Tori Whitacre Martonicz, MA

Infection prevention leaders weigh whether stethoscope barrier use should become formal policy. Success hinges on workflow integration, accessibility, infrastructure support, and shared accountability. Without proper placement, maintenance, and staff buy-in, even strong policies risk failure. Experts say convenience and operational planning determine whether adherence becomes reality.

Clinicians debate acoustic performance, cost, and compliance in stethoscope hygiene. Data show touch-free diaphragm barriers maintain sound quality while reducing contamination risk, unlike disposable stethoscopes, which may compromise diagnosis. Experts highlight workflow fit, proper placement, and eliminating misuse as keys to improving infection prevention in high-risk settings.

Experts discuss how touch-free stethoscope diaphragm barriers offer aseptic protection at the point of care. Unlike wipes, barriers prevent contamination rather than partially reducing it. Success depends on workflow integration, strategic placement, and hand hygiene alignment, making infection prevention practical in emergency departments, intensive care units, operating rooms, and outpatient settings.

After multiple central line infections, intensive care unit (ICU) leaders examined stethoscope hygiene and found major compliance gaps. Plastic sleeves failed, but diaphragm covers integrated into a bundled prevention strategy led to significant infection reduction. Their results, presented at NTI 2025 and forthcoming in Critical Care Nurse, highlight practical, point-of-care solutions.

New infection prevention technologies only work if staff and leadership truly adopt them. Experts highlight education, workflow alignment, leadership support, financial framing, and small measurable changes as keys to lasting implementation. Without buy-in and practical integration, even clinically validated tools risk becoming just another unused policy add-on.

Infection prevention experts warn that stethoscope hygiene remains inconsistent across emergency departments and high-volume outpatient settings. Research shows cleaning reduces bioburden but does not eliminate pathogens. Leaders argue stethoscopes should be treated like hands, with stronger accountability, barriers, and workflow-driven solutions to reduce health care-associated infection risk.

Infection prevention leaders discuss why stethoscope hygiene continues to “fall through the cracks” in health care settings. From emergency departments to outpatient care, experts warn that inconsistent cleaning makes stethoscopes a persistent source of health care-associated infection (HAI) risk and call for practical, evidence-based solutions.

Hospital-onset bacteremia is common in burn patients—and often tied to burn severity and surgical wound care, not lapses in quality. New data suggest that HOB may be a poor standalone quality metric for burn centers, raising questions about the fairness of benchmarking in value-based care.

A multicenter randomized trial of 276 patients with sepsis found that precision immunotherapy targeting immune dysfunction improved organ failure scores by day 9 compared with placebo. Although mortality differences were not statistically significant, the results suggest that biomarker-guided treatment strategies could help personalize sepsis care and improve clinical outcomes.

As her 2025 APIC presidency concludes, Carol McLay, DrPH, MPH, RN, CIC, FAPIC, FSHEA, discusses public health funding cuts, science advocacy, global partnerships, workforce development, and why infection preventionists must speak up. In this exclusive ICT interview, she shares lessons from a tumultuous year and her vision for strengthening the infection prevention profession worldwide.

As her 2025 APIC presidency concludes, Carol McLay, DrPH, MPH, RN, CIC, FAPIC, FSHEA, discusses public health funding cuts, science advocacy, global partnerships, workforce development, and why infection preventionists must speak up. In this exclusive ICT interview, she shares lessons from a tumultuous year and her vision for strengthening the infection prevention profession worldwide.

Before a disinfectant reaches a hospital unit, it undergoes rigorous laboratory testing, formulation science, and regulatory validation. In this ICT Q&A, Candice Taylor, MA, explains how R&D bridges lab efficacy with real-world health care workflow, antimicrobial resistance concerns, and the evolving future of infection prevention technology.

Infection prevention professionals are weighing in on the CDC’s updated vaccine schedule. An ICT survey reveals mixed familiarity, rising patient questions, and a strong call for clearer guidance and communication tools. Here’s what IPC leaders say about implementation, confidence, and the real-world impact of vaccine policy changes.

