Infection control and hospital epidemiology : the official journal of the Society of Hospital Epidemiologists of America
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Hospital Ebola preparation is underway in the United States and other countries; however, the best approach and resources involved are unknown. ⋯ Hospital Ebola preparations required extraordinary resources, which were diverted from routine infection prevention activities. Patients being evaluated for Ebola faced delays and potential limitations in management of other diseases that are more common in travelers returning from West Africa.
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Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol · May 2015
Multicenter Study Comparative Study Clinical TrialInterferon-γ release assay vs. tuberculin skin test for tuberculosis screening in exposed healthcare workers: a longitudinal multicenter comparative study.
Healthcare workers (HCWs), especially those caring for patients with tuberculosis (TB), are at high risk of acquiring that disease. The poor specificity of tuberculin skin testing (TST) prompted us to evaluate the effectiveness of the interferon-γ release assay (IGRA) in comparison with TST in a large prospective, multicenter, 1-year study of HCWs with occupational exposure to TB. ⋯ TST and the IGRA yielded discordant results. The value of IGRA in addition to TST remains undetermined; the two should be jointly interpreted in decision-making (clinical trial registration NCT00797836).
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Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol · Apr 2015
Observational StudyCentral line-associated bloodstream infections in non-ICU inpatient wards: a 2-year analysis.
Little is known about patient-specific factors contributing to central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) outside of the intensive care unit (ICU). We sought to describe these factors and hypothesized that dialysis patients would comprise a significant proportion of this cohort. ⋯ In patients with CLABSIs outside of the ICU, only 10.6% received dialysis prior to infection. However, underlying hematologic malignancy, neutropenia, and PICC lines were highly prevalent in this population.
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Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol · Apr 2015
Antibiotic prescribing at the transition from hospitalization to discharge: a target for antibiotic stewardship.
Of 300 patients prescribed oral antibiotics at the time of hospital discharge, urinary tract infection, community-acquired pneumonia, and skin infections accounted for 181 of the treatment indications (60%). Half of the prescriptions were antibiotics with broad Gram-negative activity. Discharge prescriptions were inappropriate in 79 of 150 cases reviewed (53%).