Healthcare-Associated Infections at a Children's Cancer Hospital, 1983-2008.

Background: Little is known about the incidence and etiology of healthcare-associated infections in immunosuppressed children.

Methods: Data collected prospectively between 1983 and 2008 were used to analyze changes in the rate, types of infection, and infecting organisms over time in patients treated at a children's cancer hospital. Neutropenia was evaluated as a risk factor.

A high fructose diet does not affect amphetamine self-administration or spatial water maze learning and memory in female rats.

High energy diets can have a detrimental effect on brain plasticity. For example, a high fructose diet impairs spatial memory in male rats. The aim of the present study was to determine whether a high fructose diet impairs another form of learning and memory: drug reinforcement learning.

Planning and implementation of an infection control training program for healthcare providers in Latin America.

Objective: The lack of well-trained, dedicated infection control personnel prevents optimal control of nosocomial infections in Latin American pediatric oncology centers. We collaboratively planned and implemented a multinational training course in San Salvador, El Salvador, to address this need.

Methods: The course relied on its organizers' experience in training international healthcare providers, the availability of the International Training Center for Nurses, previous infection control collaboration with the Hospital Nacional de Ninos Benjamin Bloom, and resources available at the University of El Salvador.

Age- and sex-dependent amphetamine self-administration in rats.

Rationale: Recreational drug use peaks in the developmental stage of adolescence, and exposure to drugs during adolescence may predict drug dependence in adulthood. Nevertheless, adolescent drug vulnerability is not widely studied in animal models of drug intake, and very few studies have investigated sex differences in drug-related behavior during adolescence.

Objectives: We compared patterns of intravenous (i.

Increased influenza vaccination of healthcare workers at a pediatric cancer hospital: results of a comprehensive influenza vaccination campaign.

A comprehensive influenza vaccination campaign improved vaccination rates among healthcare workers with direct patient care responsibilities from 45% during the 2003-2004 influenza season to 80% during the 2004-2005 season. A strategy of weekly feedback to unvaccinated employees was the most important factor in enhancing the rate of vaccination acceptance and was particularly effective among the nursing staff.