American journal of infection control
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Am J Infect Control · Nov 2013
Healthcare-associated infections studies project: an American Journal of Infection Control and National Healthcare Safety Network data quality collaboration-Ventilator-associated event 1, 2013.
This is the second case study published in a series in AJIC since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) surveillance definition update of 2013. These cases reflect some of the complex patient scenarios Infection Preventionists (IP) have encountered in their daily surveillance of health care-associated infections (HAI) using NHSN definitions. This is the first case utilizing the new NHSN Ventilator-associated Events (VAE) module and criteria.
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Am J Infect Control · Nov 2013
Efficacy of an infection control program in reducing ventilator-associated pneumonia in a Chinese neonatal intensive care unit.
Measures employed in preventing ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) in developing countries are rarely reported. This study evaluates the efficacy of an infection control program in reducing VAP in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in China. ⋯ Implementing a multifaceted infection control program resulted in a significant reduction in VAP rate with long-term effects. Such interventions could be extended to other low-income countries.
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Am J Infect Control · Nov 2013
Infection prevention in anesthesia practice: a tool to assess risk and compliance.
Transmission of bacterial and viral infections to patients from improper anesthesia infection prevention and control practices continues to be reported. "Recommendations for Infection Control for the Practice of Anesthesiology" were recently revised. The process used to develop an anesthesia infection prevention assessment tool is described. The tool is intended to encourage collaboration between infection preventionists and anesthesia providers in an effort to assess infection prevention and control practices in various health care anesthesia settings.
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Am J Infect Control · Nov 2013
Comparative StudyUnderstanding the burden of influenza infection among adults in Canadian hospitals: a comparison of the 2009-2010 pandemic season with the prepandemic and postpandemic seasons.
The degree to which the 2009-2010 influenza pandemic season differed from previous and subsequent influenza seasons in Canadian hospitals has not yet been assessed. ⋯ Among adult inpatients, the pH1N1 pandemic season differed from seasonal influenza in terms of age, vaccination status, antiviral use, and intensive care unit admission, but not in terms of 30-day mortality.
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Am J Infect Control · Nov 2013
Developing a new national approach to surveillance for ventilator-associated events: executive summary.
In September 2011, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) convened a Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia (VAP) Surveillance Definition Working Group to organize a formal process for leaders and experts of key stakeholder organizations to discuss the challenges of VAP surveillance definitions and to propose new approaches to VAP surveillance in adult patients (Table 1). The charges to the Working Group were to (1) critically review a draft, streamlined VAP surveillance definition developed for use in adult patients; (2) suggest modifications to enhance the reliability and credibility of the surveillance definition within the critical care and infection prevention communities; and (3) propose a final adult surveillance definition algorithm to be implemented in the CDC's National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN), taking into consideration the potential future use of the definition algorithm in public reporting, interfacility comparisons, and pay-for-reporting and pay-for-performance programs.