We implemented universal severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) testing of patients undergoing surgical procedures as a means to conserve personal protective equipment (PPE). The rate of asymptomatic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was <0.5%, which suggests that early local public health interventions were successful. Although our protocol was resource intensive, it prevented exposures to healthcare team members.

Selective cascade reporting of antibiotic susceptibilities did not have a significant impact on de-escalation from piperacillin-tazobactam (PT), duration of PT use, length of stay, or rates of acute kidney injury and Clostridioides difficile infection in patients with positive monomicrobial blood cultures with either Escherichia coli or Klebsiella spp.

A crossover trial was conducted to compare hand rub and hand scrub-brush methods for reducing bacterial loads when using propan-1-ol-60% according to European regulations. Both methods significantly reduced the bacterial load immediately after antisepsis, but only the hand rub method achieved significant bacterial load reduction 3 hours after the procedure.

We conducted a quasi-experimental study to evaluate a bundle to prevent nonventilator hospital-acquired pneumonia (NV-HAP) in patients on enteral tube feeding. After the intervention, there was an increase in bundle compliance from 55.9% to 70.5% (P < .01) and a significant decrease (34%) in overall NV-HAP rates from 5.71 to 3.77 of 1,000 admissions.

Vancomycin overuse is common, yet few data are available regarding how to improve stewardship of this antibiotic. We identify an association between use of a PCR assay to rule out MRSA pneumonia and a significant, sustained decrease in average vancomycin days of therapy over a 30-month period.

We describe an approach to the evaluation and isolation of hospitalized persons under investigation (PUIs) for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) at a large US academic medical center. Only a small proportion (2.9%) of PUIs with 1 or more repeated severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) after a negative NAAT were diagnosed with COVID-19.

Surgical site infection (SSI) prevention requires multiple interventions packaged into “bundles.” The implementation of all bundle elements is key to the bundle’s efficacy. A human-factors engineering approach can be used to identify key barriers and facilitators to implementing elements and develop recommendations for bundle implementation within the clinical work system.

We performed a quality improvement project to decrease utilization of multilumen peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) in favor of single-lumen PICCs and midline catheters. Through optimization of electronic orders, education and decision support, we decreased utilization of multilumen PICCs, changed provider ordering patterns, and showed a downward trend in CLABSIs.

In this cross-sectional study, we examined the relationship between resident level of care in the nursing home and colonization with resistant gram-negative bacteria. Residential-care residents were more likely to be colonized with resistant gram-negative bacteria than were postacute care residents (odds ratio, 2.3; 95% confidence interval, 1.40–3.80; P < .001).

An observational study was conducted to characterize high-touch surfaces in emergency departments and hemodialysis facilities. Certain surfaces were touched with much greater frequency than others. A small number of surfaces accounted for the majority of touch episodes. Prioritizing disinfection of these surfaces may reduce pathogen transmission within healthcare environments.

We sought to determine whether combined chemical, mechanical, and heat cleaning was superior to standard cleaning for the decontamination of 32 sink and shower drains harboring carbapenemase-producing organisms (CPOs). Of 16 intervention drains, 10 (63%) were decontaminated until day 7 versus 1 (5%) of 16 comparator drains (P = .002). Intensive cleaning may be useful if administered repeatedly in drain-associated CPO outbreaks.

Antimicrobial resistance is a major problem in India with limited understanding of whether this issue is related to systems, prescriber characteristics, patient characteristics, or diagnostic technologies. In our survey, most of the issues lie in the easy availability of antimicrobials and the lack of electronic storage of medical and microbiological records.

We performed a retrospective analysis of the changes in accuracy of International Classification of Diseases, Clinical Modification (ICD-CM) diagnosis codes for colectomy and hysterectomy surgical site infection surveillance. After the transition from ICD-CM ninth edition to tenth edition codes, there was no significant change in the accuracy of these codes for SSI surveillance.

This survey investigated diagnostic and antimicrobial stewardship practices related to molecular respiratory panel testing in adults with lower respiratory tract infections at acute care hospitals. Most respondents reported use of rapid respiratory panels, but related stewardship practices were uncommon and the real-world impact of respiratory panels were difficult to quantify.

Not all patients who acquire carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) develop infections by these organisms; many remain only colonized. Of 54 CPE-colonized patients, 16 (30%) developed CPE infections. We identified indwelling urinary catheter exposure, exposure to intravenous colistin, and overseas transfer as variables associated with CPE infection development among colonized patients.