The COVID-19 infection control response at a large stand-alone comprehensive cancer center in Los Angeles County.

Background: The City of Hope National Medical Center (COH) is the only stand-alone comprehensive cancer center in Los Angeles, a county that was deemed a COVID-19 pandemic epicenter at the height of the 2020 winter surge. The immunocompromised patient population frequently experienced delays in infection control guidelines from local and government bodies due to minimal data available in comparison to the general population. This required COH to make swift, informed decisions for the best interest of the patient population.

Pandemic Operating Room Supply Shortage and Surgical Site Infection: Considerations as We Emerge from the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic.

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic created shortages of operating room (OR) supplies, forcing healthcare systems to make concessions regarding "standard" OR attire. At our institution, we were required to reduce shoe covers, reuse face masks, and allow washable head coverings. We determined if these changes affected surgical site infection (SSI) rates.

Preventing Central Line Blood Stream Infections in Critical Care Patients.

Currently, the Centers for Disease Control reports close to 40,000 central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) occur in acute care facilities in the United States each year. Most are considered preventable. Evidence-based practices such as the CLABSI bundle and central line maintenance bundles have demonstrated their effectiveness in reducing CLABSI.

Artificial Differences in Clostridium difficile Infection Rates Associated with Disparity in Testing.

In 2015, Clostridium difficile testing rates among 30 US community, multispecialty, and cancer hospitals were 14.0, 16.3, and 33.

Reduction of surgical site infections in low transverse cesarean section at a university hospital.

Background: We implemented evidence-based interventions to reduce risk of surgical site infection (SSI) following low transverse cesarean section (LTCS).

Methods: An observational study was conducted to determine LTCS SSI rates and the impact of infection control interventions at an academic teaching hospital during the period October 2005 to December 2008, including the use of 2% chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) for surgical skin preparation before LTCS and no-rinse CHG cloths for preoperative skin cleansing. We compared overall and risk strata specific SSI rates and standardized incidence ratios during 4 study periods and estimated cost savings.