Safety and Nosocomial Clostridioides difficile Infections.

The rate of nosocomial C. difficile in the state of Rhode Island is among the highest in the country. Multiple factors impact the occurrence of nosocomial C.

MRSA Prevalence in Preoperative S. aureus Nasal Culture Isolates is Significantly Different From a Traditional Hospital-wide Antibiogram.

Hospital antibiograms, because they are typically derived from samples obtained from hospitalized patients, may overestimate the prevalence of methicillin resistance in S. aureus in individuals presenting to the hospital for surgery. Because hospital antibiograms are commonly used to justify empiric perioperative prophylactic antibiotic selection prior to surgery, this may lead to unnecessary treatment with broad-spectrum antibiotics such as vancomycin.

The best hospital practices for controlling methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: on the cutting edge.

Objective: A performance improvement task force of Rhode Island infection control professionals was created to develop an epidemiologic model of statewide consistent infection control practices that could reduce the spread of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

Design: This model encompasses screening protocols, isolation techniques, methods of cohorting positive patients, decolonization issues, postexposure follow-up, microbiology procedures, and standardized surveillance methodologies. These "best practice guidelines" include three categories of recommendations that define priority levels based on the availability of scientific data.