Here are 10 recent studies regarding infection control and prevention.
1. Results from a study by Denver Health and University of Colorado Health Services Center researchers showed there were no statistically significant differences found in bacterial or MRSA counts between physicians’ coats and newly laundered short-sleeved uniforms. The researchers’ findings sheds new light on British government agencies’ policies banning physicians’ white coats based on the belief that long sleeves carry more bacteria and pose a greater risk of bacterial transmission.
2. Vision-based hand gesture recognition technology could be the way of the future for hospital or ASC operating rooms, as it could help reduce the risk of infection and delays in surgery. The technology relies on hand gestures as commands, which can control robotic nurses or tell computers to display pertinent patient health information, said Juan Pablo Wachs, assistant professor of industrial engineering at Purdue University. The vision-based hand gesture recognition technology could also be used for the coordination of emergency response activities during disasters.
3. Peter Pronovost, MD, PhD, and Jill Marsteller, PhD, MPP, are calling on physicians to be more involved and lead quality improvement efforts in their respective healthcare settings. Drs. Pronovost and Marsteller suggest that even though quality improvement efforts exist, there is not enough data supporting the notion that quality improvement efforts are actually enhancing patient outcomes. One of the reasons for this lack of progress, they say, is inadequate physician engagement and leadership in quality improvement work.
4. Although there are many benefits to borrowing surgical equipment from vendors and other healthcare facilities, doing so poses a number of challenges and patient safety risks for the borrower facility. Key challenges include planning and communication between providers, insufficient reprocessing time and additional work for the borrower facility. In order to address these challenges and the patient safety risks that stem from them, the author suggests creating a policy that includes ordering, transportation, check-in and pre-procedural processing requirements.
5. Researchers evaluated the effect of an electronic medical record on the use of antimicrobial agents and infection rates of Clostridium difficile and MRSA. Results showed that implementation of an EMR significantly increased chart reviews and antimicrobial recommendations, leading to a decrease in antimicrobial use and MRSA as well as C. difficile infection rates.
6. A study published in Archives of Internal Medicine suggests more than half of the current recommendations of the Infectious Diseases Society of America are based on expert opinions instead of evidence from clinical trials. Researchers analyzed 41 published ISDA guidelines that were released between Jan. 1994 and May 2010. The recommendations were separated based on their strength of recommendation (level A-C) and quality of evidence (level I-III). Within the 41 guidelines, 55 percent of the recommendations were classified as having a low-level quality of evidence.
7. Health experts believe a flu epidemic was averted last year because of regular hand-washing, suggesting healthcare facilities should promote hand-washing among staff and patients to prevent the spread of disease. The American Society for Microbiology and the American Cleaning Institute released a study in Sept. 2010 reporting that 85 percent of people washed their hands in public restrooms in 2008, the highest levels observed since the research began in 1996.
8. Researchers have implemented a hand hygiene program driven by a behavioral change approach to increase hand hygiene compliance. The hand hygiene program was packaged with several initiatives. It included access to alcohol sanitizer, education as well as ongoing audit and feedback. The program was also supplemented with behavior modification practices, such as immediate positive reinforcement as well as annually changing incentives. The researchers report the program has resulted in significant and sustained improvements in hand hygiene compliance.
9. Researchers from the University of Iowa have developed a hand-hygiene tracking method, enabled by credit card-sized devices called motes. Motes are powered by batteries and consist of a small processor, flash memory and IEEE 802.15.4-compliant wireless radio. Every mote, which can be utilized without radio-frequency identification equipment, automatically broadcasts a time-stamped identity packet to other motes in such a way that does not interfere to medical devices. The motes allow various data to be collected, including identifiers of the mote, time messages are received and so on.
10. Researchers conducted a review of surgical skin prep agents to conclude which agent was most cost-effective and superior in preventing surgical site infections. Based on information collected from two databases, researchers compared povidone-iodine, chlorhexidine gluconate, parachoroxylenol and iodine povacrylex (0.7 percent available iodine) in 74 percent isopropyl alcohol (DuraPrep). Researchers concluded that each prep agent has specific advantages and disadvantages and no one skin prep agent is superior in all clinical situations. Factors to consider when choosing a skin prep agent include surgeon preference and environmental risks.
