American journal of infection control
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Am J Infect Control · Feb 2010
Internet survey of Foley catheter practices and knowledge among Minnesota nurses.
Although nurses insert and care for many Foley catheters, little is known about nurses' attitudes and knowledge regarding indications for catheter use or methods to prevent catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI). ⋯ Although the surveyed Minnesota RNs demonstrated high-level awareness of the utility of early Foley catheter removal for preventing CAUTI, other aspects of their catheter-related knowledge were concerning. Improving these deficits may help improve catheter-related practice.
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Am J Infect Control · Dec 2009
The Spanish national health care-associated infection surveillance network (INCLIMECC): data summary January 1997 through December 2006 adapted to the new National Healthcare Safety Network Procedure-associated module codes.
In 1997, a national standardized surveillance system (designated INCLIMECC [Indicadores Clínicos de Mejora Continua de la Calidad]) was established in Spain for health care-associated infection (HAI) in surgery patients, based on the National Nosocomial Infection Surveillance (NNIS) system. In 2005, in its procedure-associated module, the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) inherited the NNIS program for surveillance of HAI in surgery patients and reorganized all surgical procedures. ⋯ Because the ICD-9-CM surgery procedure code is included in each patient's record, we were able to reorganize our database avoiding the loss of extensive information, as has occurred with other systems.
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Am J Infect Control · Nov 2009
Previous ciprofloxacin exposure is associated with resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics in subsequent Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteremic isolates.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa cross-resistance to ceftazidime, imipenem, meropenem, piperacillin, and fluoroquinoles has been shown in experimental studies, but information regarding its impact in the clinical setting is scarce and inconsistent. The aim of this study was to assess whether previous exposure to ciprofloxacin influences on the sensitivity of those antibiotics in subsequent P aeruginosa bacteremic isolates. ⋯ P aeruginosa bacteremic isolates from patients who have been exposed to ciprofloxacin during the 30 days prior to the development of bacteremia have an increased risk of being resistant to ceftazidime, imipenem, meropenem, piperacillin-tazobactam, or ciprofloxacin and to have multidrug resistance.
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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.