Healthcare Associated Infections (HAI)

New data show ADA-recommended oral care for inpatients is associated with an 85% reduction in NVHAP infections at an 800-bed medical center over a year.

Cefiderocol was noninferior to high-dose, extended-infusion meropenem in terms of all-case mortality in patients with gram-negative nosocomial pneumonia and showed similar clinical and microbiological efficacy to best available therapies in carbapenem-resistant, gram-negative bacterial infections, according to 2 recently released studies.

Expansion of antimicrobial stewardship strategies to include vertical methods represents an opportunity for programs, both new and established, to further optimize antimicrobial use.

Candida auris is an emerging health care–associated multidrug-resistant fungal pathogen with public health concerns more similar to those of extensively drug-resistant bacterial pathogens than other species of Candida.

The antibacterial is efficacious in a majority of patients in a small study.

Hollis O’Neal, MD, the national primary investigator for the Cytovale early sepsis detection system, discusses sepsis and COVID-19 and provides an overview of his pilot study.

Community-acquired infections—including those associated with outpatient settings—are still problematic, authors say.

After the MODIFY trial, investigators wanted to explore how bezlotoxumab treated patients in the real world.

An electronic alert that aids in diagnostic stewardship may be helpful in reducing inappropriate testing for C diff, according to a new study.

Using enteral vancomycin for C diff prophylaxis may be the key to reducing morbidity and improving outcomes in pediatric and young adult recipients of HSCT.

Patients who had OUD and sepsis were found to be younger and healthier than patients without OUD.

System hospitals are proactive in reducing incidence of C diff infections and CLABSIs, according to study in JAMA Network Open.

The new C diff strain may turn out to be particularly severe and requires sufficient monitoring.

In a scenario where health care preparedness is key, what are the best strategies for US hospitals to pursue?

Treatment with bezlotoxumab resulted in a statistically significant reduction of recurrent C diff in cancer patients, according to a new study.

Some asymptomatic carriers of C diff went on to have clinical infection themselves within a 6-month period.

Earlier initiation of DAP-CPT combination therapy may be beneficial, despite a tendency to use the therapy after initial treatment failure.

A new study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation may offer some insight on why past efforts to develop a vaccine for S aureus have failed.

Even as hospitals try to stop health care-associated illnesses, they can often have difficulty identifying which employees are too sick to work. New research suggests a high number of health care employees work while experiencing symptoms of illness.

A team of investigators set out to identify whether a risk prediction model that was developed at Novant Health could accurately identify individuals at a high-risk for health care-associated C diff infection.

Prior to this study’s publication, the literature about pediatric C diff infection was limited.

The quick Pitt Bacteremia Score offers accuracy comparable to the original version's across multiple infections, and maintains ease of use.

Common interventions such as frequent hand washing can help stop the spread of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, according to a new study that identified household environments as a reservoir for the bacteria.

Bezlotoxumab, a human monoclonal anti­body directed against Clostridioides diffi­cile toxin B, is currently indicated for the prevention of recurrent C diffi­cile infection

In 2017, a guideline update stripped metronidazole of its first-line therapy designation and crowned oral vancomycin as initial therapy for all C difficile infection cases.

The CDC’s plan calls for 30% reduction in C diff infections, but work remains to be done.

A new study concluded physicians frequently deviate from WHO guidelines when treating children and newborns with sepsis. It’s unclear what impact such decisions have on patient outcomes.

The sepsis alert system works by monitoring changes in patients’ temperatures, heart rates, and glucose levels, and notifying clinicians of abnormalities through electronic health records.

A new rapid blood assay could help physicians to get ahead of sepsis by predicting which patients are at low, medium and high risk for the infection.