Impact of terminal cleaning and disinfection on isolation of Acinetobacter baumannii complex from inanimate surfaces of hospital rooms by quantitative and qualitative methods.

Quantitative broth cultures were obtained from hospital rooms newly vacated by patients positive for multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii complex (ABC) before and after terminal cleaning and disinfection. Of 10 ABC-positive precleaned room surfaces, 6 (60%) remained culture-positive after terminal cleaning and disinfection. Of a total of 16 room surfaces with detectable ABC by the quantitative method, 5 (31.

Isolation of Acinetobacter baumannii complex and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus from hospital rooms following terminal cleaning and disinfection: can we do better?

Objective: To study the frequency of isolation of Acinetobacter baumannii complex (ABC) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) from surfaces of rooms newly vacated by patients with multidrug-resistant (MDR) ABC following various rounds of routine terminal cleaning and disinfection (C/D) with bleach or 1 round of C/D followed by hydrogen peroxide vapor (HPV) treatment.

Setting: A 900-bed tertiary care hospital.

Methods: ABC and MRSA cultures were obtained from hospital rooms including 312 rooms (mean, 18.

Is it Clostridium difficile infection or something else? A case-control study of 352 hospitalized patients with new-onset diarrhea.

Background: Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea (CDAD) is a leading cause of nosocomial diarrhea in the United States, and may be associated with significant morbidity and occasional mortality. Diarrhea is also very common among hospitalized patients and is often related to a variety of factors not related to C difficile infection.

Methods: We performed a retrospective case-control study at a tertiary care community medical center to delineate factors that are predictive of CDAD among hospitalized patients with new-onset diarrhea (ie, not present at the time of admission).

Surgical site infections associated with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: do postoperative factors play a role?

Patients with surgical site infections (SSIs) who underwent surgery during the period of September 1997 through December 1999 and January through July 2001 were retrospectively studied to compare patients infected with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) with those infected with organisms other than MRSA. Of patients with SSI who had known culture results, 77 (28.5%) of 270 had cultures that yielded MRSA.

Routine screening for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus among patients newly admitted to an acute rehabilitation unit.

Background: Following an outbreak of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection in our acute rehabilitation unit in 1987, all patients except in-house transfers (because of their low prevalence of MRSA colonization) underwent MRSA screening cultures on admission.

Objectives: To better characterize the current profile of patients with positive MRSA screening cultures at the time of admission to our acute rehabilitation unit, and to determine the relative yield of nares, perianal, and wound screening cultures in this population.

Methods: Prospective chart review with ongoing active surveillance for infections associated with the acute rehabilitation unit

Results: The rate of MRSA isolation from one or more body sites increased significantly from 5% (1987-1988) to 12% (1999-2000) (P = .