Infection control and hospital epidemiology : the official journal of the Society of Hospital Epidemiologists of America
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Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol · Jan 1998
Surgical-site infection rates in patients who undergo elective surgery on the same day as their hospital admission.
To follow over time surgical-site infection (SSI) rates in patients admitted to the hospital on the same day as their elective surgery (group I), and to compare these rates with those of other surgical patients who also required postoperative hospitalization but either were hospitalized for 1 or more days immediately prior to surgery or underwent surgery on a nonelective basis (group II). ⋯ As a whole, the SSI rates among patients undergoing elective surgery on the same day of their hospital admission is no longer significantly lower than that of other patients who also require postoperative hospitalization. For certain procedures, such as those commonly performed on the neurosurgical service, elimination of preoperative hospital stay may be associated with greater-than-expected risk of SSI.
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Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol · Jan 1998
The epidemiology of hemorrhage related to cardiothoracic operations.
To define the epidemiology, risk factors, and unadjusted cost of hemorrhages related to cardiothoracic operations. ⋯ Our definition of hemorrhage identified patients who required increased volumes of blood products and who had an increased crude mortality rate and a higher unadjusted cost of hospitalization. Patient age and hetastarch use were risk factors for hemorrhage. Efforts to save money by substituting less expensive products inadvertently may increase costs by increasing the probability of perioperative adverse events.
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Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol · Dec 1997
Multiply antibiotic-resistant gram-negative bacilli in a long-term-care facility: a case-control study of patient risk factors and prior antibiotic use.
To determine the relation between prior exposure to specific antimicrobials and acquisition of gram-negative bacilli resistant to multiple beta-lactam and aminoglycoside antibiotics among long-term-care patients. ⋯ In our long-term-care facility, acquisition of multiply resistant Enterobacteriaceae was associated with the presence of decubitus ulcers and prior exposure to ampicillin. Acquisition of resistant P aeruginosa was associated with total antibiotic exposure. Molecular typing of P aeruginosa isolates implicated patient-to-patient transmission of a limited number of resistant strains.
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Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol · Nov 1997
Epidemiological study of hospital-acquired infection with vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium: possible transmission by an electronic ear-probe thermometer.
Clonal spread of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium among seven patients on one ward of a community teaching hospital was identified by contour-clamped homogeneous electric-field gel electrophoresis. Environmental cultures isolated the same strain from the handle of a shared electronic ear-probe thermometer. Cross-contamination of the clonal strain between two geographically separate units on this ward, sharing equipment but not personnel, suggests the possibility of an environmental source.
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Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol · Sep 1997
Exclusion of noninfectious medical waste from the contaminated waste stream.
The purpose of this study was to determine whether any waste was labeled incorrectly as infectious or contained material that could be recycled. Waste generated in preparation for surgery was separated and weighed. Of 530 lbs of operating room waste, 40 lbs were noninfectious, largely plastic and paper. The results of the present study suggest a segment of waste can be removed from the contaminated stream, potentially reducing hospital costs and improving our environment.