Dental implant infection prevention starts in the operatory and continues at home. Anjali A. Rajpal, DMD, explains how sterilization protocols, early healing care, warning signs of infection, and long-term hygiene habits protect implant success. Learn what patients must do in the first 72 hours and beyond to reduce risk.

At FDA Rare Disease Day 2026, leaders highlighted new regulatory pathways, faster review programs, and patient-centered innovations accelerating treatments for rare diseases, including NF1 and pediatric cancers. From the Plausible Mechanism Framework to expanded real-world evidence use, the message was clear: Urgency, flexibility, and patient voice are driving rare disease drug development forward.

When operating room delays and tray errors threatened efficiency, leaders at New York Presbyterian built a collaborative bridge with central sterile processing. Through shared metrics, workflow exchanges, and improved communication, first-case-on-time starts climbed from the 50 to nearly 90%.

Women make up most of the senior living workforce, especially in housekeeping and operations, yet they are often excluded from innovation and infection control decisions. When frontline women are not at the table, organizations lose critical insight into workflow, chemical safety, outbreak response, and resident comfort. Leaders who treat environmental safety as a strategic priority, not a compliance checkbox, can improve staff retention, resident outcomes, and long-term resilience.

Infection preventionists are experts at stopping pathogens, but many of the field’s hardest challenges are human. Contagious Conversations is a new video series that opens the candid, sometimes uncomfortable discussions about who belongs in infection prevention, how teams hire and grow, and what it will take to build a stronger workforce. Expect curiosity, honesty, and practical takeaways, not hot takes.

Infection preventionists are experts at stopping pathogens, but many of the field’s hardest challenges are human. Contagious Conversations is a new video series that opens the candid, sometimes uncomfortable discussions about who belongs in infection prevention, how teams hire and grow, and what it will take to build a stronger workforce. Expect curiosity, honesty, and practical takeaways, not hot takes.

Could engineered bacteriophages help hospitals tackle drug-resistant infections when antibiotics fail? In this ICT Q&A, researchers discuss where phage engineering may realistically fit first in hospitals, from treatment of MDR infections to environmental control, and why broad-coverage phage products remain a longer-term goal.

The Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) Global Surgical Conference & Expo 2026 is coming up soon. It will be held in New Orleans, Louisiana, from April 11 to 14. To give a taste of what will be available, Infection Control Today® is publishing the as-yet unposted interviews from 2025. This interview is on a poster titled “Advocacy Reduces Infection Related to Anastomotic Leaks and Incidental Lacerations.”

In this ICT podcast, HSPA President Arlene Bush reflects on a year of global collaboration, shifting standards, and the realities of compliance in sterile processing. She shares why 2026 should focus on celebrating throughput wins, strengthening training through rounding, and leading with empathy in high-stress departments.

As “wellness” trends flood social media and consumer health marketing, separating credible infection prevention strategies from hype has never been more urgent. In this Q&A, surgeon and clinical researcher Ali Cadili, MD, MBA, MS, breaks down which 2026 wellness trends are grounded in evidence, and which risk creating false reassurance, covering air quality, hand hygiene, supplements, wearables, masking, and environmental controls.

A recent case-control study found that continuous photohydrolysis disinfection significantly reduced environmental bioburden, MDRO acquisition, COVID-19 cases, and hospital transfers in a long-term care facility, without adding staffing demands. The findings highlight the role of continuous air and surface disinfection as a complementary strategy to manual cleaning in addressing antimicrobial resistance and infection risk in LTC settings.

Two emerging animal-origin viruses, influenza D and canine coronavirus HuPn-2018, are quietly circulating and largely missed by routine diagnostics. Experts warn that without stronger surveillance, data sharing, and preparedness, these pathogens could become the next major respiratory threat.

Dialysis patients face some of the highest infection risks in health care. In this Q&A, nurse practitioner leader Octavia “Tavi” Schlueter, MSN, RN, CPNP-PC, PMHS, breaks down bloodstream infection risks, vascular access best practices, and how IPC teams can support dialysis staff through practical, workflow-based education.

“Nothing has changed,” said Jeffery Goad, PharmD, MPH, president of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. “The evidence is clear that COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective, and COVID-19 is not done with us.”