American journal of infection control
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Am J Infect Control · May 2013
Practices to prevent multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Thailand: a national survey.
Multidrug-resistant organisms (MDRO) are increasing challenges for health care institutions worldwide, and there are many factors associated with their distribution. ⋯ Multifaceted interventions to reduce, if not prevent, MDR-AB and MRSA were infrequently reported from Thai hospitals. Our survey findings provide baseline data for IPC interventions for MDR-AB and MRSA. Future efforts that correlate IPC interventions and MDRO trends will help develop evidence-based practices in these resource-limited settings.
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Whereas monitoring adherence to hand hygiene (HH) guidelines is standard practice in most acute care facilities, practice improvement has been slow. In hospitals primarily concerned with reputation, incentives to report high HH rates may create negative consequences. Practice change will require increased staff engagement and more sustainable methods to monitor HH and provide feedback.
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Am J Infect Control · May 2013
ReviewDisinfectants used for environmental disinfection and new room decontamination technology.
Environmental contamination plays an important role in the transmission of several key health care-associated pathogens. Effective and thorough cleaning/disinfecting of the patient environment is essential. Room decontamination units (such as ultraviolet-C and hydrogen peroxide systems) aid in reducing environmental contamination after terminal room cleaning and disinfection.
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Am J Infect Control · May 2013
ReviewAssessing the risk of disease transmission to patients when there is a failure to follow recommended disinfection and sterilization guidelines.
Medical devices that enter body tissues should be sterile, whereas devices that contact mucous membranes should be high-level disinfected between patients. Failure to ensure proper cleaning and sterilization or disinfection may lead to patient-to-patient transmission of pathogens. This paper describes a protocol that can guide an institution in managing potential disinfection and sterilization failures.