Slide Show: Insights from 2013 AORN Congress

What Were the Biggest Infection Prevention Stories This Week? Ebola's Outpaced Response, Lyme Coinfection Data, and Sterile Processing Burnout Explained, and more

A shifting mask or fogged eyewear can interrupt focus when precision matters most. Dana Weaver Storm, MHA, BSN, RN, examines the challenges of prolonged surgical mask use and how perioperative leaders can support comfort, visibility, and consistent adherence.

What happens when one disinfectant cannot satisfy every IFU? At AHE in New Orleans, Diane Cullen discusses weighted risk assessment, documenting difficult decisions, and why infection prevention and EVS need to work together.

Turnover pressure can leave critical OR cleaning steps unfinished. Karen deKay, MSN, RN, EBP-C, CNOR, CIC, FAPIC, examines common gaps in environmental hygiene and how shared responsibilities, attention to disinfectant contact time, and ongoing education can help teams strengthen practices between cases.

Infection Control Today celebrates 30 years of covering the people, science, and challenges shaping infection prevention with another milestone: its first digital magazine, featuring outbreak analysis, biosecurity, respiratory testing, sterile processing, professional leadership, conference coverage, and more.

“Cutting” waste shouldn’t mean cutting people. At AHE Exchange26, David Green and Donald Sipp explored how EVS departments can improve performance by strengthening workplace culture, empowering employees, eliminating inefficient processes, and understanding EVS’s critical role in patient throughput. One case study showed bed turnaround times falling from nearly 2 hours to less than an hour, but the larger lesson wasn't simply about speed. High-performing EVS operations begin with a strong foundation.

The knowledge used to prevent infections can also be misused. Through a personal reflection on gaming, AI, and biological research, an infection preventionist explores why faster answers make human judgment, peer consultation, and accountability increasingly important.

A study of 193,260 individuals found overlapping tick-borne antibody levels more frequently among those with Lyme antibodies, highlighting diagnostic challenges when active coinfections are not confirmed.