Team-based infection preventionist review improves inter-rater reliability in identification of healthcare-associated infections.

Accurate reporting of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) to the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) is a critical function of infection prevention and control (IPC) teams. Validation was performed to increase inter-rater reliability in HAI adjudication among infection preventionists. Benefits included improved data integrity, enhanced team performance, and individual growth.

Practices to prevent central line-associated bloodstream infection: A 2021 survey of infection preventionists in US hospitals.

Objective: To determine prevalence of technical and behavioral interventions aimed at preventing central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) following the COVID19 pandemic.

Design: Cross-sectional survey.

Setting: US acute care hospitals.

COVID-19: a review of current knowledge regarding exposure, quarantine, isolation and other preventive measures.

Deeper understanding of the spread, morbidity, fatality, and development of immune response associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, is necessary in order to establish an appropriate epidemiological and clinical response. Exposure control represents a key part of the combat against COVID-19, as the effectiveness of current therapeutic options remains partial. Since the preventive measures have not been sufficiently able to slow down this pandemic, in this article we explore some of the pertinent knowledge gaps, while overall looking to effective vaccination strategies as a way out.

Impact of pre-transplant carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales colonization and/or infection on solid organ transplant outcomes.

The impact of pre-transplant (SOT) carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) colonization or infection on post-SOT outcomes is unclear. We conducted a multi-center, international, cohort study of SOT recipients, with microbiologically diagnosed CRE colonization and/or infection pre-SOT. Sixty adult SOT recipients were included (liver n = 30, hearts n = 17).

Clinical informatics accelerates health system adaptation to the COVID-19 pandemic: examples from Colorado.

Objective: Large health systems responding to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic face a broad range of challenges; we describe 14 examples of innovative and effective informatics interventions.

Materials And Methods: A team of 30 physician and 17 nurse informaticists with an electronic health record (EHR) and associated informatics tools.

Results: To meet the demands posed by the influx of patients with COVID-19 into the health system, the team built solutions to accomplish the following goals: 1) train physicians and nurses quickly to manage a potential surge of hospital patients; 2) build and adjust interactive visual pathways to guide decisions; 3) scale up video visits and teach best-practice communication; 4) use tablets and remote monitors to improve in-hospital and posthospital patient connections; 5) allow hundreds of physicians to build rapid consensus; 6) improve the use of advance care planning; 7) keep clinicians aware of patients' changing COVID-19 status; 8) connect nurses and families in new ways; 9) semi-automate Crisis Standards of Care; and 10) predict future hospitalizations.

Advantages of Outpatient Treatment with Long-Acting Lipoglycopeptides for Serious Gram-Positive Infections: A Review.

Treatment of serious gram-positive infections presents multiple challenges. Treatment often results in prolonged hospitalization for administration of intravenous antimicrobials and presents an inefficient use of hospital resources. Prolonged hospitalization is typically also unfavorable to patient preferences and potentially subjects patients to additional health care-associated complications.

Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae rectal screening during an outbreak of New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae at an acute care hospital.

We describe the results of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) screening as part of an outbreak investigation of New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase-producing CRE at a tertiary care university teaching hospital. The manual method for CRE screening was useful for detecting patients with asymptomatic CRE carriage but was time-consuming and costly.

Carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae producing New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase at an acute care hospital, Colorado, 2012.

Objective: To investigate an outbreak of New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase (NDM)-producing carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) and determine interventions to interrupt transmission.

Design, Setting, And Patients: Epidemiologic investigation of an outbreak of NDM-producing CRE among patients at a Colorado acute care hospital.

Methods: Case patients had NDM-producing CRE isolated from clinical or rectal surveillance cultures (SCs) collected during the period January 1, 2012, through October 20, 2012.