If your Christmas Stocking disappointed, perhaps we can help. There were loads of fascinating articles published during 2013 that I had on my list to cover on the blog, but just ran out of time. So, rather than letting them fall into the ether, I thought I’d point you in their general direction!
New and novel aspects of environmental contamination:
- Enterococcus spp on fomites and hands indicate increased risk of respiratory illness in child care centers
- Aerosolization of Acinetobacter baumannii in a trauma ICU
- Compatibility of hydrogen peroxide vapor room decontamination with physiological monitors
- Computer keyboard covers impregnated with a novel antimicrobial polymer significantly reduce microbial contamination
- Transfer of Clostridium difficile spores by nonsporicidal wipes and improperly used hypochlorite wipes: practice + product = perfection
- Lifting the lid on toilet plume aerosol: a literature review with suggestions for future research
- The effectiveness of a single-stage versus traditional three-staged protocol of hospital disinfection at eradicating vancomycin-resistant Enterococci from frequently touched surfaces
- Intrinsic bacterial burden associated with intensive care unit hospital beds: effects of disinfection on population recovery and mitigation of potential infection risk
- Predictors of stethoscope disinfection among pediatric health care providers
- The effect of terminal cleaning on environmental contamination rates of multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii
- Are gym surfaces reservoirs for Staphylococcus aureus? A point prevalence survey
- Efficacy of different cleaning and disinfection methods against Clostridium difficile spores: importance of physical removal versus sporicidal inactivation
- Variability of Adenosine Triphosphate–Based Bioluminescence Assay Readings among Drug-Resistant Pathogens
- Microbial Assessment of High-, Medium-, and Low-Touch Hospital Room Surfaces
- Microbial contents of vacuum cleaner bag dust and emitted bioaerosols and their implications for human exposure indoors
- Women doctors’ purses as an unrecognized fomite
Which interventions work to control hospital transmission?
- Global implementation of WHO’s multimodal strategy for improvement of hand hygiene: a quasi-experimental study
- Is hand hygiene before putting on nonsterile gloves in the intensive care unit a waste of health care worker time?–a randomized controlled trial
- Interventions to reduce colonisation and transmission of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria in intensive care units: an interrupted time series study and cluster randomised trial
- Reducing the spread of Acinetobacter baumannii and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus on a burns unit through the intervention of an infection control bundle
Other:
- The importance of long-term acute care hospitals in the regional epidemiology of Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae.
- Oral DAV131, a charcoal-based adsorbent, inhibits intestinal colonization by β-lactam-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae in cefotaxime-treated mice
- Duration of carriage of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae following hospital discharge.
- Infection prevention considerations related to New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase Enterobacteriaceae: a case report
- Differences in outcome according to Clostridium difficile testing method: a prospective multicentre diagnostic validation study of C difficile infection
- Potential for transmission of spores by patients awaiting laboratory testing to confirm suspected Clostridium difficile infection
- Anti-depressant link to Clostridium difficile infection
- Low prevalence of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus carriage at hospital admission: implications for risk-factor-based vs universal screening
- Selection for qacA carriage in CC22, but not CC30, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infection isolates during a successful institutional infection control programme
- Do patients feel comfortable asking healthcare workers to wash their hands?
Photo credit: Bo Insogna.
Reflections on Infection Prevention and Control 