Showing papers in "Journal of Hospital Infection in 2003"

TL;DR: The evaluation of 30 reports suggests that great potential exists to decrease nosocomial infection rates, from a minimum reduction effect of 10% to a maximum effect of 70%, depending on the setting, study design, baseline infection rates and type of infection.

TL;DR: Reducing the use of unnecessary PPI use may be an additional strategy to reduce the incidence of C. difficile diarrhoea in hospital inpatients.

TL;DR: There is some evidence that use of hypochlorite for environmental cleaning may significantly reduce incidence of CDI, but the potential for confounding factors is emphasized.

TL;DR: Education, monitoring, improved availability of resources, and disciplinary measures for poor compliance are necessary to improve infection control in hospitals, especially amongst doctors.

TL;DR: Introducing needle protective devices should be considered particularly in high-risk areas, after training, education, evaluation and cost-benefit analysis.

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe infections in a specialized burns intensive care unit from 1993 to 1999, and describe the criteria for admission to the unit are: children with burns involving at least 10% of total body surface; burns affecting face, perineum or feet; suspected or proven airway injury; electric or chemical burns; age less than one year or above 50; or preexisting disease with any extent of burns.

TL;DR: The incidence of candidaemia in England and Wales is similar to that of the USA, the majority of isolates remain sensitive to commonly used antifungal agents and mortality associated with this infection appears to be falling.

TL;DR: An outbreak of pan-drug resistant Acinetobacter baumannii colonization and infection affecting 7 patients occurred in the surgical intensive care unit (SICU) and showed an identical pattern.

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined whether topical perioperative prophylaxis can reduce the incidence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) surgical site infections (SSIs) after orthopaedic surgery.

TL;DR: A/S appears to be one of the last effective and safe empirical resorts for treatment of MDR A. baumannii BSI and among severely ill patients, A/S therapy significantly decreased the risk of death (P=0.02 OR=7.64).

TL;DR: Under laboratory conditions, bacterial exposure to thymol, eugenol and DDDMAC can lead to reduced susceptibility between selected biocidal agents and antibiotics, more specifically, chloramphenicol.

TL;DR: In an outbreak setting the proportion of neonates colonized with ESBLKp was observed to increase with the duration of stay and antimicrobial use, and once colonized, infants exposed to invasive devices may become infected.

TL;DR: The main causative organisms of bloodstream infections in children hospitalized in the PCICU differ from those in adult and pediatric general intensive care units (ICUs) and include mainly Gram-negative bacilli.

TL;DR: A significant positive correlation was established between new cases of MRSA infections and overall levels of bed occupancy at St Luke's Hospital, Malta, which implies that overcrowding may be a relevant factor in MRSA spread within hospitals, even in non-intensive care settings.

TL;DR: The results provide baseline data for rational priorities in allocation of resources, for further studies and for infection control activities, and the overall prevalence of HAI was 4.9%.

TL;DR: The history of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) is reviewed and a causal model illustrating the roles of exposure to VRE reservoirs, patient characteristics, antimicrobial exposure, and prevalence of VRE is proposed to guide the identification of mutable factors that are focal points for intervention.

TL;DR: Data from several locations have shown that the dramatic increases in Candida spp.

TL;DR: Resources should be targeted primarily at the prevention of central line-related bacteraemia in these five high-risk specialties, and the surveillance should include data on central line use.

TL;DR: It is suggested that infection prevention measures, particularly antibiotic prophylaxis, should be re-evaluated in Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center, Tanzania.

TL;DR: It is suggested that CRIB could be predictive for the risk of infection in VLBW infants and the onset of a HAI was strongly associated with a low gestational age and the presence of an intravascular catheter.

TL;DR: Although several recent studies concluded that endogenous sources account for the majority of P. aeruginosa colonizations or infections, epidemiology may vary according to the ICU, and that cross-colonization may occur and warrant reinforced barrier precautions.

TL;DR: A proposal for a phase 2/step 1 assay for antiseptics is presented to promote the standardization efforts.

TL;DR: Multivariate analysis showed that CLAVE use was an independent protective factor for tip colonization and offered significant protection from catheter-tip and hub colonization.

TL;DR: During epidemics in the community, testing for influenza should be requested in all children with compatible symptoms admitted in the hospital, and measures should be introduced for the prevention or early control of an outbreak.

TL;DR: The results suggest that the use of needleless connectors may reduce the microbial contamination rate of CVC luers compared with the standard cap and disinfection of needles with either chlorhexidine/alcohol or povidone-iodine significantly reduced external microbial contamination.

TL;DR: The results provide the first national estimates for Slovenia of all types of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) and to identify predominant micro-organisms and risk factors.

TL;DR: It would appear that a short (typically three dose) course of third-generation cephalosporin poses a similar risk for CDAD as a more prolonged course, and the six-month delay in the decline of CDAD after virtual withdrawal of cep Halosporins may reflect a slowly diminishing environmental reservoir.

TL;DR: The outbreak strains, demonstrated genetic distinction between the authors' three outbreaks and isolates from specific areas in the hospital.

TL;DR: The acceleration of antifungal drug discovery offers promise for the management of these difficult to treat opportunistic infections.

TL;DR: Clear preparation and guidance of healthcare workers before the introduction of alcohol-based hand rubs can help to enhance compliance in hand hygiene and improve healthcare workers skin if mistakes are avoided and hand rinses are used correctly.