Outbreaks due to respiratory viruses pose a unique threat to health care as they require often significant amounts of personal protective equipment. Based upon previous modeling of severe influenza pandemics, the need for N95 filtering face piece respirators (FFRs) would range between 1.7 and 7.3 billion FFR’s, however there were only an estimated 60 million FFRs available at the time of the onset of the… Continue Reading
Category: Infection Prevention and Control
The SHEA 2021 Spring conference is here and this is your guide on where to find our UNMC ID team presenting throughout the conference, starting with pre-conference workshops. And yes, there is still time to sign up and attend! Lectures/Workshops Pre-Conference Workshop: Sharing Our Science: Using Modern Means to Get Your Message Out There; Using Twitter to amplify your research and messages – by Marcelin… Continue Reading
Originally written by Dr. Cawcutt and posted on IDSA Journal Club Despite a recommendation from the Surviving Sepsis Campaign (SSC) to procure blood cultures within the first hour after sepsis recognition, implementation of this practice been suboptimal. This prompted the implementation of routine blood culture obtainment in non-elective intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, whether infection was suspected or not, for all adult patients at a… Continue Reading
By: Kelly Cawcutt, MD, MS, FACP, FIDSA. Originally posted with CloroxPro, linked below. Biofilms play an important role in the development of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs). In my line of work, I’m often reminded of their presence when handlining central venous catheters or endotracheal tubes, but biofilms can also be present on any environmental surfaces. Biofilms are defined as a complex collection of microorganisms that attach… Continue Reading
Blood culture contamination results in prolonged hospital length of stay, inappropriate use of antibiotics, and increased cost as well as the associated adverse events such as falls, drug errors, and healthcare associated infections (adverse events that may occur during more prolonged hospital stay) and emergence of antibiotic resistance, C. difficile infection, and antibiotic side effects (adverse events associated with unnecessary antibiotic administration). However, nearly all… Continue Reading
By: Kelly Cawcutt, MD, MS, FACP, FIDSA; Sponsored by Clorox Healthcare Hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) are infections acquired during medical care and are often directly related to the use of medical devices or procedures, along with lapses in critical infection control practices such hand hygiene, and appropriate cleaning and disinfection. Every day in the US, approximately 1 in 31 patients will suffer from a HAI. These… Continue Reading
By: Kelly Cawcutt, MD, MS, FACP, FIDSA; Sponsored by Clorox Healthcare Infectious diseases remain a critical cause of morbidity, mortality and cost in all healthcare facilities including outpatient clinics, long-term care facilities and acute care facilities, such as hospitals. Infections can come from two main places – inside the hospital walls and from outside within a community. A patient can develop a community-acquired infection prior… Continue Reading
This is a continuation of this month’s #PharmToExamTable question about C. difficile treatment: What is the evidence supporting a tapered vancomycin regimen?
-Answered by Andre Wilt, PharmD 2020 Graduate of UNMC College of Pharmacy (Reviewed by Scott Bergman PharmD and Andrew Watkins PharmD)
This month’s #PharmToExamTable question was a review of Clostridioides difficile treatment guidelines:
-Answered by Andre Wilt, PharmD 2020 Graduate of UNMC College of Pharmacy (Reviewed by Scott Bergman PharmD and Andrew Watkins PharmD)
As we have lived through this pandemic as Infectious Diseases physicians and leaders in Infection Control and Employee Health, we also have encountered nearly unprecedented fear within our workplace.