Environmental Transmission of Clostridium difficile: Association Between Hospital Room Size and C. difficile Infection
2015
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology
Journal Article
Issue 05
Volume 36
Pages 564-568
Author(s): Jou, J., Ebrahim, J., Shofer, F. S., Hamilton, K. W., Stern, J., Han, J. H.
Added May 2016
Impact of sink location on hand hygiene compliance after care of patients with Clostridium difficile infection: a cross-sectional study
2016
BMC Infectious Diseases
Journal Article
Author(s): Deyneko, A., Cordeiro, F., Berlin, L., Ben-David, D., Perna, S., Longtin, Y.
Hand hygiene is typically identified as the most important infection control measure. Many healthcare settings have adopted alcohol-based hand rub solutions because they are extremely easy to use, are accessible, and are effective against microbes. One limitation of alcohol-based hand rubs, however, is their ineffectiveness against spore-forming organisms such as Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). Thus, hand washing in sinks rather than rubbing with solutions is highly recommended after caring for patients with CDI.
Added May 2016
Antimicrobials in Hospital Furnishings: Do They Help Reduce Healthcare-Associated Infections?
2016
Health Care Without Harm
Report
Author(s): Schettler, T.
Added May 2016
In vitro evaluation of a novel process for reducing bacterial contamination of environmental surfaces
2011
American Journal of Infection Control
Journal Article
Issue 6
Volume 39
Pages 483-487
Author(s): Baxa, D., Shetron-Rama, L., Golembieski, M., Golembieski, M., Jain, S., Gordon, M., Zervos, M.
Added May 2016
Impact of different-sized laminar air flow versus no laminar air flow on bacterial counts in the operating room during orthopedic surgery
2011
American Journal of Infection Control
Journal Article
Issue 7
Volume 39
Pages e25-e29
Author(s): Diab-Elschahawi, M., Berger, J., Blacky, A., Kimberger, O., Oguz, R., Kuelpmann, R., Kramer, A., Assadian, O.
Added May 2016
Persistence of nosocomial bacteria on 2 biocidal fabrics based on silver under conditions of high relative humidity
2014
American Journal of Infection Control
Journal Article
Issue 8
Volume 42
Pages 879-884
Author(s): López-Gigosos, R., Mariscal, A., Gutierrez-Bedmar, M., Mariscal-Lopez, E., Fernández-Crehuet, J.
Added May 2016
Nebraska Biocontainment Unit perspective on disposal of Ebola medical waste
2014
American Journal of Infection Control
Journal Article
Issue 12
Volume 42
Pages 1256-1257
Author(s): Lowe, J. J., Gibbs, S. G., Schwedhelm, S. S., Nguyen, J., Smith, P. W.
Added May 2016
Determining high touch areas in the operating room with levels of contamination
2016
American Journal of Infection Control
Journal Article
Issue 11
Volume 44
Pages 1350-1355
Author(s): Link, T., Kleiner, C., Mancuso, M. P., Dziadkowiec, O., Halverson-Carpenter, K.
Added May 2016
Effectiveness of an extended period of flashing lights and strategic signage to increase the salience of alcohol-gel dispensers for improving hand hygiene compliance
2016
American Journal of Infection Control
Journal Article
Issue 7
Volume 44
Pages 782-785
Author(s): Rashidi, B., Li, A., Patel, R., Harmsen, I. E., Sabri, E., Kyeremanteng, K., D'Egidio, G.
Hospitals are often full of information and attention-seeking signs, colors, and noises, making it difficult for something as inconspicuous as alcohol-gel hand dispensers to stand out apart from everything else. Therefore if a hospital wishes to increase rates of hand hygiene compliance, the design and location of hand sanitizer dispensers is of high importance. In a previous study, the authors of this paper showed that affixing a flashing red light to alcohol-gel dispensers for one week doubled hand hygiene rates from 12.4% to 25.3%.
Added May 2016
Effect of hand sanitizer location on hand hygiene compliance
2015
American Journal of Infection Control
Journal Article
Issue 9
Volume 43
Pages 917-921
Author(s): Cure, L., Van Enk, R.
Hand hygiene is the most important intervention to prevent infection in hospitals. Health care workers should clean their hands at least before and after contact with patients. Hand sanitizer dispensers are important to support hand hygiene because they can be made available throughout hospital units. The aim of this study was to determine whether the usability of sanitizer dispensers correlates...
Added May 2016
Comparison between mixed and laminar airflow systems in operating rooms and the influence of human factors: Experiences from a Swedish orthopedic center
2014
American Journal of Infection Control
Journal Article
Issue 6
Volume 42
Pages 665-669
Author(s): Erichsen Andersson, A., Petzold, M., Bergh, I., Karlsson, J., Eriksson, B. I., Nilsson, K.
Added May 2016
Health economic evaluation of an infection prevention and control program: Are quality and patient safety programs worth the investment?
2013
American Journal of Infection Control
Journal Article
Issue 9
Volume 41
Pages 773-777
Author(s): Raschka, S., Dempster, L., Bryce, E.
