How did first responders and firefighters navigate the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath? Two firefighters/EMTs describe what that time was like for them.
Gloves, masks, and surface disinfectants are infection prevention powerhouses. Equip your practice with these essentials to protect patients and staff this cold and influenza (flu) season.
Getting to know community pharmacists—in fact developing a professional rapport with those pharmacists—should be on an infection preventionist’s to-do list.
Medical facilities must consider stinging pests and the infections that they can cause when maintaining their grounds to protect their patients and staff.
A recent study offers potential solutions to the frequent occurrence of surgical site infections, despite the sterile environment of surgical fields.
Hospitals using CDC prevention strategies had different incidences of hospital-associated Clostridioides difficile infection compared to those that didn't, but the reasons are not necessarily the strategies themselves.
Silent threats lurk within—heart infections can stem from unnoticed bacteria, viruses, or fungi. Infection preventionists hold the power to stop these hidden killers before they strike.
Rates of health care-associated infections rose during the COVID-19 pandemic. Investigators have found that often the infections came from the patients themselves. But how?
With 60% of surgical site infections estimated to be preventable, IPs hold a key prevention role in patient safety.
The increasing threat of antimicrobial resistance, exacerbated by the pandemic, underscores the importance of the infection preventionist as an active member of the antimicrobial stewardship program.
Stay informed on the growing threat of Candida auris with expert insights on its multidrug-resistance, clinical manifestations, and effective prevention strategies for health care settings.
Mass layoffs at HHS and CDC have gutted critical infection prevention programs, leaving frontline professionals overwhelmed, under-resourced, and desperate to safeguard public health.
IPC personnel, please familiarize yourselves with the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which spreads Zika, dengue, and chikungunya viruses and affects nearly all continents.
Recent research into COVID-19 suggests that health care systems need to move beyond the idea that pathogen spread happens either via droplets or aerosolized particles. Patients can generate the full range of respiratory particles.
Coupling risk communication and effective engagement with the community can provide opportunities to change behavior and shape awareness of basic practices that can break the chain of transmission for many diseases.
Rapid diagnostics enhance patient outcomes by enabling prompt, targeted treatments, reducing inappropriate antibiotic use, and combating antimicrobial resistance through informed clinical decisions and stewardship programs.
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.
Accurate device information and proper sterilization or disinfection are crucial to ensure safety during ultrasound procedures.
Water, essential in health care, from hygiene to medical procedures. AAMI's ST108 sets new standards, vital for patient safety and equipment integrity.
Novavax’s COVID-19-Influenza Combination vaccine faces a clinical hold after a trial participant developed motor neuropathy, pending further investigation by the FDA.
Antibiotic stewardship in long-term care facilities relies on McGeer and Loeb criteria to guide infection surveillance and appropriate prescribing, ensuring better outcomes for residents and reducing resistance.
In this exclusive article, Devin Jopp, the CEO of APIC, discusses the upcoming day-long virtual conference entitled “APIC AI Summit: The Impact of AI on IPC.”
Getting to know community pharmacists—in fact developing a professional rapport with those pharmacists—should be on an infection preventionist’s to-do list.
The ability of any infectious agent to maintain constant transmission enables it to be an ongoing threat to public health. Few pathogens have achieved greater success at ongoing transmission potential than the influenza virus.
Evidence shows that bacteria on floors can be resuspended into the air with a potential of inhalation, swallowing, or contamination of surfaces and hands.
Adding to their exhaustion because of other diseases rampant worldwide, like influenza and COVID-19, infection preventionists need to understand and recognize the basics of monkeypox as well since it has made its debut in the US.
Perspectives from a diversity of health care workers improve the care and outcomes of patients.
Testing of the infant of the COVID-19–positive mother requires 2 negative COVID-19 tests 2 days apart. This time delay adds to the challenge of ensuring available isolation beds.
Choosing the correct disinfectant can be difficult. This expert explains how to select the proper one.