Showing papers in "American Journal of Infection Control in 1993"

TL;DR: The protection provided by surgical masks may be insufficient in environments containing potentially hazardous submicrometer-sized aerosols, according to a study of surgical masks tested for aerosol particle penetration through their filter media and through induced face-seal leaks.

TL;DR: In 1989, the medical center used continuous quality improvement concepts in the creation of a Nosocomial Pneumonia Prevention Team whose aim was to significantly reduce nosocomial ventilator-associated pneumonia, and observed a 57% reduction in ventilated pneumonia from the baseline years, 1987 and 1988.

TL;DR: Although the prevalence of antibody to hepatitis C virus in health care workers was not high, needlestick injuries were associated with an increased risk for acquiring hepatitis Cirus infection.

TL;DR: Surveillance data and case reports substantiate that health care workers are at risk for occupationally acquired infection with blood-borne pathogens and many contacts appear to be preventable by changes in technique or instrument design and by use of protective barriers.

TL;DR: Parenteral exposures are clear risks to health care workers; however, it is also important to study all contact with blood in the operating room to appreciate potential risks and develop appropriate intervention strategies.

TL;DR: A large percentage of extrapulmonary Legionella infections may result from direct topical exposure of susceptible tissue to contaminated tap water, and use of tap water must be carefully monitored, particularly in dressing changes and bathing of surgical patients.

TL;DR: Use of chlorhexidine gluconate in a shower wash application in conjunction with a preoperative skin-preparation procedure may reduce the probability of surgically associated infections.

TL;DR: It is demonstrated that yeasts are pathogens of major importance in patients with burns, suggesting that in patients who have suspected sepsis and large burn injury or a previous bacteremia, strong consideration should be given to administration of amphotericin B initiation of empiric antibacterial therapy.

TL;DR: Attempts to decrease the risk of blood exposure and injury require thorough evaluation of all risk-reduction strategies and careful selection of protective apparel and barriers on the basis of well-designed studies performed in the operating room environment.

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors identified methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus most commonly in the surgical intensive care unit and as a cause of lower respiratory tract infections.

TL;DR: Hospitals should provide liquid-proof gowns that also offer microbial resistance to their medical personnel for use in high-risk situations in which optimum safety is required.

TL;DR: A needleless intravenous (IV) system with blunt plastic cannulas and specially designed injection sites was introduced at Olive View Medical Center to reduce needlestick injuries, particularly IV-related needlesticks.

TL;DR: To ensure that resources to prevent occupational blood exposure are allocated appropriately, on the basis of actual risk, among all personnel, hospitals must actively monitor blood exposures in their operating rooms.

TL;DR: Findings suggest the gastrointestinal tract as a possible site of entry for S. epidermidis in the hospitalized preterm infant and frozen human milk may be a vehicle for gastrointestinal S.EpidermidIS colonization.

TL;DR: An analysis of gram-negative bacillary isolates showed that the deficiency in the pasteurization process was a major contributor to colonization of ventilated patients by bacteria ubiquitous in tap water.

TL;DR: There were not statistically identifiable common characteristics of mothers whose milk showed abundant bacterial contamination, and only 30% of these mothers showed improvement in the degree of contamination after counseling regarding techniques of milk collection.

TL;DR: The overall prevalence of nosocomial infection in children in Spain is at an acceptable level, and future efforts should be focused on developing more effective prevention strategies in specific areas.

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors proposed a procedure-specific infection control precautions that address the bidirectional potential for infection transmission in intraoperative wound contamination and exposure to blood-borne pathogens during procedures.

TL;DR: In this era after the introduction of the diagnosis-related groups for reimbursement, incisional wound infection after total abdominal hysterectomy leads to a significant period of extra hospital stay.

TL;DR: Such protectants can be used without detrimental effects to scrub effectiveness or glove integrity, and when controlling for baseline counts and products used, there were no significant differences in colony-forming unit counts on hands with or without foam.

TL;DR: The reassessment of the previous Certification Board of Infection Control task analysis, formation of a job-analysis survey tool, and the actual job- analysis process and its results are described in this article.

TL;DR: The needleless system appeared to pose no greater risk of infection to patients and nurses preferred it for its reduced risk of potential needlesticks.

TL;DR: Intradermal and intramuscular hepatitis B vaccination programs must be implemented in somewhat different ways, but both can provide excellent protection against hepatitis B viral infection.

TL;DR: Infection control procedures are described for human milk banking, which should be supported as an immunologically beneficial feeding alternative for infants.

TL;DR: Thermoplastic elastomer gloves may be a desirable alternative for health care workers in high-risk settings or for individuals with latex allergies, and may withstand mechanical stress better than latex or vinyl.

TL;DR: Increased fabric permeability results in an increased risk of skin contact with liquid-borne pathogens for gown users, and a major criterion in the design and selection of a gown should be its ability to resist blood penetration for prolonged periods.

TL;DR: In contrast to the experience with hepatitis B virus infection, hemodialysis nurses appear to be at low risk for occupationally acquired HCV infection.

TL;DR: The role of the severity of illness classification for risk stratification in Nosocomial pneumonia is valid and its roles in the evaluation of surgical wound infection, nosocomial bacteremia, and quality of care remain to be determined in subsequent studies.