ICCS Infection Prevention & Control Newsletter: September 2022

This issue covers some of the most significant news from September. Topics include flexible endoscope processing guidelines, CMS oversight, masking, influenza, fungal infections, and fecal transplantation.

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4 Major Updates to Improve Flexible Endoscope Safety — AORN revised its "Guideline for Processing Flexible Endoscopes."

COVID-19 in Nursing Homes: CMS Needs to Continue to Strengthen Oversight of Infection Prevention and Control — The US Government Accountability Office called on CMS to further strengthen infection prevention and control guidance and oversight of the infection preventionist role for nursing homes.

Lessons Learned in COVID-19: SHEA Offers Guidance for Antibiotic Use in a Pandemic — The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America published a statement on strategies to improve antibiotic use and stewardship during infectious disease pandemics and outbreaks.

As Masks Are Shed, a Routine Visit to a Medical Office Can Pose COVID Risks for Some Patients — This STAT article discussed how high-risk individuals are increasingly anxious about contracting COVID while accessing necessary routine healthcare. The ICCS team continues to recommend universal masking in patient care areas.

Flu Is Already Here and Doctors Are Bracing for a High Number of Infections This Year — The flu season started early in the US, with cases rising two months before influenza season typically begins.

Lancet Commission on COVID-19 Response: 'Massive Global Failure' — The Lancet COVID-19 Commission issued a scathing report about the international COVID-19 pandemic response. The report identifies 10 key failures that helped contribute to the millions of deaths attributable to the infectious disease.

Fungal Infections Increase Mortality Among Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients Worldwide — Research revealed that we're currently seeing more deaths caused by fungal diseases than malaria and tuberculosis together.

US Healthcare Workers More Emotionally Exhausted Amid Pandemic — The results of this survey may come as no surprise, but that doesn't make them any less significant. As ICCS Founder Phenelle Segal, RN, CIC, FAPIC, stated, "It's imperative that we acknowledge how these past few years have affected healthcare workers and take whatever steps are necessary to support our teams and mitigate staff and patient risks."

CDC Endorses Updated COVID Boosters, Shots to Begin Soon — CDC endorsed updated COIVD-19 boosters at the beginning of the month.

Fecal Transplantation Shown to be an Effective Remedy for Life-Threatening Intestinal Infections — Research revealed that fecal transplantation in the intestine is far superior to today's standard treatment for C. diff.

No Catheter. No CAUTI: Urine Management with External Catheters — An Infection Control Today column explored alternatives to indwelling catheters for managing urinary incontinence.

The Role of Pharmacists in the World of Pediatric Antimicrobial Stewardship — This Contagion column brought attention to the important role pharmacists can and should play in combatting antimicrobial resistance and supporting antimicrobial stewardship.

Impact of the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program on Hospital-Acquired Candidemia — Research on antibiotic stewardship and candidemia showed that a reduction in broad-spectrum antibiotic administration (especially carbapenem) reduced the incidence rate of hospital-acquired candidemia in an acute tertiary care hospital.

ICCS Infection Prevention & Control Newsletter: August 2022

This issue covers some of the most significant news from August. Topics include instrument reprocessing, food service hygiene, long-COVID, myocarditis and superbugs.

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Is That Instrument Safe To Use On A Patient? — ICCS team members continue to stress the risks associated with improper reprocessing of instruments and medical devices. We cannot emphasize enough the need to follow manufacturer instructions/instructions for use (IFUs). Our deficiency findings during onsite visits are often the result of failure to follow the instructions. If IFUs are unavailable, items should not be used unless nationally recognized guidelines (e.g., AAMI ST79, AAMI ST91) are explicit enough to reprocess effectively.

Infection Prevention Is Key in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit — A good two-part series in discussing infection prevention in the NICU from a physician and infection preventionist perspective.

