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At least 703 records · Page 39Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

Continuing progress in infection control in U.S. dental schools.

A survey was mailed to the deans of all U.S. dental schools in November 1988 requesting information regarding infection control instruction and protocols within the school. Fifty-five of 59 surveys were returned. Compared to results of previous surveys, schools are paying increased attention to infection control and the application of recommended protocols. The paper contrasts the 1988 data with those of surveys conducted in 1982, 1986, and 1987, and highlights remaining obstacles to implementation of infection control programs within the dental school environment.

Communicable Disease Control↗
PubMed1983

Infection control in North American dental schools.

Treatment of patients with transmissible infections is a particular concern in an institutional setting. This paper discusses the results of a questionnaire relating to infection control that was sent to all North American dental schools. The purpose of the survey was to aid in the development of a comprehensive protocol at Marquette University for treating patients with transmissible infections and, in particular, hepatitis B carriers. Currently, the dental community is reluctant to treat patients with a history of hepatitis and hepatitis B carriers. The protection offered by the recently available hepatitis B vaccine should contribute greatly to the reduction of transmission of hepatitis B. It is emphasized that the use of this vaccine in dental schools in no way obviates the need for meticulous infection control protocols.

Canada↗
PubMed2002

[Infection control in interventional radiology: good practice guideline].

PURPOSE: In 1997, two studies were performed in interventional radiology units, one of them by the CCLIN Paris-Nord and the other, by the staff of the vascular radiology department of Hautepierre Hospital of Strasbourg in collaboration with the CCLIN Est. The results have shown poor compliance with recommended infection control guidelines and standard precautions. A working group was set up by the CCLIN Paris-Nord, with radiologists, radiology technicians, nurses and infection control practitioners to elaborate guidelines for infection control practices in interventional radiology. Materials and methods. These guidelines were compiled using legislation, consensus or expert conferences, evaluations or studies which had demonstrated a benefit to prevent infectious risk. The working group also formulated its own recommendations when no pre-existing document was available. These recommendations have been categorized according to evidence of benefit in infectious risk prevention. RESULTS: Guidelines are divided in two parts. The first part describes rooms and optimal architecture of the interventional radiology unit, flows (patients, staff, material, linen and waste), type of floor and furniture surfaces, and environment of the interventional unit (air, water, room and device cleaning). The second part details staff garments, hand washing procedures according to tasks, and protection against accident for the staff (accidental blood exposure, antimitotic drugs). Recommendations have been elaborated for patients'skin preparation and equipment handling (contrast product, automatic injector, US, scanner). A proposal for work organization is made regarding nursing protocols, documents of maintenance, surveillance of medical devices.

Humans↗
PubMed2005

Nosocomial infection control in district hospitals in northern Thailand.

OBJECTIVE: To study the practice of nosocomial infection (NI) control in district hospitals. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Descriptive study using questionnaires and group discussion. RESULTS: From February-March 2002, five district hospitals in the northern region of Thailand were randomly enrolled. All members of the infection control committee (ICC) were included and data were available from 71 members (85.0%). Infection control activities were done by members of the ICC. The NI control program was designed by the Ministry of Public Health. Due to limited resources and suboptimal implementation, several defects in key elements for infection control were identified. Lack of competent personnel, inappropriate practices and lack of administrative support were the important barriers to good practice. CONCLUSION: Lack of competent personnel and inappropriate work instructions were identified. A review of a NI control program in district hospitals is needed.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Infection control: past, present, and future issues.

Primary care providers serve as role models for the prevention of nosocomial infections through membership on hospital infection-control committees and daily patient care. This article will review five fundamental infection control measures: surveillance, isolation, hand washing, disinfection, and sterilization.

Cross Infection↗
PubMed1989

Repeated prevalence surveys for monitoring effectiveness of hospital infection control.

In a 1400-bedded teaching hospital single-day prevalence surveys of hospital infection were done every six months for 3 years. The prevalence of community-acquired infection remained constant; but, after the introduction of a general infection-control policy, the prevalence of hospital-acquired infection (HAI) fell linearly from 10.5% in the second survey to 5.6% in the last. After the introduction of a specific urinary catheter care policy, the prevalence of hospital-acquired urinary tract infection (HAUTI) fell from 3.2% in the first four surveys to 2.0% in the last three. These differences persisted when the results were adjusted by logistic regression for patient risk factors, which varied between surveys: the declines for HAI and HAUTI were then 9.9% to 6.0% and 2.9% to 2.2% respectively. Infection control policies, therefore, can have substantial impact on the prevalence of HAI, and their effectiveness can readily be measured by repeated prevalence surveys.

Chi-Square Distribution↗
PubMed1991

Infection control: the premier quality assessment program in United States hospitals.

