An ICU study found that alcohol-based hand rub applied after patient care reduced glove bioburden, while staff raised feasibility concerns. Researchers stress that the practice does not replace glove changes or hand hygiene.
|Slideshows|March 7, 2012
Slide Show: Clostridium difficile prevention
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Infections from Clostridium difficile bacteria is a patient safety concern in all types of medical facilities, not just hospitals as traditionally thought, according to a new Vital Signs report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). While many healthcare-associated infections declined in the past decade, C. difficile infection rates and deaths climbed to historic highs.
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For International Infection Prevention Week, Infection Control Today explores how prevention connects hospital departments with everyday community life and why infection preventionists (IPs), sterile processing department (SPD), professionals, and environmental services (EVS) teams deserve lasting support.
This week's coverage in Infection Control Today centered on a common thread: the systems, partnerships, and data that let infection prevention teams catch problems before patients are harmed.
What might infection prevention rounds miss when visible conditions dominate the conversation? Tommy Davis, PhD, CMIP, a member of ICT's executive advisory board, makes the case for structured observations of clinical workflows, shared accountability, and greater attention to environmental services staff’s insights.
Artist and designer Matthew Caliman shares how personal loss inspired the Cleanup Crew, a handwashing education project using cartoon faucets, songs, and games to help families revisit an essential health message.
A 2026 IDWeek poster details how respiratory cultures and whole genome sequencing clarified a NICU MRSA outbreak, with targeted prevention measures followed by at least 6 months without additional bacteremias or related respiratory clusters.
Researchers recovered a carbapenemase-producing organism from the shaft of a hospital drain auger, prompting calls for standardized reprocessing protocols and further investigation into maintenance equipment as a potential source of environmental dissemination.
Clean Hospitals President Alexandra Peters, PhD, explains how training, meaningful support, and stronger collaboration with infection prevention teams can empower environmental services staff and strengthen patient safety.
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