Category: Infection Control

1 dead, 4 hospitalized in suspected fungal meningitis outbreak

Texas health officials are warning clinicians about a string of suspected fungal meningitis cases among state residents who underwent surgery in Mexico.

Debate over masking in healthcare settings persists post-PHE

Now is not the time to do away with masks in healthcare settings, two infectious disease physicians wrote in a commentary published May 16 in Annals of Internal Medicine, an indication that the debate over whether hospitals should continue to mandate m…

CDC publishes ventilation guidance for respiratory infection

The CDC published guidance on improving building ventilation to protect people from respiratory infections.

6 recent findings from infection control studies

Here are six findings from infection control studies Becker’s has covered since April: 

Pneumonia may be responsible for most COVID-19 deaths, Northwestern U finds

A new study found a high percentage of COVID-19 deaths may have been caused by a secondary pneumonia infection.

How Intermountain cut antibiotic overprescribing

Intermountain Health reduced antibiotic prescribing in urgent care clinics by 15 percent after rolling out new stewardship initiatives, according to a study published May 11 in JAMA Network Open.

The case for letting nurses initiate C. diff testing

Allowing bedside nurses to independently order Clostridioides difficile testing could help hospitals lower the risk of patient infections and associated deaths, according to a study published May 11 in the American Journal of Infection Control.

Stop antibiotics after surgery, says new guidance

New guidance on surgical site infections calls for physicians to cease antibiotic prophylaxis immediately after surgeries, according to research published May 4 in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology. It is the first major revision to the guideli…

Inside Virginia Mason's bacterial outbreak probe

Health officials have yet to identify the source of a Klebsiella pneumoniae outbreak tied to 31 illnesses and seven patient deaths at Seattle-based Virginia Mason Medical Center, NPR affiliate KUOW reported May 5.

HAIs are going up, and it should 'stop hospitals in their tracks,' Leapfrog data reveals

Data released as part of The Leapfrog Group’s annual hospital rankings revealed a significant rise in healthcare-associated infections — a trend that was in decline prior to the pandemic.