The three decennial international meetings of the Centers for Disease Control have reaffirmed the national health priority for prevention of nosocomial infections. Moreover, the past 20 years have seen the institutionalization of the infection control practitioner and hospital epidemiologist. The epidemiologic activities of these two groups have included access to medical care, identification of risk factors, and both prevention and control of adverse nosocomial events. As such, they represent experience with issues commonly referred to as quality of care. It is argued that infection control not only is now but has been from its inception the premier quality assessment program in the United States. Moreover, it is the only activity in quality assessment that has been shown to be efficacious.

Cross Infection↗
PubMed1998

Infection control concepts in critical care.

Patients with critical illnesses requiring aggressive medical intervention are at risk of acquiring serious nosocomial infection that may lead to increases in medical expenditures, morbidity, and mortality. Infection control in this population entails continuous surveillance for hospital-acquired infection, with investigation of outbreaks. Policies for effective antibiotic utilization, disinfection of medical devices and hospital environment, and patient isolation may limit nosocomial infection in this population. Finally, an effective infection control program should protect the health care worker from hospital-acquired infections through educational programs, routine health surveillance, vaccinations, and post-exposure care.

Anti-Infective Agents↗
PubMed2005

Emergency management and infection control in a radiology department during an outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome.

The World Health Organization classified Taiwan as a serious epidemic-stricken area when the extent of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Taiwan became clear. As of 11 July 2003, 671 probable SARS cases had been identified in Taiwan and 7 healthcare workers had died from the disease. Radiographers were easily infected by SARS because they had close contact with suspected or probable cases while conducting chest X-ray examinations. Three radiographers had been infected by the end of May 2003. Because of the impact of SARS on the Radiology Department, the department established a SARS emergency infection control team and re-designed the department's infection-control and emergency-management procedures based on the concept of risk-grade protection. This effort included installing a radiographic room at the fever-screening station, re-allocating human resources in the Radiology Department, training the department staff in infection control, and drafting new operational procedures for radiographers conducting X-ray examinations on SARS patients. The goal of this program was to reduce the infection rate and distribute materials efficiently in the department. This article introduces the emergency-management procedure of the Radiology Department during the SARS outbreak and the infection-protection experience of the department staff.

Disease Outbreaks↗
PubMed1995

[Current occurrence and infection control of MRSA enteritis for surgical patients in Japan (first report)].

We investigated the current occurrence and the infection control of MRSA enteritis in the surgical facilities in Japan from July 1990 to June 1992. In this two years, MRSA enteritis was encountered in 831 cases in 144 of 279 facilities (51.6%) which had replied to our survey. Frequency of onset of MRSA enteritis in the surgical specialty was 95% in abdominal surgery and general surgery. Nosocomial infection controls for MRSA infection were done in 92.1% of 261 facilities who replied to our questionnaire. Preventive control in the preoperative and postoperative periods were performed in 23.8%. Various controls for MRSA enteritis were recognized and enforced in 56.7% with restriction of postoperative antibiotics, 65.5% with environmental controls, 70.5% with preventive control for the medical staff and 42.9% with the control for the expansion of nosocomial MRSA infections.

Cross Infection↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A process evaluation of an intervention to improve respiratory infection control practices in family physician offices.

OBJECTIVE: To conduct a process evaluation of a short-term intervention by public nurses for physicians to facilitate the incorporation of new respiratory infection control practices in physicians' offices. DESIGN: Process evaluation. SETTING: Family physician offices in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. PARTICIPANTS: Five public health nurse-facilitators and 53 primary care practices including 143 family physicians. METHOD: Effectiveness of facilitator training assessed by self-administered questionnaires. Data assessing process of facilitation collected through activity logs and narrative reports. Physicians' satisfaction assessed by post-intervention questionnaire. MAIN FINDINGS: Facilitators reported that training strongly contributed to their knowledge and skills and all were either satisfied or highly satisfied with their facilitation training. All practices received at least two visits by the facilitator and more than half (51%) were visited three or more times. Facilitators identified the provision of the evidence-based Tool Kit and consensus-building with office staff as key factors contributing to the intervention's success. Of the 45% of physicians who completed the questionnaire (65/143), only 5% reported being somewhat dissatisfied with the intervention, 11% reported the visits were not frequent enough, and 9% thought the visits were too close together. The majority (97%) felt the facilitation program should be available to all family physicians and 98% would continue to use the service if available. CONCLUSIONS: It is feasible for public health nurses to be trained in outreach facilitation to improve respiratory infection control practices in physicians' offices and this has been widely appreciated by physicians. This model of public health/primary care collaboration deserves further exploration.

