Infection control and hospital epidemiology : the official journal of the Society of Hospital Epidemiologists of America
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Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol · Mar 2008
Epidemiology of hospital-acquired infections in veterans with spinal cord injury and disorder.
To describe the epidemiology of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) in veterans with spinal cord injury and disorder (SCI&D). ⋯ The overall incidence of HAIs in persons with SCI&D was higher than that reported for other populations, confirming the increased risk of HAI in persons with spinal cord injury. The increased risk associated with longer length of stay and with community-acquired infection suggests that strategies are needed to reduce the duration of hospitalization and to effectively treat community-acquired infection, to decrease infection rates. There is significant room for improvement in reducing the incidence of HAIs in this population.
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Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol · Feb 2008
Randomized Controlled Trial Meta AnalysisRandomized controlled trial and meta-analysis of oral decontamination with 2% chlorhexidine solution for the prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia.
To determine the effectiveness of oral decontamination with 2% chlorhexidine solution for the prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). ⋯ Oral decontamination with 2% chlorhexidine solution is an effective and safe method for preventing VAP in patients who receive mechanical ventilation.
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Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol · Feb 2008
Risk of hand or glove contamination after contact with patients colonized with vancomycin-resistant enterococcus or the colonized patients' environment.
To estimate the level of hand or glove contamination with vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) among healthcare workers (HCWs) who touch a patient colonized with VRE and/or the colonized patient's environment during routine care. ⋯ HCWs were nearly as likely to have contaminated their hands or gloves after touching the environment in a room occupied by a patient colonized by VRE as after touching the colonized patient and the patient's environment. Gloves were highly protective with respect to hand contamination.
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Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol · Jan 2008
Contamination of examination gloves in patient rooms and implications for transmission of antimicrobial-resistant microorganisms .
An assessment of bacterial contamination on examination gloves indicated that contaminated gloves may be a mechanism of indirect bacterial transmission from the hands of healthcare workers to patients. This mechanism is indicated by the recovery of identical Acinetobacter baumannii isolates from gloves and from the clinical cultures of a patient with invasive infection.