http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. (Medical Xpress)—Medical researchers urge vaccination this flu season as new research shows that hospital-acquired, or nosocomial, influenza is relatively uncommon, but can be severe. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-hospital-acquired-influenza-rare.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 15 Apr 2013 06:40:01 EST news285226651 (HealthDay)—Experts estimate that many tens of thousands of people in the United States die each year from medical errors, unproven treatments, bad diagnoses and preventable problems such as bedsores. Now, a federal health care agency is urging the medical world to follow 10 strategies to improve safety for patients. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-panel-patient-safety-strategies.html Health Tue, 05 Mar 2013 12:30:01 EST news281706739 Flooding can cause clinical and economic damage to a healthcare facility, but reopening a facility after extensive flooding requires infection prevention and control preparedness plans to ensure a safe environment for patients and healthcare workers. In a study published in the February issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, clinical investigators report key findings and recommendations related to the closure and re-opening of hospitals impacted by black-water floods. The guidance builds on lessons learned from Thailand and the United States. The findings come as many flood-damaged healthcare facilities in New York and New Jersey look to reopen in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-preparedness-infection-strategies.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 09 Jan 2013 14:40:59 EST news276964853 The prevention and control of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) can help reduce patient morbidity and mortality, but a common prevention effort for patients with hard to treat infections known as contact precautions, can have positive and negative impacts on patient care. A new report published in the January issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, found when patients with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and other antibiotic-resistant bacteria are isolated in the hospital, these contact precautions reduced the number of visits by healthcare workers and outside visitors, but also increased compliance with hand hygiene upon exit of patients' rooms. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-contact-precautions-shown-healthcare-workers.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 11 Dec 2012 10:54:07 EST news274445616 As the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant infections continue to rise around the world, a hospital in Canada detected the presence of New Delhi Metallo-ß-lactamase-1-Producing Klebsiella pneumoniae (NDM1-Kp), a multidrug resistant bacteria that is resistant to carbapenems, one of the last lines of antibiotics. The retrospective report, featured in the January issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, analyzes risk factors and infection control strategies taken to prevent the spread of NDM1-Kp. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-foreign-multidrug-resistant-bacteria-toronto.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 11 Dec 2012 10:52:41 EST news274445536 Poor hand hygiene is often thought to be the main cause of outbreaks of foodborne illnesses. Although it is well recognized that utensils used for food preparation can harbor bacteria, a new study by Qing Wang and her colleagues from the Center for Food Safety at the University of Georgia, USA, is the first to find that viruses can just as easily be spread by cross-contamination from utensils such as knives and graters. Their study is published in the Springer journal Food and Environmental Virology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-highlights-danger-cross-contamination-viruses-kitchen.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 06 Dec 2012 11:09:24 EST news274014552 According to a new study published online today, most patients at risk for healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) agree that healthcare workers should be reminded to wash their hands, but little more than half would feel comfortable asking their physicians to wash. The study is published in the December issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. The study points to the need for patient empowerment to improve hand hygiene of healthcare workers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-patients-shy-healthcare-workers.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 12 Nov 2012 11:10:34 EST news271941025 (Medical Xpress)—High compliance with hand hygiene and focusing on other simple infection control measures on medical, surgical and neuroscience intensive care units resulted in reduced rates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection by 95 percent in a nine-year study, according to research findings by Virginia Commonwealth University physicians presented during IDWeek 2012. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-horizontal-infection-strategy-mrsa-infections.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 24 Oct 2012 12:50:02 EST news270300167 A major three-year trial led by researchers at UCL, in partnership with the Health Protection Agency, has shown that giving one-to-one feedback to healthcare workers makes them twice as likely to clean their hands or use soap. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-personalized-feedback-healthcare-workers.html Other Tue, 23 Oct 2012 17:20:04 EST news270225195 Researchers from East Carolina University used a new technique of genotyping to identify the source of a hematology clinic outbreak of Mycobacterium mucogenicum, a gram-positive, acid-fast bacteria found in tap water. This is the first outbreak of M. mucogenicum in an ambulatory care setting; five other outbreaks have been reported in hospital settings since 1995. The study was published in the November issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-genotyping-source-clinic-infection-outbreak.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Fri, 05 Oct 2012 11:31:41 EST news268655490 According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, each year nearly 100,000 hospitalized patients die from infections acquired while undergoing treatment for other conditions. While many factors may contribute to the phenomenon, nurse staffing (i.e., the number of patients assigned to a nurse) has been implicated as a major cause. