Infection Control Today Magazine

Post-Operative Infections

Regional Surgical Quality Collaborative Significantly Improves Surgical Outcomes and Reduces Cost

A new study published online today in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons finds hospitals participating in a regional collaborative of the American College of Surgeon's National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP), achieved substantial improvements ...More
3 weeks ago
Posted in News
Hospital Readmission After Colon Surgery is Common, Caused by SSIs

Nearly one-quarter of privately insured colon surgery patients are readmitted to the hospital within three months of discharge at a cost of roughly $9,000 per readmission, according to Johns Hopkins researchers, who’ve identified a major area for quality improvement and ...More
November 17, 2011
Posted in News, Infections & Pathogens
Pneumonia is the Most Common Serious Infection Post-Heart Surgery

New research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania has shown for the first time that pneumonia is the most common serious infection after heart surgery. The new study, presented at the 2011 American Heart Association Scientific Sessions, ...More
November 16, 2011
Posted in News, Infections & Pathogens
Text Search Tool for EMRs Shows Promise for Identifying Postoperative Complications

Use of natural language processing, such as in the form of free-text searches of electronic medical records (EMRs) of clinical and progress notes of patients performed better at identifying postoperative surgical complications than the commonly used administrative data ...More
August 24, 2011
Posted in News, Infections & Pathogens
Noisy Operations Associated with Increased Post-Operative Infections

Patients who undergo surgery are more likely to suffer surgical site infections (SSIs) if the operating theatre is noisy, according to research published in the July issue of the British Journal of Surgery. Swiss researchers studied 35 patients who underwent planned, major ...More
June 1, 2011
Posted in News
Risk Factors, Assessment Play Into Orthopedic SSI Prevention

Now that surgical site infections (SSIs) are being targeted for reduction by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in its Action Plan to Prevent Healthcare-Associated Infections, hospitals have even greater incentive to address orthopedic-related SSIs which ...More
March 16, 2011
Posted in Articles
DiFUSION Technologies Completes Successful Antimicrobial Implant Animal Trial

DiFUSION Technologies is a medical device company focused on the development and commercialization of its proprietary CleanFUZE™ anti-microbial technology for orthopedic implants and its new Xiphos™ line of Posterior Interbody products for spinal surgery. ...More
October 8, 2010
Posted in News
Postoperative High Blood Sugar Appears to be Associated With SSIs

High blood glucose levels after surgery may be an important risk factor for infection at the surgical site in patients having general surgery, according to a report in the September issue of Archives of Surgery. Surgical site infection accounts for 14 percent to 17 percent ...More
September 20, 2010
Posted in News
Oregon Announces First HAI Report

The Office of Oregon Health Policy Research (OHPR) has released a new report that compares healthcare-acquired infection (HAI) rates at 58 healthcare facilities statewide. According to the report, an analysis conducted on Oregon hospitals from 2003 through 2005 estimated ...More
June 30, 2010
Posted in News
Pennsylvania HAI Report Showing Marked Improvements

Pennsylvania’s ongoing efforts to protect patients from unnecessary infections in healthcare settings are bringing measurable results, said Gov. Edward G. Rendell as he released a report showing marked improvements in the number of healthcare-acquired infections ...More
June 29, 2010
Posted in News