeons…
Addressing rising patient concerns about the infection risk of outpatient procedures like endoscopy, the Food and Drug Administration is urging patients to ask questions while providing a general tone of reassurance of safety. The agency has created a new website…
The FDA is reiterating the threat of surgical fires in the operating room due to factors like the delivery of supplemental oxygen to patients and use of alcohol based antiseptics. The FDA is launching a surgical fire prevention initiative to promote…
Though conceding that powdered latex gloves pose little risk of causing patient infections, the nation’s largest infection prevention group is joining the chorus of those urging the Food and Drug Administration to ban the gloves i n favor of…
A consumer advocacy group is targeting one of the longstanding tools of infection prevention, saying latex gloves should be banned due to the risk of life-threatening allergic reactions in health care workers and patients. In an April 25th petition to…
I am not aware of any study that shows that Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is more difficult than susceptible staph strains to deactivate and remove by hand washing. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendation that health care workers…