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-links-hospital-infections-nurse-burnout.html Health Thu, 27 Sep 2012 13:31:23 EST news267971472 (Medical Xpress)—A trip to a petting zoo may bring more than a smile to a child's face—it also could lead to them getting sick. That's one reason why a Kansas State University professor says that interactions between animals and the public need better oversight. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-petting-zoo-require-vigilant-disease.html Health Fri, 14 Sep 2012 07:58:49 EST news266828318 (HealthDay)—Although most health care workers (HCWs) appreciate the role of patients in preventing health care-associated infection, a considerable proportion are uncomfortable with patients asking about their hand hygiene, according to a letter published online Sept. 3 in the Archives of Internal Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-docsnurses-hygiene.html Health Mon, 10 Sep 2012 13:50:01 EST news266496964 (Medical Xpress) -- Masks and hand hygiene could cut the spread of flu-like symptoms up to 75 percent, a University of Michigan study found. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-pairing-masks-drastically-pandemic-flu.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 26 Jan 2012 07:40:44 EST news246786029 (Medical Xpress) -- The use of antimicrobial impregnated scrubs combined with good hand hygiene is effective in reducing the burden of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) on health care workers’ apparel and may potentially play a role in decreasing the risk of MRSA transmission to patients, according to a new study from Virginia Commonwealth University researchers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-antimicrobial-bacterial-burden-health-worker.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 19 Jan 2012 06:40:01 EST news246177029 Our hands are one of the chief ways we interact with our environment. Think about what you touch daily – doors, desks, food, other people, pets. Hundreds or thousands of other people have often touched the things we touch, and most of them have hands that are not sterile. People with colds or sore throats touch their mouth and nose, picking up the infectious agents on their hands. Then they transfer the infectious bacteria or virus to the surfaces they touch. Next we come along and get the germs on our own hands, touch our eyes, nose or mouth and soon are infected ourselves. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-hygiene-healthy-body.html Health Fri, 16 Dec 2011 08:50:02 EST news243247101 At a time when most new moms are bonding with their babies, Cheri Stout-Robinson was hospitalized for treatment of flesh-eating bacteria. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-war-hospital-infections.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 06 Dec 2011 09:50:01 EST news242383028 Only 21 percent of surveyed medical students could identify five true and two false indications of when and when not to wash their hands in the clinical setting, according to a study published in the December issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, the official publication of APIC - the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-medical-students.html Other Thu, 01 Dec 2011 12:31:15 EST news241964947 Healthcare workers who wear gloves while treating patients are much less likely to clean their hands before and after patient contact, according to a study published in the December issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. This failure of basic hand hygiene could be contributing to the spread of infection in healthcare settings, the researchers say. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-latex-gloves-lax-hygiene-hospitals.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 03 Nov 2011 15:06:26 EST news239551579 Researchers studying hand hygiene of healthcare workers in the emergency department found certain care situations, including bed location and type of healthcare worker performing care, resulted in poorer hand hygiene practice. The study was reported in the November issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-predictors-poor-hygiene-emergency-department.html Other Mon, 03 Oct 2011 11:28:57 EST news236860131 At any given time, one of every 20 hospital patients has a hospital-acquired infection, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-inexpensive-infection-thousands-billions-dollars.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 08 Sep 2011 10:34:51 EST news234696880 More than 60 percent of hospital nurses' and doctors' uniforms tested positive for potentially dangerous bacteria, according to a study published in the September issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, the official publication of APIC - the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-doctors-nurses-hospital-uniforms-dangerous.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 31 Aug 2011 09:50:21 EST news234003000 Increased hand hygiene knowledge positively correlates with a decreased risk of transmitting infection among both healthcare workers (HCW) and elementary school children, according to two studies published in the August issue of the American Journal of Infection Control (AJIC), the official publication of APIC - the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-hygiene-knowledge-infection-hospitals-elementary.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 04 Aug 2011 12:40:40 EST news231680148 Nurses on a surgical intensive care unit (SICU) at a large academic medical center cut bloodstream infections to zero and saved more than $200,000 during a six-month period. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-intensive-hands-on-effort-bloodstream-infections.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 28 Jun 2011 10:32:33 EST news228475945 Use of a glowing gel that shows kids how well they wash their hands by illustrating bacteria they missed while washing and may significantly improve hand hygiene, according to a study published in the July issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. What makes this particular intervention unique is where it was performed: a children's hospital emergency department waiting room. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-room-kids-handwashing.html Health Wed, 15 Jun 2011 10:50:05 EST news227353783 Fifteen percent of U.S. nursing homes receive deficiency citations for infection control per year, according to a new study published in the May issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, the official publication of APIC - the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-infection-violations-percent-nursing-homes.html Health Tue, 03 May 2011 10:36:36 EST news223637781