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 1994
Review Practice Guideline GuidelineQuality standard for assurance of measles immunity among health care workers. The Infectious Diseases Society of America.
The objective of this quality standard is to prevent nosocomial transmission of measles by assuring universal measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccination of all health care workers who lack immunity to measles. Although the primary emphasis is on health care workers in hospitals, those at other sites, such as clinics, nursing homes, and schools, are also included. It will be the responsibility of designated individuals at these institutions to implement the standard. ⋯ The Quality Standards Subcommittee of the Clinical Affairs Committee of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) developed the standard. The subcommittee was composed of representatives of the IDSA (Drs. Gross and McGowan), the Society for Hospital Epidemiology of America (Dr. Wenzel), the Surgical Infection Society (Dr. Dellinger), the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (Dr. Krause), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Dr. Martone), the Obstetrics and Gynecology Infectious Diseases Society (Dr. Sweet), and the Association of Practitioners of Infection Control (Ms. Barrett). Funding was provided by the IDSA and the other cooperating organizations. The standard is endorsed by the IDSA.
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Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol · Jan 1994
The epidemiology of needlestick and sharp instrument accidents in a Nigerian hospital.
To characterize the epidemiology of percutaneous injuries of healthcare workers (HCWs) in Ile-Ife, Nigeria. ⋯ The high frequency of percutaneous exposure to blood among HCWs in this Nigerian hospital potentially could be reduced by simple interventions at modest cost.
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Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol · Aug 1993
Prolonged and multipatient use of prefilled disposable oxygen humidifier bottles: safety and cost.
Multipatient use and prolonged use of prefilled disposable oxygen humidifier bottles (Aquapak 301, Respiratory Care, Inc., Arlington Heights, IL) were evaluated by performing microbiologic monitoring and a cost analysis on bottles used for varying numbers of patients and lengths of time. ⋯ Multipatient use and increased duration of use of disposable humidifiers result in cost savings without increasing patient risk. Restricted multipatient use of prefilled disposable oxygen humidifier bottles for a period of one month is a safe and cost-efficient practice.
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Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol · Mar 1993
Comparative StudyInstalling needle disposal boxes closer to the bedside reduces needle-recapping rates in hospital units.
To compare the proportion of recapped needles, an injury surrogate measure, in disposal boxes on two different types of hospital units, both before and after an intervention. ⋯ Environmental changes alone are an effective means of altering the risk to healthcare workers from sharp instruments. The use of needle-box counts provides a sensitive and stable instrument to measure injury surrogates and, indirectly, behavioral change in hospital workers.