Categories: BSIs, CLABSI, HICPAC, Healthcare-associated infections
April 4th, 2011 8:21 am ET -
Naomi O’Grady, MD
Guest Author – Naomi O’Grady, MD
National Institutes of Health
Medical Director, Clinical Center’s Vascular Access and Conscious Sedation Services.
Recently, hospital-acquired infections have become an important benchmark of hospital quality and patient safety. Many hospitals are now being required to report patient safety data, and some of this data includes infection rates.
I am proud to announce the release of the updated Guideline to Prevent Intravascular Catheter Related Infections. Clinicians and infection control personnel now have the most recent published information on how to best eliminate these types of infections.
2 Comments -
Read more
Categories: Antibiotic use, BSIs, CLABSI, Healthcare-associated infections, MRSA
March 14th, 2011 1:01 pm ET -
.
John A. Jernigan, MD, MS
Author – John Jernigan, M.D.
CDC’s Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion
Today, I am proud to announce that my office is awarding $10 million for new research to five academic medical centers as part of our Prevention Epicenter grant program. This program supports efforts to develop and test innovative approaches to reducing infections in healthcare settings. It is more than research – we are taking novel discoveries and translating them into clinical practice. These efforts save lives.
We founded the Prevention Epicenter program in 1997. CDC staff work closely with academic investigators to discover solutions, and refine them so they can work to prevent infections for all healthcare settings. It has been thrilling over the years to watch the innovations in infection prevention that have come out of this program. Some of our biggest breakthroughs in infection prevention and strategies to save lives have been rooted in research of the Prevention Epicenter program.
Some of the breakthroughs that I have been particularly proud of are:
- using skin antiseptic in routine bathing of patients to prevent HAIs, including the use of chlorhexidine to prevent Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) infections,
- developing cutting edge methods for detecting HAIs such as using computer algorithms to detect bloodstream infections, and
- pioneering a new method for determining the effectiveness of HAI prevention strategies among a large group of hospitals.
1 Comment -
Read more
Categories: Antimicrobial Resistance, BSIs, CLABSI, Gram negatives, Healthcare-associated infections, Hemodialysis, MRSA, NHSN
March 2nd, 2011 4:07 pm ET -
.
Arjun Srinivasan, MD
Author – Arjun Srinivasan, MD
CDC’s Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion
As you know, bloodstream infections in patients with central lines can be deadly, killing as many as 1 in 4 patients who gets them. The newest edition of the CDC Vital Signs reports a major decrease in central-line associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) in intensive care unit (ICU) patients. This is an important triumph for patient safety and brings me a renewed sense of hope toward the elimination of HAIs. It also solidifies an expectation that infection prevention should be a priority in order to improve the safety of patients.
While progress is promising, about 60,000 bloodstream infections in patients with central lines still occurred outside of ICUs and in dialysis centers, according to our report. Much of this is preventable harm. We have to make every effort to ensure patients are protected in all healthcare facilities, all the time. So, how do we do that?
The good news is that everyone can contribute to preventing CLABSIs, no matter where the patient receives care.
4 Comments -
Read more
Categories: Antimicrobial Resistance, BSIs, CLABSI, Healthcare-associated infections, Hemodialysis, MRSA, NHSN
March 2nd, 2011 1:15 pm ET -
.
Dr. Peter Pronovost on CDC’s Vital Signs Report: Why Success was Possible
Dr. Peter Pronovost, Johns Hopkins University, provides three video commentaries on CDC’s recent Vital Signs report on central line-associated bloodstream infections in hospitals and dialysis facilities. Dr. Pronovost’s commentary is provided below. Click on the video to watch
Transcript: Why was success possible?
Success was possible because many groups partnered and worked collaboratively.
On the national level, the CDC, AHRQ, CMS, and Health and Human Services all worked together.
At the state level, state hospital associations, state health departments and quality improvement organizations united forces.
And within hospitals, ICU clinicians, infection preventionists, and hospital managers worked together.
1 Comment -
Read more
Categories: Antimicrobial Resistance, BSIs, CLABSI, Healthcare-associated infections, Hemodialysis, MRSA, NHSN
March 2nd, 2011 1:08 pm ET -
.
Dr. Peter Pronovost on CDC’s Vital Signs Report: How we can work together to leverage our success
Dr. Peter Pronovost, Johns Hopkins University, provides three video commentaries on CDC’s recent Vital Signs report on central line-associated bloodstream infections in hospitals and dialysis facilities. Dr. Pronovost’s commentary is provided below. Click on the video to watch.
Transcript: How we can work together to leverage our success
So what can we do:
“US government – work together to mature the science and develop safety programs – programs with clear evidence for best practices, programs with measures that clinicians believe are valid, programs that deliver results, programs that help clinicians believe they can truly make a difference.
States – coordinate efforts, create infrastructure to implement the science, provide technical support to hospitals seeking to measure and reduce infections, and ensure that all hospitals that have not eliminated CLABSI participate in the national program called On the CUSP: Stop BSI.
1 Comment -
Read more