Clinical Competence↗
PubMed1992

[Postoperative infection control in patients with hepatic, biliary tract, and pancreatic cancers].

Postoperative infection occurs more frequently in patients with malignant disease than in patients with benign disease. Postoperative infection control in patients with hepatic cancer, biliary tract cancer and pancreatic cancer is studied. Although in patients with jaundice due to malignancy the rate of positive bacterial culture of the bile collected at the time of PTCD was low, the rate of positive bile culture increased after 10 to 14 days of PTCD. The predominant strain was Enterococcus spp., followed by Klebsiella spp., Enterobacter spp. and E. coli in that order. These bacteria isolated from the bile were considered to be causative organisms of postoperative infection. Prophylactic antibiotics after the operation for jaundice due to malignancy should be chosen based on the results of bile culture. In patients undergoing hepatectomy, which is considered to be an aseptic operation, gram positive cocci such as S. aureus was the most frequently encountered organism. On the other hand, in patients undergoing hepatectomy and intestinal anastomosis, enteric bacteria were frequently isolated from the infectious foci. In this study there were 6 cases of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) postoperative infection, 3 cases after pancreatoduodenectomy, and 3 cases after hepatectomy. Even after an aseptic operation, postoperative MRSA infection is likely to occur in patients undergoing a more invasive operation, so hospital infection control should be again emphasized.

Bacteria↗
PubMed1998

Compliance with infection-control procedures and attitudes of oral health care providers toward patients with HIV/AIDS: a synthesis of the literature.

Many publications on the knowledge, practice, and attitudes of oral health care providers can be found in the literature. This paper is a synthesis of literature on their compliance with infection-control procedures and their attitudes toward patients with HIV/AIDS. The literature indicates increased compliance with infection-control procedures. While some oral health care providers report negative attitudes toward treating patients with HIV/AIDS, their fear is decreasing, possibly due to their increased compliance with infection-control procedures and increased access to care for those with HIV/AIDS.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed2002

Infection-control basics. A common sense review for EMS personnel.

Infection-control principles and practices based on science and common sense have been around for thousands of years. They've proven effective. If you know how a disease is transmitted, then you'll know what PPE to use to block transmission. Viruses don't multiply or survive for long outside a living host, so they may be present on a given surface, but in low numbers--and most often not numbers large enough to cause infection. However, hepatitis B virus can survive up to seven days in the presence of dried blood; that's why contaminated equipment must be cleaned as soon as possible after use. If it's not possible to use PPE in a given situation or it fails, then post-exposure medical follow-up and treatment can protect you. Ensuring there's an effective communication network in place for reporting an exposure to your DO is essential. Your agency should verify that hospitals are aware of their responsibilities under the Ryan White Law to share patient testing information if an exposure event occurs. The DO's role includes working with hospitals to provide proper medical follow-up, rapid patient testing and counseling for the exposed provider. Your DO is your advocate. Each and every component of your department's exposure control plan assists in reducing the risk for acquiring an infection on the job. Risk reduction and risk management are both vital. Ultimately, the responsibility lies with you--the provider--to know infection-control principles and practice good habits.

Emergency Medical Technicians↗
PubMed2005

Infection control. A bug's life.

Everybody agrees that infection control is a serious problem and that something needs to be done about it, but nobody can agree exactly what. In this week's special report, we look at NHS plans to improve the worst MRSA record in Europe. Our Good Management special focuses on improved understanding of how to deal with clinical wastes. Plus John Williams comes to the defence of the private cleaning contractors blamed for the spread of MRSA.

Bed Occupancy↗
PubMed1990

National survey of infection control practitioners' educational needs.

The purpose of this study was to conduct a nationwide survey to determine the number of master's-prepared infection control practitioners (ICPs) and those eligible for admission to graduate programs. Continuing education needs also were assessed to determine whether they might best be met through formal education or in a continuing education format. ICPs at 3765 health care facilities listed by the American Hospital Association as having more than 100 beds were invited to participate, and 2197 usable responses were received. Respondents' perceived educational needs were categorized into the eight sections outlined by the Educational Committee of the Association for Practitioners in Infection Control (APIC). Whenever possible, demographic characteristics of subjects were compared with the findings of the 1976-1977 Study on the Efficacy of Nosocomial Infection Control; apparent shifts have occurred in age, basic educational preparation, and numbers of practitioners with advanced degrees. The major perceived educational needs of the respondents were in the areas of Management and Communication, followed by Infectious Diseases and Epidemiology and Statistics. Nationwide generalization of the results may be hampered by the skewed regional distribution of responses. ICPs, however, expressed a multiplicity of perceived educational needs in each of APIC's eight sections, which may indicate that many ICPs believe that their performance and effectiveness are hampered by knowledge deficits.

Adult↗