Infections

Redefining diagnostics

New molecular technologies to screen drug-resistant TB are replacing, for example, culture-based tests that are slow, require experienced personnel, and need stringent microbiological safety precautions.

Hygiene managers are not enough

‘Better hygiene’ is the frequently and loudly recommended panacea in the intensifying struggle against hospital-acquired infections (HAIs). However there are currently no evidence-based studies that evaluate the efficacy of additional hygiene measures.

Blown Away!

Even though a lot of us don’t do it, let’s say you know that washing your hands is the first, and the best thing, you can do to stop sharing nasty bugs that are especially dangerous for patients.

NICE sets new guidelines

Pointing out that it is unacceptable that some 300,000 people become adversely infected while being in the care of the UK’s National Health Service every year, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which provides national guidance and advice to improve health and social care, has launched a new set of quality standards.

Outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease requires a strong response

New cases and deaths attributable to Ebola virus disease (EVD) continue to be reported by the Ministries of Health in the three West African countries of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.

Pay-for-performance bites deep

Although nosocomial infections and medical accidents have declined, over 750 hospitals with the highest number of such cases now face penalties – amounting to an estimated $330 million a year – issued by Medicare.

Nosocomial infections

More than four million people acquire a healthcare associated infection (HAI) in the European Union (EU) annually; of these 37,000 die as a direct consequence of the infection, according to a European Centre for Disease Control 2008 estimate.

Poor management and overcrowding exacerbate MERS outbreak

“The Saudi Arabian government’s response to the new virulent Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) has recently been criticized, following high-level dismissals within the Saudi state healthcare service. Criticism has been leveled at the slowness of the government’s response to the outbreak, as well as in-fighting between physicians", says Andrew Thompson, Ph.D., GlobalData’s…

Delayed diagnoses result in high mortality

Sepsis kills around 130 patients daily In Germany alone. This systemic disease is mostly caused by bacterial pathogens, and less frequently by fungal organisms or parasites. Professor Dr Frank M Brunkhorst of the Centre of Sepsis Control and Care (CSCC), at Jena University Hospital, Germany, is seeking strategies to combat such scary figures.

Infections in joint surgery: high risk for fracture patients

Postoperative infections after knee or hip joint replacements are among the most feared complications in orthopaedic surgery. At the EFORT Congress in London current research was presented that provides new insights in this field: Fracture patients are especially vulnerable to infection. New biomarkers should improve early diagnosis of risky infections.

‘Huge progress’ in the ICU

You’ll find Élie Azoulay everywhere during this year’s International Symposium on Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine (ISICEM).

Improved catheters and biopatch

Patients in intensive care units in hospitals across the UK are benefiting from a combination of new techniques and technology with changes in clinical practice that help to dramatically cut incidences of infection.

Transplants under silent attack

The number of patients treated with implants – from cardiac pacemakers, heart valves and vascular implants to artificial hips and knees – is rising worldwide.

French bio-terrorism network of labs

Born in the USA out of the anthrax scare that followed the 9/11 attacks, the formation of a network of laboratories kept on 24/7 alert against potential bio-terrorism was introduced in France at the end of 2001.

Is copper preventing nosocomial infections?

The properties of copper in helping prevent nosocomial infections were debated this October at the Infection Prevention 2013 conference, when Professor Tom Elliott, Consultant Microbiologist at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, addressed the question: ‘Can the use of copper help prevent infection?’

Tackling MRSA

Decontaminating every patient in an intensive care unit is a far more effective approach to controlling infections in hospitals, according to a new study, Mark Nicholls reports.

Goodbye to needlestick injuries

All hospital professions can be affected by injuries resulting from cuts and needlesticks, whether they are doctors, nurses or cleaners.

Combating surgical infection risks

Shocking: Air quality checks are infrequent and insufficient in operating theatres. The good news: a new device can now measure pathogens circulating during surgical procedures, John Brosky reports

MERS-CoV: Global action needed?

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently formed an international emergency committee to decide whether Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) should be ascribed Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) status, amid reports of a lack of information from the worst affected countries.

Hygiene: Fighting infections

The motive was clear. Lowering Germany’s comparatively high nosocomial infection rate – the reason for an amendment to the Hygiene Act passed in 2011 – called for improved hygiene management within the hospitals.

Study confirms universal decolonization of ICU patients

Patients' pathogen acquisition was reduced with Chlorhexidine gluconate 2% w/v impregnated pad, and intranasal mupirocin ointment - Study published in New England Journal of Medicine confirms universal decolonization of ICU patients reduces bloodstream infections by 44%.