July was yet another busy month for infection prevention and control news. Catch up on what you may have missed in this issue of the ICCS Infection Prevention & Control Newsletter. Topics include dental unit waterline guidelines, hospital occupancy and infection risks, urinary catheter dangers, antibiotic resistance, infection prevention staffing, HIV guidelines and more.
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FDA Publishes Infection Control Guidance for Dental Unit Waterlines — The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has published a new webpage discussing the importance of infection control in dental unit waterlines and offering guidance to prevent infection.
Study: High Hospital Occupancy Not Linked to Higher Patient Infection Risk — The surprising results of a new study indicate that there is no correlation between increased risk of hospital-acquired infection and increased hospital occupancy.
Foleys Aren't Fun: Patient Study Shows Catheter Risk — A new study puts large-scale evidence behind what many hospital patients already know: Having a urinary catheter may help empty the bladder, but it can hurt, lead to urinary tract infections, or cause other issues in the hospital and beyond.
Obesity Increases Infection Risks After Colorectal Surgery — BMI serves as an independent risk factor for many adverse 30-day postoperative outcomes among patients with obesity who undergo colorectal surgery, according to results from a study.
Stop Antibiotics Before Resistance 'Tipping Point' — Treatments using antibiotics should stop as soon as possible to prevent patients passing the "tipping point" of becoming resistant to their effects, new research has shown.
APIC and SHEA CEOs Pen Op-Eds Aimed at C-suite — APIC CEO Katrina Crist and SHEA CEO Eve Humphreys jointly authored a series of op-eds to raise awareness of the need for institutional support from hospital leadership for infection prevention and control and antimicrobial stewardship programs.
Infection Prevention Staffing Needs May Be Underestimated — A comprehensive assessment of health care organization composition and structure is necessary before determining infection preventionist staffing needs, according to a study.
CDC Funds Dialysis Bloodstream Infection Research Led By American Society of Nephrology — The American Society of Nephrology announced that its Nephrologists Transforming Dialysis Safety initiative has received a contract from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to study barriers to implementation of recommended practices intended to help reduce dialysis-related infections.
New Prevention Bundle Significantly Reduces Pediatric Health Care-Associated Viral Infections — Pediatric health care-associated viral infections were significantly reduced by the development, implementation and refinement of targeted prevention practices, according to research findings.
Hospitals May Take Too Much of the Blame for Unplanned Readmissions — A new study reveals that the preventability of readmissions changes over time: readmissions within the first week after discharge are often preventable by the hospital, whereas readmissions later are often related to patients’ difficultly accessing outpatient clinics.
Nature and Science Join Forces to Fight Surgical Infections — South Australian researchers are embarking on a $20 million medical and manufacturing research project which could reduce the chance of infection after orthopaedic surgery, thanks to a little help from the humble dragonfly.
IAS-USA Releases 2018 Guidelines for HIV Treatment and Prevention — The International Antiviral Society-USA Panel (IAS-USA) has issued new guidelines on the prevention and treatment of HIV infection in adults, in an update to previous guidelines that had been released in 2016.
CDC Offers Free Antibiotic Stewardship Continuing Education — CDC has launched the second of a four-part web-based training course about antibiotic stewardship and is offering free continuing education credits for participants.
Get Your Free Sepsis Educational Resources from CDC — CDC is making it easier for healthcare organizations to provide their patients with valuable sepsis educational materials. Organizations can now order the free "Get Ahead of Sepsis" print materials two ways.
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