American journal of infection control
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Am J Infect Control · Oct 2014
Observational StudySubglottic secretion drainage and continuous control of cuff pressure used together save health care costs.
Preventive strategies to reduce ventilator-associated respiratory infection (VARI) include the use of an endotracheal tube incorporating a lumen for subglottic secretion drainage (SSD) and a system for continuous control of endotracheal tube cuff pressure (CCCP). The health care costs associated with the combined use of these 2 measures aimed at preventing VARI are not known, however. The objective of this study was to determine whether the simultaneous use of these 2 preventive measures for VARI could save health care costs. ⋯ The combined use of SSD and CCCP reduced the incidence of VARI and saved health care costs.
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Am J Infect Control · Oct 2014
Implementation of electronic surveillance of catheter use and catheter-associated urinary tract infection at Nurses Improving Care for Healthsystem Elders (NICHE) hospitals.
Manual surveillance of indwelling urinary catheters (IUCs) and catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) is resource intense. ⋯ A centralized electronic surveillance strategy for CAUTI is feasible and sustainable. Baseline performance of participating sites was exemplary, with very low SIRs at baseline.
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Am J Infect Control · Oct 2014
Multicenter StudySurgical site infection rates in 4 cities in Colombia: findings of the International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium (INICC).
Surgical site infections (SSIs) are a threat to patient safety. However, there are no available data on SSI rates stratified by surgical procedure (SP) in Colombia. ⋯ Compared with CDC-NHSN rates, SSIs rates in our study hospitals were higher in most types of SPs, whereas compared with INICC, they were similar in 5 of the analyzed types, and higher in 4 types. This study represents an important advance toward knowledge of epidemiology in Colombia that will allow us to introduce targeted interventions.
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Am J Infect Control · Oct 2014
Impact of self-reported guideline compliance: Bloodstream infection prevention in a national collaborative.
We sought to examine self-reported compliance with 5 evidence-based central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) prevention practices and link compliance to CLABSI rates in a national patient safety collaborative. ⋯ Our findings suggest that uptake of the 2 low-compliance practices, avoidance of the femoral site and removal of unnecessary lines, is important for reducing CLABSI rates in conjunction with other practices.
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Am J Infect Control · Oct 2014
Influence of a multifaceted intervention on central line days in intensive care units: results of a national multisite study.
Removing unnecessary central lines is a critical step in reducing risk of infection and was 1 focus of a national quality improvement collaborative. We examined if participating adult intensive care units (ICUs) reduced central line days during the project period compared with the period before implementation of the "On the CUSP: Stop BSI" program. ⋯ To keep central lines from doing patients harm, clinicians must assess the need for lines and remove them as soon as clinically advisable to halt the possibility of infection via the line. Effective communication and empowering providers to identify unnecessarily extended use of central lines could accelerate the realization, someday, of eliminating central line associated bloodstream infections in ICUs.