People preparing for surgery should always have a bath or shower but not be shaved, and antibiotics should only be used to prevent infections before and during surgery, not afterwards, according to new guidelines from the World Health Organization (WHO) that aim to save lives, cut costs and arrest the spread of superbugs. The "Global Guidelines for the Prevention of Surgical Site Infection" includes a list of 29 concrete recommendations distilled by 20 of the world’s leading experts from 26 reviews of the latest evidence. The recommendations were also published Nov. 3, 2016 in The Lancet Infectious Diseases and are designed to address the increasing burden of healthcare-associated infections on both patients and healthcare systems globally.
CDC Speaks About New Data From Antimicrobial Resistance Threats Fact Sheet
July 18th 2024In a follow-up to Infection Control Today's (ICT's) article on the CDC's Antimicrobial Resistance Threats in the US 2021-2022 release, Michael Craig, MPP, director of CDC's Antimicrobial Resistance Coordination and Strategy Unit, answers ICT's questions.
The 90’s Club: A Successful Hand Hygiene Adherence Campaign
July 9th 2024The "90’s SwipeSense Club" significantly improved hand hygiene adherence at Novant Health Thomasville Medical Center. By incentivizing adherence through 1990s-themed rewards and using SwipeSense technology to track hygiene practices, the hospital increased adherence rates from 53% in 2021 to 84% by May 2024.