This article discusses how in the US, outpatient visits have climbed steadily, to nearly a million in 2019 alone. According to the CDC’s “Guide to Infection Prevention for Outpatient Settings: Minimum Expectations for Safe Care,” the past several decades have seen a “significant shift” in health care delivery from the acute, inpatient hospital setting to a variety of outpatient and community-based settings. More than three-fourths of all operations in the US are performed in settings outside the hospital.
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected infection prevention and control (IPC) programs worldwide. In this article, the impact of COVID-19 was evaluated on the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics IPC program by measuring the volume of calls to the program, changes in healthcare-associated infection rates, and team member perceptions.
Reports of organisms harboring multiple carbapenemase genes have increased since 2010. During October 2012–April 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention documented 151 of these isolates from 100 patients in the United States. Possible risk factors included recent history of international travel, international inpatient healthcare, and solid organ or bone marrow transplantation.
This study highlights the risk of nosocomial infection of SARS-CoV-2 from patients who become infectious midway into their hospitalization. The findings also reinforce the importance of patient contact time and aerosol-generating procedures as key risk factors for HCP infection with SARS-CoV-2.
This outbreak report described how 20 patients in 8 states developed bacterial infections after receiving unapproved products marketed as treatment for conditions including chronic pain and degenerative joint conditions. Despite warnings from FDA, these products are increasingly being marketed and can expose patients to serious risks without clear benefit, including the possibility of product contamination and risks for serious infections.
This recent safety communication from FDA highlights recent healthcare outbreak activity. FDA has become increasingly aware of drug products compounded at medical offices and clinics that were prepared under insanitary conditions. FDA has also become aware of business models, such as intravenous (IV) hydration clinics, medical spas, and mobile IV infusion services, that are compounding drugs that may not meet the conditions of section 503A of the FD&C Act or comply with state regulations. Contaminated, or otherwise poor quality, compounded drug products can lead to serious patient illnesses, including death.
Unsafe injections and other healthcare exposures are described in this outbreak report. Improvements at the local and national levels in health care practices, community education, and health care provider training with an emphasis on infection prevention and control measures, could help prevent future outbreaks of HIV and other bloodborne infections in Pakistan.
A multistate investigation identified 101 patients with vaccination-associated adverse events, including 30 with confirmed nontuberculous mycobacteria infection (vaccines received included influenza; hepatitis A; pneumococcal; or tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid, and acellular pertussis vaccines). Improper vaccine storage, handling, and administration by inadequately trained personnel contributed to injection-site infections and other adverse events.
Previously reported associations between hospital-level antibiotic use and hospital-onset Clostridioides difficile infection (HO-CDI) were reexamined using 2012–2018 data from a new cohort of US acute-care hospitals. This analysis revealed significant positive associations between total, third-generation, and fourth-generation cephalosporin, fluoroquinolone, carbapenem, and piperacillin-tazobactam use and HO-CDI rates, confirming previous findings.
Peripheral venous catheters (PVCs) are one of the most frequently used medical devices. Approximately 350 million PVCs are sold in the United States each year. Patients receive PVCs in many clinical settings, including outpatient infusions, emergency medical care, and inpatient care, with 30% to 80% of hospitalized patients requiring PVC insertion during their stay.
