Showing papers in "American Journal of Infection Control in 2007"

TL;DR: The ability of hospital ventilation systems to filter Aspergillus and other fungi following a building implosion and the impact of bedside design and furnishing on nosocomial infections are investigated.

TL;DR: This guideline is intended to provide a jumping-off point for scientists, clinicians, and policymakers to assess the appropriateness of using ultrasound for diagnosis and treatment of central nervous system disorders.

TL;DR: This report is a summary of device-associated infections data collected and reported by hospitals participating in the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) from January through December 2006.

TL;DR: It is concluded that EO sterilization remains a promising field to explore and develop and one huge challenge is related with the development of mathematical models to integrate lethality to allow a continuous increase of process flexibility, without compromising its safety.

TL;DR: Hand hygiene is a key component of good hygiene practice in the home and community and can produce significant benefits in terms of reducing the incidence of infection, most particularly gastrointestinal infections but also respiratory tract and skin infections.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors report on nosocomial infections (NIs), causative organisms, and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns in neonates who were admitted to neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), and assess the performance of birth weight (BW) as a variable for risk-stratified NI rate reporting.

TL;DR: Evaluation of implementation and compliance with clinical practices recommended in the new CDC Hand Hygiene Guideline found wide dissemination was not sufficient to change practice; practice change is unlikely without such multidisciplinary efforts and explicit administrative support.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors conducted a pilot survey to assess C. difficile environmental contamination at various health care facilities in a metropolitan area and determine if the North American pulsed field gel electrophoresis type 1 (NAP1) strain was present.

TL;DR: This study, although limited by a small sample size, does not support the use of IVIG at this dose for severe CDAD outside of a controlled trial.

TL;DR: This study confirmed that central venous catheters and low birth weight were risk factors for neonate with late-onset healthcare-associated BSI and further elucidated the potential risks associated with TPN and ventilator use in subgroups of neonates with BSI.

TL;DR: Systematic outbreak analysis is essential for gaining insights into the control of NICU outbreaks, and the most important infection control measures were significantly more often implemented in NICUs than in other ICUs.

TL;DR: Faced with an increasing incidence of C difficile infections and the changing profile of patients who become infected, this paper will reexamine the current concepts on the epidemiology and treatment, present new hypotheses for risk factors, examine the role of spores in the transmission of C Difficile, and provide recommendations that may enhance infection control practices.

TL;DR: The survey documents a much higher MRSA prevalence rate than previous studies using different methodologies, and suggests that the majority of MRSA in inpatients appears to be HA-MRSA, rather than community-associated MRSA.

TL;DR: The data suggest that patient-to-patient transmission is not an important cause of the acquisition of ESBL-producing E coli colonization in the ICU setting.

TL;DR: This article found that nurses working in hospitals with the most favorable working environments were one-third less likely to be injured compared to hospitals with less than 5 years of experience, perioperative nurses, and those performing routine venipuncture for blood draws.

TL;DR: Microbial reductions from abdominal-inguinal PC prepped sites were significantly reduced compared with baseline, exceeding the FDA log-reduction criteria for a preoperative topical skin preparation.

TL;DR: Although reducing the burden of antimicrobial-resistant pathogens, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), is of preeminent importance, the APIC and the SHEA do not support legislation to mandate use of active surveillance cultures to screen for MRSA, VRE, or other antimicrobial -resistant pathogens.

TL;DR: Panic and interruption of daily routines may occur in the event of a human avian influenza outbreak in Hong Kong and the dissemination of accurate, timely information would reduce unnecessary distress and unwanted behaviors.

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors measured the frequency of tattoo acquisition by prisoners inside and outside prison, and the associations between tattooing, injecting drug use, and hepatitis C virus infection risk.

TL;DR: The emerging picture of this study is that spread of MDRGN in an NICU may be the result of diffuse cross transmission and, consequently, of poor infection control procedures.

TL;DR: Education and use of an indication sheet produced a dramatic reduction in total number of catheters used and had a smaller impact on appropriateness of use and documentation.

TL;DR: Low adherence observed suggests that new interventions should focus in modification of HCWs' habits and attitudes, working at several levels: individual and institutional.

TL;DR: Cumulatively, the results indicate that visual assessment is not a reliable indicator of surface cleanliness or of cleaning efficacy and Concerns also arise about the standards of surfaceCleanliness achieved after cleaning in the hospitals.

TL;DR: CO-ESBL-producing E coli is an emerging multidrug-resistant microorganism in Thailand and patients with prior ESBL colonization and recent antibiotic exposures, especially to third-generation cephalosporins and fluoroquinolones, were at risk for CO- ESBL- producing E coli infection.

TL;DR: It is concluded that a better understanding of HCW's negative attitude regarding influenza vaccination is needed as are more appealing and convincing continuous education programs, to ensure motivation for influenza vaccination over a longer period.

TL;DR: Careful attention to this aspect of medical care may reduce the incidence of inappropriate urinary catheterization with subsequent decreases in length of stay, cost of hospitalization, and cost for treatment of CA-UTI.

TL;DR: Compliance with universal gloving was significantly greater than compliance with contact precautions, however, greater compliance with hand hygiene was observed in the contact precautions phase.

TL;DR: The findings confirm the importance of comprehensive approaches that combine education and convenience, and suggest that emphasizing the rationale for HCW vaccination may contribute to increasing vaccination rates.

TL;DR: This study revealed the high prevalence of nosocomial infections in NICU patients, and the urgent need for a national surveillance and more effective prevention interventions.

TL;DR: The available evidence suggests that oral rifampin is an effective agent for the eradication of S. aureus carriage; however, development of antimicrobial resistance during and after treatment with rifampsin occurs in a considerable proportion of patients; using r ifampin in combination with another antimicrobial agent may decrease this resistance.