Engineers Developing New Ways to Combat Catheter-Associated Infections
January 18th 2012Researchers at the University of Maryland's A. James Clark School of Engineering, backed by funding from the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation, are developing tools that promise powerful new ways to combat catheter-based and other infections without provoking bacterial resistance to antibiotics.
Powerful Drug's Surprising, Simple Method Could Lead to Better Treatments
January 17th 2012With one simple experiment, University of Illinois chemists have debunked a widely held misconception about an often-prescribed drug. Led by chemistry professor and Howard Hughes Medical Institute early career scientist Martin Burke, the researchers demonstrated that the top drug for treating systemic fungal infections works by simply binding to a lipid molecule essential to yeast's physiology, a finding that could change the direction of drug development endeavors and could lead to better treatment not only for microbial infections but also for diseases caused by ion channel deficiencies.
IAHCSMM, States Making Headway on CSSD Certification Efforts
January 13th 2012The central sterile supply (CSS) discipline is ever-evolving and routinely faces new technology, instrumentation and standards. Staying abreast of these changes is a pervasive challenge, yet is essential for ensuring quality in the central sterile supply department (CSSD), providing exemplary service to the Operating Room and other hospital customers, and, above all, promoting the delivery of safe, high-quality patient care.
New Test Uses Mass Spectrometry to Rapidly Detect Staph Infections
January 12th 2012Researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have developed a new laboratory test that can rapidly identify the bacterium responsible for staph infections. This new test takes advantage of unique isotopic labeling combined with specific bacteriophage amplification to rapidly identify Staphylococcus aureus.