Hand Hygiene

What does the post-COVID-19 future look like for infection preventonists? Great strides in infection prevention have been made because of the COVID-19 response, but look for them to be modified moving forward.

Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) bioluminescence needs technological enhancement if it’s to reach its full potential as a disinfection tool, says a study.

Doe Kley, RN, CIC, MPH,T-CHEST: “We just can’t keep doing what we’ve been doing with our singular focus on one pathogen. We know that while we were doing that—while we were so busy with COVID-19—other really dangerous and emerging pathogens got a foothold. The one that scares me the most is Candida auris.”

Darrel Hicks: “EVS teams work around professionals who are certified—whether it’s respiratory therapists, physical therapists, the RNs, the doctors—and I think if we ever hoped to elevate their status that we need to certify environmental services workers to a certain level of knowledge before they even start cleaning patient rooms.”

The use of almost every antibiotic increases the chances of Clostridioides difficile infection, and that includes the drugs that are used to treat C diff, a study states.

Take 5 minutes to catch up on Infection Control Today’s highlights for the week ending October 29.

Bug of the Month helps educate readers about existing and emerging pathogens of clinical importance in healthcare facilities today.

Infection preventionists have been measuring hand hygiene with very little change in practice or retention of proper practice. Now is the time to think of new ways to improve hand hygiene and patient outcomes.

If we want to see sustained improvements in our hospitals, administrators must step in and visibly show their support of IPs while investing their time, resources, and hospital funding to increase the capacity of the IPC department.

Preliminary data for the last quarter of 2020 revealed a jump of 34% in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) compared with the same quarter in 2019. Several states had much higher increases. In Arizona, for instance, rates leapt 80%; in New Jersey, that figure was 99%.

Bug of the Month helps educate readers about existing and emerging pathogens of clinical importance in healthcare facilities today.

The CDC’s Katryna Gouin, MPH: “…[I]deally tracking antibiotic use at the facility level should be automated using either electronic health records or long-term care pharmacy dispensing data because manual tracking of antibiotics is time intensive.”

Joshua Nosanchuk, MD, Programs Chairperson for ID Week: “What the infection preventionists are doing I think is a true blessing for our community. And not always as well recognized as it should be…. I just want to say thank you to all the people that are doing this work.”

Infection preventionists across health care settings struggle with a myriad of problems during this pandemic. IPs at nursing homes have it particularly hard.

The season of respiratory tract infections is upon us. Influenza, rhinovirus, respiratory syncytial virus, and pertussis—as well as COVID-19—once again are attacking many individuals across the US and worldwide.

The allocations are scheduled to begin next month, with initial awards totaling $885, of which $500 million will go to what the CDC calls “strike teams” that will focus on nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.

The CDC’s Runa Gokhale, MD, MPH: “I think that there is a role for infection preventionists to play here, and they are a community that we’ve been trying to engage through some of our sepsis awareness and sepsis prevention efforts.”

Patients with abnormally low blood pressure were less likely to receive antibiotics even though they could benefit from such treatment, according to a recent study.

Take 5 minutes to catch up on Infection Control Today’s highlights for the week ending September 17.

New antifungal agents that are being investigated for possible use against C. auris, such as Ibrexafungerp (Brexafemme), show promise—so far.

With seemingly reckless abandon, we are quickly headed toward an era in which the antibiotics we once used to treat infection will be rendered ineffective.

C. diff infection is an old enemy and health care professionals have gathered an armamentarium of weapons against it, but it can be relentless.

Bug of the Month helps educate readers about existing and emerging pathogens of clinical importance in healthcare facilities today.

Bug of the Month helps educate readers about existing and emerging pathogens of clinical importance in healthcare facilities today.

Heather Saunders MPH, RN, CIC: “I think [infection preventionists] really need to be aware of what the efforts are at their state health departments and how they can collaborate with those efforts. IPs need to also have their own surveillance systems in place. They need to know what they’re looking for.”

“IPs reported more empowerment, credibility and value to their facilities during the pandemic,” states a study unveiled today at the annual APIC conference.

Elizabeth Jefferson, PhD, CIC: “You have to really pay attention and make sure that it [Candida auris] stays contained so that you don’t have an outbreak. It just takes one case.”

Infection preventionists and hospital administrators need to continue pushing for better hand hygiene compliance once health care workers stop worrying as much about their own safety, a study states.

In the midst of a COVID-19 surge, a hospital was able to limit the spread of Candida auris to the initially infected patient.

A five-year survey in Michigan seeks to determine if enhanced relationships between nursing homes and hospitals might facilitate better infection prevention in nursing homes.