 wide-ranging coverage of the infection prevention and control world. Everything from interviews with known opinion leaders, to the news that infection preventionists and other health care professionals can use on their jobs.

How to Protect Infection Preventionists’ Mental and Physical Wellbeing From COVID-19 Burnout

Bernadette Mazurek Melnyk, PhD, and her colleagues examined how COVID-19 affected infection preventionists’ mental and physical health, and in an exclusive interview, she discusses how facilities and IPs themselves can mitigate burnout.

CDC's Antimicrobial Resistance Special Report Details Dramatic Increases

The report addresses how the US’s decisions on the pandemic generally increased antimicrobial resistance, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations for the future.

Do Ultrasound Probes Require High-Level Disinfection?

While a few ultrasound procedures suggest increased instances of patient infections due to low-level disinfection techniques, statistically, results from peer-reviewed studies do not confirm this idea.

Terminal Cleaning, Including UV Sterilization, Effectiveness in Mitigating Pathogen Transmission

For terminal cleans, investigators studied the effect of UV-C disinfection added to chlorine-based disinfectants on the likelihood of MDRO transmission from the source occupant to subsequently exposed occupants.

Inconsistent Ultrasound Transducer Disinfection Procedure Guidelines Confuse Processors

Improper standards complicate cleaning and disinfecting and can represent a wasteful use of resources, specifically when facilities also may lack access to high-level technology.

Video Series

Prevention

 prevention page contains news and information on the latest updates on all facets of infection prevention. From vaccinations and immunizations to controlling air and water flow in a health care system, preventing infections falls not only on the IP staff, but on all who interact within the hospital, from environmental services teams to those planning and building new construction.   

COVID-19

 COVID-19 page brings readers the latest information and clinical updates on the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, from case counts and hospitalization rates to data on effective treatments for severe disease and the circulating viral variants.  

HAIs

 health care-acquired infections (HAIs) page presents updates on the latest techniques and strategies in the never-ending battle between infection preventionists and HAIs. Focusing on the latest in medical literature, we also present perspectives from the top infection preventionists and other medical experts in the country about how to put the growing knowledge of HAIs into use in the everyday world of infection prevention. Articles and videos often focus on methods to contain and control pathogens and multidrug-resistant organisms from spreading within the health care system.

Personal Protective Equipment

personal protective equipment page offers written and video content on the proper use and—during the time of COVID-19 surges—reuse of PPE, including masks, respirators, gloves, gowns, face shields, goggles, and more. What are the proper donning and doffing methods? How long can PPE be extended? How are these items decontaminated? What comprises proper fit testing? Our experts will tell you.

Sterile Processing

 sterile processing page provides an inside look into the sterile processing (or central supply) department in the hospital where surgical instruments are cleaned, sterilized, and reprocessed in order to disinfect, remove bioburden, and prep for upcoming procedures. Sterile processing applies to not only the knives, scalpels, scissors, forceps, and clamps used in surgery, but also instruments such as endoscopes and duodenoscopes. 

 reports on the latest technology but also on the means to disinfect that technology. Also, the trend toward making more disposable surgical equipment. What does that mean for the sterile processing team?

Take 5 minutes to catch up on Infection Control Today’s highlights for the week ending July 15.


Weekly Rounds: Protecting IPs’ Wellbeing, CDC’s Special Report, and More