1. Results from a study by Denver Health and University of Colorado Health Services Center researchers showed there were no statistically significant differences found in bacterial or MRSA counts between physicians’ coats and newly laundered short-sleeved uniforms. The researchers’ findings sheds new light on British government agencies’ policies banning physicians’ white coats based on the belief that long sleeves carry more bacteria and pose a greater risk of bacterial transmission.
2. Vision-based hand gesture recognition technology could be the way of the future for hospital or ASC operating rooms, as it could help reduce the risk of infection and delays in surgery. The technology relies on hand gestures as commands, which can control robotic nurses or tell computers to display pertinent patient health information, said Juan Pablo Wachs, assistant professor of industrial engineering at Purdue University. The vision-based hand gesture recognition technology could also be used for the coordination of emergency response activities during disasters.
3. Peter Pronovost, MD, PhD, and Jill Marsteller, PhD, MPP, are calling on physicians to be more involved and lead quality improvement efforts in their respective healthcare settings. Drs. Pronovost and Marsteller suggest that even though quality improvement efforts exist, there is not enough data supporting the notion that quality improvement efforts are actually enhancing patient outcomes. One of the reasons for this lack of progress, they say, is inadequate physician engagement and leadership in quality improvement work.
4. Although there are many benefits to borrowing surgical equipment from vendors and other healthcare facilities, doing so poses a number of challenges and patient safety risks for the borrower facility. Key challenges include planning and communication between providers, insufficient reprocessing time and additional work for the borrower facility. In order to address these challenges and the patient safety risks that stem from them, the author suggests creating a policy that includes ordering, transportation, check-in and pre-procedural processing requirements.
5. Researchers evaluated the effect of an electronic medical record on the use of antimicrobial agents and infection rates of Clostridium difficile and MRSA. Results showed that implementation of an EMR significantly increased chart reviews and antimicrobial recommendations, leading to a decrease in antimicrobial use and MRSA as well as C. difficile infection rates.
6. A study published in Archives of Internal Medicine suggests more than half of the current recommendations of the Infectious Diseases Society of America are based on expert opinions instead of evidence from clinical trials. Researchers analyzed 41 published ISDA guidelines that were released between Jan. 1994 and May 2010. The recommendations were separated based on their strength of recommendation (level A-C) and quality of evidence (level I-III). Within the 41 guidelines, 55 percent of the recommendations were classified as having a low-level quality of evidence.
7. Health experts believe a flu epidemic was averted last year because of regular hand-washing, suggesting healthcare facilities should promote hand-washing among staff and patients to prevent the spread of disease. The American Society for Microbiology and the American Cleaning Institute released a study in Sept. 2010 reporting that 85 percent of people washed their hands in public restrooms in 2008, the highest levels observed since the research began in 1996.
8. Researchers have implemented a hand hygiene program driven by a behavioral change approach to increase hand hygiene compliance. The hand hygiene program was packaged with several initiatives. It included access to alcohol sanitizer, education as well as ongoing audit and feedback. The program was also supplemented with behavior modification practices, such as immediate positive reinforcement as well as annually changing incentives. The researchers report the program has resulted in significant and sustained improvements in hand hygiene compliance.
9. Researchers from the University of Iowa have developed a hand-hygiene tracking method, enabled by credit card-sized devices called motes. Motes are powered by batteries and consist of a small processor, flash memory and IEEE 802.15.4-compliant wireless radio. Every mote, which can be utilized without radio-frequency identification equipment, automatically broadcasts a time-stamped identity packet to other motes in such a way that does not interfere to medical devices. The motes allow various data to be collected, including identifiers of the mote, time messages are received and so on.
10. Researchers conducted a review of surgical skin prep agents to conclude which agent was most cost-effective and superior in preventing surgical site infections. Based on information collected from two databases, researchers compared povidone-iodine, chlorhexidine gluconate, parachoroxylenol and iodine povacrylex (0.7 percent available iodine) in 74 percent isopropyl alcohol (DuraPrep). Researchers concluded that each prep agent has specific advantages and disadvantages and no one skin prep agent is superior in all clinical situations. Factors to consider when choosing a skin prep agent include surgeon preference and environmental risks.