Added May 2016
Risk factors associated with interfacility transfers among patients with Clostridium difficile infection
2016
American Journal of Infection Control
Journal Article
Issue 9
Volume 44
Pages 1027-1031
Author(s): Awali, R. A., Kandipalli, D., Pervaiz, A., Narukonda, S., Qazi, U., Trehan, N., Chopra, T.
Added May 2016
The Creation of a Biocontainment Unit at a Tertiary Care Hospital: The Johns Hopkins Medicine Experience
2016
Annals of the American Thoracic Society
Journal Article
Issue 5
Volume 13
Pages 600-608
Author(s): Garibaldi, B. T., Kelen, G. D., Brower, R. G., Bova, G., Ernst, N., Reimers, M., Langlotz, R., Gimburg, A., Iati, M., Smith, C., MacConnell, S., James, H., Lewin, J. J., Trexler, P., Black, M. A., Lynch, C., Clarke, W., Marzinke, M. A., Sokoll, L. J., Carroll, K. C., Parish, N. M., Dionne, K., Biddison, E. L. D., Gwon, H. S., Sauer, L., Hill, P., Newton, S. M., Garrett, M. R., Miller, R. G., Perl, T. M., Maragakis, L. L.
Prior to the 2014 Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in West Africa, the United States had only one to three specialized biocontainment units. Once the EVD crisis began, a group of reputable American healthcare institutions worked together to renovate a deactivated clinical space into a functioning biocontainment unit (BCU).
Added April 2016
Visitor characteristics and alcohol-based hand sanitizer dispenser locations at the hospital entrance: Effect on visitor use rates
2016
American Journal of Infection Control
Journal Article
Issue 3
Volume 44
Pages 258-262
Author(s): Hobbs, M. A., Robinson, S., Neyens, D. M., Steed, C.
Proper hand hygiene is one of the most effective measures in the effort to prevent transmission of nosocomial pathogens in clinical settings. Previous studies have shown how healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) could be traced back to the spread of germs from hospital employees, patients, and visitors. While there is a large body of research on improving hand hygiene compliance among healthcare workers, there is a lack of similar studies aimed towards compliance among hospital visitors.
Added March 2016
Environmental factors and their association with emergency department hand hygiene compliance: an observational study
2016
BMJ Quality & Safety
Journal Article
Issue 5
Volume 25
Pages 372-378
Author(s): Carter, E. J., Wyer, P., Giglio, J., Jia, H., Nelson, G., Kauari, V. E., Larson, E. L.
Adherence to proper hand hygiene procedures has been repeatedly shown to help prevent healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). Emergency departments (EDs) often experience environmental conditions such as crowding and subsequently end up using non-traditional patient care areas such as hallways to administer treatment. It is possible that the use of non-traditional patient care areas contributes to lower levels of hand hygiene compliance.
Added March 2016
Is single room hospital accommodation associated with differences in healthcare-associated infection, falls, pressure ulcers or medication errors? A natural experiment with non-equivalent controls
2016
Journal of Health Services Research & Policy
Journal Article
Issue 3
Volume 21
Pages 147-155
Author(s): Simon, M., Maben, J., Murrells, T., Griffiths, P.
Previous studies have associated single-patient rooms with reduced infection rates, reduced medication errors, and faster patient recovery rates. In response, an increasing number of hospitals have been shifting towards an entirely single-patient room layout. Although there are plenty of studies from the U.K. providing empirical evidence for the efficacy of single-patient rooms, the United States lacks this foundation of published research, and could therefore benefit from an outcome analysis of single-patient rooms.
Added February 2016
Effectiveness of improved hydrogen peroxide in decontaminating privacy curtains contaminated with multidrug-resistant pathogens
2014
American Journal of Infection Control
Journal Article
Issue 4
Volume 42
Pages 426-428
Author(s): Rutala, W. A., Gergen, M. F., Sickbert-Bennett, E. E., Williams, D. A., Weber, D. J.
Added January 2016
Do high-touch surfaces in public spaces pose a risk for influenza transmission? A virologic study during the peak of the 2009 influenza A(H1N1) pandemic in Geneva, Switzerland
2015
American Journal of Infection Control
Journal Article
Issue 12
Volume 43
Pages 1372-1373
Author(s): von Braun, A., Thomas, Y., Sax, H.
Added January 2016
Preparing an ICU room to welcome a critically ill patient with Ebola virus disease
2014
Intensive Care Medicine
Journal Article
Issue 1
Volume 41
Pages 118-119
Author(s): Pasquier, P., Ficko, C., Mérens, A., Dubost, C.
Ebola virus disease is a viral hemorrhagic fever that spreads through direct contact with the body fluids of an infected animal or human. Contamination may also occur through contact with items that were recently contacted by infected bodily fluids. No spread of the disease through the air has been documented. As no specific treatment or vaccine for the virus is currently available, specially coordinated medical services are necessary to control outbreaks.
Added December 2015
