Human Papillomavirus, Herpes Zoster, and Hepatitis B Vaccinations in Immunocompromised Patients: An Update for Pharmacists.

Purpose: Current evidence regarding efficacy and safety of human papillomavirus 9-valent (9vHPV), recombinant zoster (RZV), and CpG-adjuvanted recombinant hepatitis B (HepB-CpG) vaccines in adults with human immunodeficiency virus, inflammatory bowel disease, solid organ transplant, and allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant is reviewed.

Summary: Patients immunocompromised due to underlying disease or treatment are at increased risk for infections; however, insufficient understanding of various vaccines' efficacy, safety, indications, and contraindications in this population has led to suboptimal vaccination rates. The Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) published guidelines on vaccines in immunocompromised populations in 2013.

Is There a Correlation Between Infection Control Performance and Other Hospital Quality Measures?

Quality measures are increasingly reported by hospitals to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), yet there may be tradeoffs in performance between infection control (IC) and other quality measures. Hospitals that performed best on IC measures did not perform well on most CMS non-IC quality measures. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2017;38:736-739.

Effect of chlorhexidine bathing and other infection control practices on the Benefits of Universal Glove and Gown (BUGG) trial: a subgroup analysis.

We report the results of a subgroup analysis of the Benefits of Universal Glove and Gown trial. In 20 intensive care units, the reduction in acquisition of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus observed in this trial was observed in units also using chlorhexidine bathing and in those that previously performed active surveillance.

Outcomes of a ventilator-associated pneumonia bundle on rates of ventilator-associated pneumonia and other health care-associated infections in a long-term acute care hospital setting.

Long-term trends in ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) rates, and other health care-associated infections, were examined prior to, during, and after introduction of a VAP bundle in a long-term acute care hospital setting. VAP incidence rate declined in a step-wise fashion and reached a null value. Incidence rates of bacteremia from any cause declined in a similar fashion.

The role of tissue plasminogen activator use and systemic hypercoagulability in central line-associated bloodstream infections.

Background: Central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) impact patient outcomes and increase cost of hospitalization. In situ thrombus is known to promote microbial adhesion and colonization and potentially lead to CLABSI. Clinical validation of this theory, adjusting for presence of systemic hypercoagulability, is needed.

Universal glove and gown use and acquisition of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the ICU: a randomized trial.

Importance: Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are associated with increased patient morbidity and mortality. It is unknown whether wearing gloves and gowns for all patient contact in the intensive care unit (ICU) decreases acquisition of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Objective: To assess whether wearing gloves and gowns for all patient contact in the ICU decreases acquisition of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) or vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) compared with usual care.

Web-based training improves knowledge about central line bloodstream infections.

A Web-based training course with embedded video clips for reducing central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) was evaluated and shown to improve clinician knowledge and retention of knowledge over time. To our knowledge, this is the first study to evaluate Web-based CLABSI training as a stand-alone intervention.

Dangerous cows: an analysis of disinfection cleaning of computer keyboards on wheels.

Keyboards in intensive care units have been shown to serve as reservoirs for multidrug-resistant microorganisms. The thoroughness of disinfection cleaning of keyboards on computers on wheels (COWs) in an intensive care units of an academic medical center were evaluated using an invisible florescent marker, and the movements of the COWs were tracked using their serial numbers. Following a series of educational and programmatic interventions, we were able to improve the thoroughness of cleaning to 100%.

Epidemiology of ventilator-associated pneumonia in a long-term acute care hospital.

Objective: To characterize the epidemiology and microbiology of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) in a long-term acute care hospital (LTACH).

Design: Retrospective study of prospectively identified cases of VAP.

Setting: Single-center, 207-bed LTACH with the capacity to house 42 patients requiring mechanical ventilation, evaluated from April 1, 2006, through January 31, 2008.

Cervical tuberculosis: a decision tree for protecting healthcare workers.

Objectives/hypothesis: The clinical presentation of cervical tuberculosis (TB) is a unique challenge to the otolaryngologist. To minimize the risk of nosocomial transmission, otolaryngologists must suspect the diagnosis and be familiar with recommendations for TB prevention.

Study Design: Scientific review.

Puerperal group A Streptococcus infection: a case report.

Background: Group A Streptococcus (GAS) sepsis is a rare event but carries a high risk of maternal mortality.

Case: A case of puerperal infection occurred with GAS. This patient had had an uneventful prenatal and intrapartum course.

Antiretroviral drug resistance in human immunodeficiency virus-infected source patients for occupational exposures to healthcare workers.

Objective: To assess the prevalence of HIV antiretroviral resistance among source patients for occupational HIV exposures.

Design: Blood and data (eg, stage of HIV, previous antiretroviral drug therapy, and HIV RNA viral load) were collected from HIV-infected patients who were source patients for occupational exposures.

Setting: Seven tertiary-care medical centers in five U.

Tuberculin skin testing surveillance of health care personnel.

To estimate the incidence of and assess risk factors for occupational Mycobacterium tuberculosis transmission to health care personnel (HCP) in 5 New York City and Boston health care facilities, performance of prospective tuberculin skin tests (TSTs) was conducted from April 1994 through October 1995. Two-step testing was used at the enrollment of 2198 HCP with negative TST results. Follow-up visits were scheduled for every 6 months.