American journal of infection control
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Am J Infect Control · Oct 2009
Risk factors for peripheral intravenous catheter infection in hospitalized patients: a prospective study of 3165 patients.
We conducted a prospective study of 6538 polyurethane peripheral intravenous (IV) catheters in 3165 hospitalized adult patients using semiquantitative culture techniques. We found that extending the scheduled catheter replacement interval from 48 to 72 hours to 72 to 96 hours was not a risk factor for local catheter infection, but that catheter insertion by personnel other than IV therapists and the use of continuous infusion to maintain catheter patency were 2 independent risk factors for infection.
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Am J Infect Control · Oct 2009
Successful prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia in an intensive care setting.
Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is one of the most common health care-associated infections (HAIs) in critical care settings. ⋯ These results suggest that reducing VAP rates to zero is a complex process that involves multiple performance measures and interventions.
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Am J Infect Control · Oct 2009
Impact of revising the National Nosocomial Infection Surveillance System definition for catheter-related bloodstream infection in ICU: reproducibility of the National Healthcare Safety Network case definition in an Australian cohort of infection control professionals.
Effective and comparable surveillance for central venous catheter-related bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) in the intensive care unit requires a reproducible case definition that can be readily applied by infection control professionals. ⋯ Further educational interventions are required to improve the discrimination of primary and secondary causes of bloodstream infection in Victorian intensive care units. Although reproducibility of the CLABSI case definition is relatively poor, adoption of the revised NHSN definition for CLABSI is likely to improve the concordance of Victorian data with international centers.
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Am J Infect Control · Oct 2009
Surveillance, control, and prevention of surgical site infections in breast cancer surgery: a 5-year experience.
We analyzed variations in surgical site infections (SSIs) during 5 years of a prospective surveillance program and investigated possible contributors to SSIs in a cohort of patients who underwent surgery for breast cancer. ⋯ After 5 years of a continuous prospective surveillance program, we were able to decrease the rate of SSIs in patients undergoing breast cancer surgery (from 33.3% in 2000 to 18.9% in 2005), identify SSI-associated risk factors, and improve the quality of care delivered to these patients.
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Am J Infect Control · Oct 2009
A fall in bloodstream infections followed a change to 2% chlorhexidine in 70% isopropanol for catheter connection antisepsis: a pediatric single center before/after study on a hemopoietic stem cell transplant ward.
Some catheter-related bloodstream infections originate from catheter connectors; therefore, improved antisepsis of these might be expected to reduce the incidence of such infections. ⋯ The introduction of chlorhexidine was followed by a profound, sustained fall in catheter-related infections. The results support the 2007 United Kingdom guidelines recommending 2% chlorhexidine in 70% isopropanol as a disinfectant of needleless connectors and hubs of central venous catheters.