Operating Room

Infection preventionists and perioperative nurses should collaborate to track and share infection rate data and participate in interdisciplinary workgroups to emphasize patient safety amid burnout and staffing and supply shortages.

Virtual reality training is the next step in coaching proper hand hygiene and other medical techniques. Learn the details in an interview about VR and the Clean Hospital Day Conference.

Infection Control Today's® Product Locator is a monthly column highlighting some of the latest advanced technology in the infection prevention field.

The method used to determine costs and expenses in environmental services (EVS) in hospitals is often flawed because many times the individuals creating the standards have never worked in EVS. AHE is addressing this problem.

Thorough cleaning and disinfection reduce the role fomites play in the spread of disease.

Take 5 minutes to catch up on Infection Control Today’s highlights for the week ending September 23.

The workshop included members of the public, academics, and representatives of the pharmaceutical industry to discuss development of new medicines for preventing HAIs and antibiotic resistance.

With the CDC, FDA, and Joint Commission all using different guidelines and recommendations for the types of disinfection acceptable for various ultrasound transducers, clinicians should follow manufacturers’ instructions, but a more unified answer is needed.

Infection Control Today's® Product Locator is a monthly column highlighting some of the latest advanced technology in the infection prevention field.

Take 5 minutes to catch up on Infection Control Today’s highlights for the week ending August 12.

Using ultrasound transducers is often necessary in the emergency department, but too often the proper procedures to protect against health care associated infections are not followed, and clinicians are worried.

This is the third in a series of articles based on ICT®'s exclusive interview with Oliver D. Kripfgans, PhD, FAIUM, about ultrasound transducer disinfection, and the consequences of using the incorrect type.

Despite the initial reluctance for a urology team to work with infection preventionists, the collaboration is beneficial for both specialties.

If the policies are not consistently updated, they are “just a piece of paper shoved in a logbook that is not going to effectively improve reprocessing…of ultrasound probes,” said Lisa Waldowski, DNP, RN, CIC.

Eye devices often are not cleaned nor sterilized as they should be according to manufacturer’s instructions for use, which leads to poorer patient outcomes.

Collaboration of a team from Inova Health with La Forma Medical developed an isolation gown that was cooler, better fitting, and more environmentally-friendly than disposables.

“Of all the SSIs we culled over that 3 years, about 42% of them required a wound class change by an infection preventionist,” Emily Grohs, MPH, CIC, tells ICT®.

Take 5 minutes to catch up on Infection Control Today’s highlights for the week ending June 3.

AMR and surgical site infections are a consistent issue for surgeries, and often surgeons feel they have done everything they can to reduce the risk, and yet the event still occurs with an alarming frequency. Is there anything novel that can be done? ICT® tries to find out.

Take 5 minutes to catch up on Infection Control Today’s highlights for the week ending May 27.

To reduce the risk of surgical-site infection, utilize evidence-based interventions and give feedback to clinicians on bacterial transmission using Staphylococcus aureus as a marker.

A new comprehensive article lays out best practice guidelines for 14 areas of infection prevention and control.

Take 5 minutes to catch up on Infection Control Today’s highlights for the week ending May 13.

Sterile processing of robotic surgery instruments and other complex instruments require complex methods.

Take 5 minutes to catch up on Infection Control Today’s highlights for the week ending May 6.

Time, staff, and budget constraints make it difficult to expand HAI mitigation programs despite the obvious and urgent need to do so.

Take 5 minutes to catch up on Infection Control Today’s highlights for the week ending April 29.

Terra Kremer, the senior program manager of microbiological quality and sterility assurance at Johnson & Johnson, and technical lead of the Device Processing Tiger Team, spoke with ICT® about her research on time and efficiency of sterile processing and what is most affecting the industry today.

Total dissolved solids, pH levels, and iron levels are only a few components that must be considered.

With 60% of surgical site infections estimated to be preventable, IPs hold a key prevention role in patient safety.