HAIs

New infection preventionists can use this checklist to perform IP rounds in the surgical suite, decontamination areas, and sterile processing area.

Candida auris is difficult to identify with standard laboratory methods. It can be misidentified in labs without specific technology, which can lead to mismanagement.

The odds of a viral outbreak such as SARS-CoV-2 in custodial settings, such as prisons and juvenile detention centers, are high. But video surveillance already in place in the facilities can enhance contact tracing.

Michael Bell, MD: “The challenge that infection control professionals face has grown tremendously. We’re asking these individuals to not only be experts, but also to take responsibility for such a wide range of activities ... and finding ways to help them accomplish what they’re doing across the whole population of healthcare personnel is the rationale behind Project Firstline.”

Discussions about hospitalizations should include those of healthcare personnel who have been hospitalized with COVID-19. This is something that has been a gap in our data but increasingly discussed.

Too many hospitals apparently do not use the CDC’s Hospital Toolkit for Adult Sepsis Surveillance, which may explain the number of healthcare-acquired infections that remain unreported.

When healthcare workers using the red box stepped into the patients’ rooms, there was “significantly increased non-compliance” with PPE and hand hygiene protocols compared to those healthcare workers who went into rooms without red boxes.

Investigators found that the mean healthcare cost for treating elderly influenza patients per patient per flu season ranged from $3,299 to $12,398 higher than the costs for treating patients with congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, coronary artery disease, and stage 5 renal disease.

Investigators found that a prompt on a disinfection tracking system led to an increase rate of the disinfection of computers on wheels at a veterans’ hospital in Texas.

CAUTI rates were 83% higher and CLABSI rates were 65% higher in the COVID-19 units compared to the non-COVID-19 units.

There are 4 “moments” involved as a healthcare professional at a long-term care facility (LTCF) weighs whether to prescribe an antibiotic to a patient or resident.

When COVID-19 struck, the proper use of PPE and greater attention to hand hygiene and cleaning surfaces became the norm. When that happened, rates of Clostridium difficile decreased significantly.

Sarah Smathers, MPH, CIC, FAPIC: “I think that hospital administrators are concerned about how they’re going to recruit in a field that is expecting a lot of retirees: 40% of infection professionists are expected to retire in the next five to 10 years.”

COVID-19 possibly hindered the prevention of healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs) because infection preventionists have less time to do rounding and focus on the elements that contribute to HAIs.

Brent James, MD: “If you had an inpatient who developed an inpatient infection, it was like he got a console from ID in about three or four seconds. You just called up the program. You had to tell it the sites of infection you’re interested in, but then it did an epidemiologic evaluation of that patient.”

Patients afflicted with COVID-19 have an increased susceptibility to antibiotic resistant infections both from prolonged hospitalizations and the use of immunocompromising agents such as dexamethasone.

Diversifying roles and creating support staff benefits the team by increasing the productivity of the department and providing a deeper bench so that IPs can focus on broader activities requiring specific subject matter expertise.

The results of the study indicate that a closer working relationship between the antimicrobial stewardship program and the infection control team pays off in lower incidence of C. diff.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has made hand hygiene all the rage. That’s too bad. Because hand hygiene doesn’t only help to slow the spread of COVID-19, but a slew of other dirty bugs, as well.

Charles P. Gerba, PhD: “Unfortunately, standard procedures for testing and registration by regulatory agencies of CADs (continuously active sanitizers or disinfectants) as disinfectants useful in preventing exposure to disease causing microorganism transmission has only taken place in recent years.”

With inadequate disinfection practices, healthcare workers are much more likely to acquire pathogens on their hands after touching these surfaces, potentially passing them on to patients.

As the pandemic seems not to abate, patients will start to present to the hospital after delaying crucial primary and preventive care visits, meaning sicker non–COVID-19 infected patients, with the potential for increased CLABSI and CAUTI rates.

Before 2000, I was uncommon in the United States. I’ve become much more common since, and though health experts don’t know just how many people I infect each year, they can say with certainty that I am a major cause of infections in healthcare settings.

After decades of reluctance to implement a national reporting system, when COVID-19 came along we witnessed almost overnight the formulation of case definitions and comprehensive national reporting from all healthcare facilities.

The common method used to determine IP staffing-using a ratio of IPs to the number of beds or the number of patients-might not be the best way of determining just how many IPs an institution needs.