What's in Your Hospital's Kitchen? The Basics of Food Service Hygiene — As ICCS Founder Phenelle Segal, RN, CIC, FAPIC, stated about this article, "As we enter a period of returning to pre-pandemic practice with the "new normal" in the forefront of our minds, it is important to remember that there are other 'issues' lurking in the background that were very much in the forefront prior to March 2020. Food service hygiene has always been a passion of mine when consulting for inpatient facilities. There are so many steps necessary to ensure safe food handling and serving our patients."

Most Reliable Estimates to Date Suggest 1 in 8 COVID-19 Patients Develop Long-COVID Symptoms — When analyzing COVID-19 infections, stats and talking points typically focus on cases, hospitalizations and deaths. But it's quite apparent more attention must be paid to long-COVID.

COVID-19 Infection Poses Higher Risk for Myocarditis Than Vaccines — New myocarditis study findings published in Circulation.

Safety Alert Regarding Use of Fecal Microbiota for Transplantation and Additional Safety Protections Pertaining to Monkeypox Virus — Possible challenge for refractory C. difficile patients who are highly dependent on fecal microbiota transfusion (FMT).

CDC Study Highlights Community Spread of Superbugs — U.S. surveillance data indicate infections caused by multidrug-resistant bacterial pathogens are moving beyond the healthcare setting.

New Method of Nasal Vaccine Delivery Could Lead to Better Vaccines for HIV and COVID-19 — Researchers have developed a way to effectively deliver vaccines through mucosal tissues in the nose.

ICCS Infection Prevention & Control Newsletter: July 2022

This issue covers some of the most significant news from July. Topics include antimicrobial-resistant infections, infection preventionist health, monkeypox, gowns, and linen.

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Drug-Resistant Infections and Deaths Among Hospital Patients Grew Amid Covid-19 Pandemic — A special report released by the CDC found that more than 29,400 people died from antimicrobial-resistant infections in 2020. The full number is likely much higher.

Infection Preventionists' Mental, Physical Health Suffered in Pandemic — A survey revealed that high percentages of IPs reported that COVID-19–related stressors worsened their mental and physical health.

WHO Declares Monkeypox Outbreak a Public Health Emergency — The World Health Organization declared the monkeypox outbreak that has spread around the world a public health emergency.

Widely Used Hospital Gowns Show Signs of Exposing Workers to Infection — A study found that isolation gowns commonly worn in medical units or ICUs ripped too easily and allowed about 4-14 times expected amount of liquid to seep through when sprayed or splashed, leaving healthcare workers with a greater risk of infection.

Hospital-acquired Pneumonia Is Killing Patients. There’s a Simple Way To Stop It. — Hospital patients not getting their teeth brushed, or not brushing their teeth themselves, is believed to be a leading cause of hundreds of thousands of cases of pneumonia a year in patients who have not been put on a ventilator.

Study: SARS-CoV-2 Infection Risk Low for ED Staff Using Recommended Prevention Practices — A study served as yet another reminder of the importance of ensuring healthcare staff always have the PPE they need and understand how to follow appropriate infection control and prevention measures.

Terminal Cleaning, Including UV Sterilization, Effectiveness in Mitigating Pathogen Transmission — An HAI study drew two noteworthy conclusions: 1) Inadequate terminal room cleaning may be an environmental source of pathogen transmission and 2) Adjunct UV-C disinfection does not provide incremental value in reducing transfer of multidrug-resistant organisms above and beyond standard of care.

CMS Doubles Down: Surveyors Do Not Have to Be COVID Vaccinated — CMS said that state surveyors do not need to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to enter any nursing home.

The Role of Health Care Laundry in Infection Prevention — A column outlined the safety importance of and processes for ensuring soiled healthcare linen is always appropriately contained, transported, cleaned, and stored.

Data-Sharing Initiative Aims to Help Fight Against Antibiotic Resistance — A new data-sharing effort could help unlock information that may mitigate the worst aspects of drug-resistant infections.