ICCS Infection Prevention & Infection Control Newsletter: October 2019 (1st Half)

This issue of the ICCS Infection Prevention & Control Newsletter covers news from the first half of October. Topics include NPSGs, sterile processing, dental antibiotics, heart valves and MRSA.

Note: Catch up on news you may have missed from the latter half of September here.

* * *

Infection Prevention Remains National Patient Safety Goal for All Programs — The Joint Commission continued to stress the importance of infection prevention by including it as a 2020 National Patient Safety Goal (NPSG) for all of its programs.

Sterile Processing Errors Earns Spot on ECRI Top Health Technology Hazards List — ECRI Institute issued its annual list of the top 10 health technology hazards, and sterile processing errors comes in at #3.

Study: Serious Side Effects Associated With Antibiotics Before Dental Visits — The results of a national study raised significant red flags concerning antibiotic prescribing practices in the dental setting.

CMS Finalizes Rule Requiring Hospital Antibiotic Stewardship Programs — The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized a rule that includes a requirement for hospitals and critical access hospitals to establish and maintain antibiotic stewardship programs.

Risk of Heart Valve Infections Rises in Hospitals — Researchers said a host of new risk factors are driving more hospital-acquired heart valve infections and that should compel healthcare providers to reevaluate their strategies for reducing the threat to patients.

EPA Proposes Plan to Ensure Effectiveness of Hospital Disinfectants, Help Reduce Infection, and Increase Patient Safety — The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a new draft strategy for selecting and testing hospital disinfectants to ensure these products continue to be effective after they enter the marketplace.

U.S. Hospital Data Show Rise in Resistant UTIs in Older Patients — An analysis of U.S. hospital data showed that antibiotic resistance in older patients with urinary tract infections (UTIs) nearly doubled from 2009 to 2016.

Certain Healthcare Personnel Patient Interactions Carry Higher Risk of MRSA Transmission — Guidelines recommend use of contact precautions for healthcare personnel when dealing with patients infected with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), but the efficacy of these standards is unclear.

VA Study Finds Negative MRSA Nasal Swabs Effective at Ruling Out Infection — A study indicated that nasal screening of patients for MRSA colonization has a high negative predictive value for ruling out MRSA infection and could be a powerful antibiotic stewardship tool.

Geisinger Hospital Where Three Preemies Died Seeking Source of Bacteria — A Pennsylvania hospital is racing to determine the source of a waterborne germ that appears to have infected at least eight infants in the neonatal intensive care unit, three of whom died.

 

Request a Consultation

If your matter is urgent,
please call (215) 692-3485.


Follow ICCS On