Posts Tagged ‘Acute Healthcare’
Arguing for routine disinfection of the healthcare environment
A new review in the Journal of Infection Prevention by Dr Evonne Curran and colleagues sets out the arguments for and against the routine use of disinfectants in the healthcare environment. The review dispels some of the common arguments used against the routine use of disinfectants in the healthcare environment, and presents a novel risk-based…
Read MoreThe risk of keyboard contamination
Computer keyboards are a potential contamination risk in the hospital setting. A new systematic review of the literature concludes that computer keyboards are frequently contaminated and that more studies are required to understand the risk they pose and effective and practical methods to prevent and reduce contamination. Computer equipment in hospital settings, such as keyboards, mice, and…
Read MoreReducing HCAI through improved training and education
A new randomised controlled intervention study published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases by Professor Brett Mitchell and a group of Australia researchers reports that introducing an environmental cleaning bundle reduced the rate of HCAI. A new randomised controlled intervention study published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases by Professor Brett Mitchell and a group of Australia researchers reports…
Read MoreFour steps to clean hospitals
Drs Stephanie Dancer and Alex Kramer, two of the biggest names in hospital cleaning and disinfection, have joined forces to write a review in the Journal of Hospital Infection, setting out four steps to clean hospitals. First LOOK, then PLAN, next CLEAN, and finally DRY. The authors identified a gap in the literature: no articles offer a…
Read MoreNew insights into C. difficile transmission
A review paper published in Clinical Microbiology and Infection discusses current trends in our understanding of C. difficile transmission. How much C. difficile infection we see is as a result of transmission within hospitals. How much is explained by acquisition of C. difficile prior to hospitalisation? Evidence is emerging and difficult to interpret, but it seems that more C. difficile infection that we once thought…
Read MoreHow worried should we be about biocide resistance?
We all know the issues with antibiotic resistance: no matter how quickly we develop new antibiotics, resistance develops and the antibiotics are no longer useful clinically. Biocides are different, as outlined in a recent review paper: resistance is slower to develop, more subtle, and usually less important clinically. But it does happen – more with some…
Read MoreThe impact of an environmental hygiene intervention in reducing the spread of viruses in an office building
Have you suspected your office colleague in giving you that cold? Well, this study suggests that sometimes, you might be right, and that a hygiene intervention including the use of hand sanitising wipes can help to reduce the changes of virus spread in an office setting. The study was performed in an office building in which around…
Read MoreEmergency! Addressing contamination with antibiotic-resistant bacteria in ambulances
The last thing you need if you require the services of an emergency ambulance is exposure to antibiotic-resistant bacteria from contaminated surfaces. A recent US study suggests that this is commonplace, finding MRSA environmental contamination in every single emergency ambulance tested! These findings reinforce the need for thorough cleaning and disinfection of emergency ambulances. The study team…
Read MoreSink drains as a risk for CPE
There is increasing evidence that sink drains can be contaminated with CPE and that this environmental contamination can find its way onto patients. A new study from the US found that contamination of sink drains with CPE and with carbapenemases was commonplace, and that proximity to toilets was an important predictor of drain contamination. The study was…
Read MorePutting disinfectants through their paces using Candida auris dry surface biofilm efficacy testing
Candida auris is a high-profile emerging pathogen, which has caused large outbreaks both in the UK and elsewhere. C. auris can causes widespread environmental contamination, and isn’t susceptible to all disinfectants. This new study from Cardiff University extends previous findings by developing a dry surface biofilm efficacy testing model for C. auris. Worryingly, half of the disinfectants tested barely touched the C. auris in…
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