PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Infection control practices not adequately implemented at many hospital ICUs: study

2014-01-29
(Press-News.org) Contact information: Liz Garman
egarman@apic.org
202-454-2604
Elsevier Health Sciences
Infection control practices not adequately implemented at many hospital ICUs: study Washington, DC, January 29, 2014 – U.S. hospital intensive care units (ICUs) show uneven compliance with infection prevention policies, according to a study in the February issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, the official publication of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC).

In the largest study of its kind, researchers from Columbia University collaborated with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to undertake a nationwide survey of 1,534 ICUs at 975 hospitals as part of the larger Prevention of Nosocomial Infections and Cost Effectiveness Refined (P-NICER) study. The survey inquired about the implementation of 16 prescribed infection prevention measures at point-of-care, and clinician adherence to these policies for the prevention of central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI), ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), and catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI). These infections are among the most common infections acquired by patients in ICUs.

According to the survey, hospitals have more policies in place to prevent CLABSI and VAP, than CAUTI. The presence of infection control policies to prevent CLABSI ranged from 87 to 97 percent depending on the measure being counted; the presence of policies for VAP ranged from 69 to 91 percent; and policies for CAUTI lagged behind with only 27 to 68 percent of ICUs reporting prevention policies. The use of a checklist for CLABSI insertion practices was reported by the vast majority of hospitals (92 percent), while the use of a ventilator bundle checklist was reported by fewer hospitals (74 percent).

"Evidence-based practices related to CAUTI prevention measures have not been well implemented," state the authors. "These findings are surprising, given that CAUTI is the most frequent healthcare-associated infection. Clearly, more focus on CAUTI is needed, and dissemination and implementation studies to inform how best to improve evidence-based practices should be helpful."

In adhering to policies, many hospital ICUs fell short, according to the survey. Adherence to prevention policies ranged from 37 to 71 percent for CLABSI, 45 to 55 percent for VAP, and 6 to 27 percent for CAUTI.

"Establishing policies does not ensure clinician adherence at the bedside," state the authors. "Previous studies have found that an extremely high rate of clinician adherence to infection prevention policies is needed to lead to a decrease in healthcare-associated infections. Unfortunately, the hospitals that monitored clinician adherence reported relatively low rates of adherence."

The survey also assessed structure and resources of infection prevention and control programs, evaluating characteristics such as staffing, use of electronic surveillance systems, and proportion of infection preventionists with certification.

Healthcare-associated infections, or HAIs, are infections that people acquire while they are receiving treatment for another condition in a healthcare setting. Many of these infections occur in the ICU setting and are associated with an invasive device such as central line, ventilator, or indwelling urinary catheter. At any given time, about 1 in every 20 inpatients has an infection related to hospital care. The estimated annual costs associated with HAIs in the U.S. are up to $33 billion.

### END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

A digital test for toxic genes

2014-01-29
Like little factories, cells metabolize raw materials and convert them into chemical compounds. Biotechnologists ...

Testosterone isn't the help some hoped for when women go through menopause early

2014-01-29
CLEVELAND, Ohio (January 29, 2014)—With plummeting hormone levels, natural menopause before age 40 can put a damper on women's mental well being ...

Intuitive number games boost children's math performance

2014-01-29
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A quick glance at two, unequal groups of paper clips (or other objects) leads most people to immediately intuit which group has more. In a new study, researchers report ...

New analysis finds hempseed oil packed with health-promoting compounds

2014-01-29
Long stigmatized because of its "high"-inducing cousins, hemp — derived from low-hallucinogenic varieties of cannabis — is making a comeback, not just as a source of fiber for textiles, ...

Capitol chemistry: How Congress will alter the science landscape in 2014

2014-01-29
The Congressional agenda for 2014 includes science issues with far-reaching implications for an array of issues including public health, job growth, pharmaceutical research and energy, ...

Single gene separates queen from workers

2014-01-29
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Scientists have identified how a single gene in honey bees separates the queens from the workers. A team of scientists from Michigan State University and Wayne State University unraveled ...

Study finds mammography beneficial for younger women

2014-01-29
CLEVELAND – Researchers from University Hospitals (UH) Case Medical Center and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have published new findings in the February issue of American ...

Better sweet corn research, better production

2014-01-29
URBANA, Ill. – While grain yield is economically important in field corn production, there are other metrics more important in sweet corn grown for processing, ...

Study finds nutritional value for co-products from the human food industry in pig feed

2014-01-29
URBANA, Ill. - Co-products from the human food industry offer a lower-cost alternative to cereal grains in diets fed ...

Real glass that bends but doesn't break

2014-01-29
Normally when you drop a drinking glass on the floor it shatters. But, in future, thanks to a technique developed in McGill's Department of ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

It takes a village: Chimpanzee babies do better when their moms have social connections

From lab to market: how renewable polymers could transform medicine

Striking increase in obesity observed among youth between 2011 and 2023

No evidence that medications trigger microscopic colitis in older adults

NYUAD researchers find link between brain growth and mental health disorders

Aging-related inflammation is not universal across human populations, new study finds

University of Oregon to create national children’s mental health center with $11 million federal grant

Rare achievement: UTA undergrad publishes research

Fact or fiction? The ADHD info dilemma

Genetic ancestry linked to risk of severe dengue

Genomes reveal the Norwegian lemming as one of the youngest mammal species

Early birds get the burn: Monash study finds early bedtimes associated with more physical activity

Groundbreaking analysis provides day-by-day insight into prehistoric plankton’s capacity for change

Southern Ocean saltier, hotter and losing ice fast as decades-long trend unexpectedly reverses

Human fishing reshaped Caribbean reef food webs, 7000-year old exposed fossilized reefs reveal

Killer whales, kind gestures: Orcas offer food to humans in the wild

Hurricane ecology research reveals critical vulnerabilities of coastal ecosystems

Montana State geologist’s Antarctic research focuses on accumulations of rare earth elements

Groundbreaking cancer therapy clinical trial with US Department of Energy’s accelerator-produced actinium-225 set to begin this summer

Tens of thousands of heart attacks and strokes could be avoided each year if cholesterol-lowering drugs were used according to guidelines

Leading cancer and metabolic disease expert Michael Karin joins Sanford Burnham Prebys

Low-intensity brain stimulation may restore neuron health in Alzheimer's disease

Four-day school week may not be best for students, review finds

Using music to explore the dynamics of emotions

How the brain supports social processing as people age

Túngara frog tadpoles that grew up in the city developed faster but ended up being smaller

Where there’s fire, there’s smoke

UCLA researchers uncover key mechanism of brain repair in vascular dementia, revealing promising therapeutic target

Why Human empathy still matters in the age of AI

COVID-19 and cognitive change in a community-based cohort

[Press-News.org] Infection control practices not adequately implemented at many hospital ICUs: study