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CDC Publishes new interim guidelines for surveillance, sampling and culturing of duodenoscopes4/1/2015
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—Studies have shown that medical tapes, once opened and put into use can be sources of
contamination. In a recent study published in January 2012, which evaluated tapes collected at three hospitals in the Hunter New England Area Health Service, Harris, et al. (2012) concluded that surgical tapes are frequently contaminated with multidrug-resistant organisms. Berkowitz (1974) recovered Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and various species of Enterobacteriaceae in a seven-day study of 23 rolls of adhesive tape being used in a 16-bed intensive care unit. Wilcox, et al. (2000) studied a five-year outbreak of methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus among 202 babies in a neonatal unit in which the infection was related to an adhesive used as a skin protectant. Also, studies of mucormycosis by Alsuwaida and an extensive literature review of 169 mucormycosis cases by Rammaert, et al. (2012) identified instances in which adhesive bandages were the source of contamination. Additional studies of medical tapes and cross-contamination have been published by Dickinson (1998) and Everett (1979). —Source: Infection Control Today - January 22, 2013  The term "CRE" was barely a blip on most hospitals' radar before the CDC highlighted the emerging infection, carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae. Of 3,918 acute care facilities performing surveillance for CRE, only 145 short-stay and 36 long-term hospitals had reported cases as of last June. But though the bug has been uncommon in hospital settings so far, four factors make it extremely worrisome, CDC experts say:
•1. It kills half of patients whose bloodstreams become infected. •2. It is resistant to nearly all antibiotics. •3 It is increasingly seen in acute care settings. •4. It spreads quickly within and across healthcare settings through central line associated bloodstream or catheter associated urinary tract infections. CRE was found in 1.2% hospitals in the country in 2001, but in 2011 and the first six months of 2012, it was in 4.6% of acute care hospitals. It is now in 18% of long-term care hospitals, and has been detected in hospitals in 42 states. http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/content/QUA-291756/Deadly-CRE-Infection-Spreading-Fast-in-Hospitals.html##  •Numerous healthcare industry associations, including the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI), Association of perioperative Registered Nurses (AORN) and the International Association of Healthcare Central Service Materiel Management (IAHCSMM), have issued guidelines and recommendations on when and how to use IUSS (see sidebar below), but in reality, facilities often use this sterilization method outside these parameters to compensate for limited time, money and staff resources.•Most facilities are using IUSS for turnover, whether it’s turnover of their own sets, one-of-a-kind instruments where they don’t have enough, or loaner/vendor trays. The current ‘word on the street’ is that IUSS is now seen in a negative light. In the past, it was just something one HAD to do to compensate for the lack of inventory. Today it is seen as a failure to uphold the standard of care for all patients. This practice, if improperly used, is now thought to be an associated risk factor for surgical site infections, the reporting of which can have a negative effect on a healthcare facility.
•http://www.hpnonline.com/inside/2013-09/CS-ImmUse.html |
AuthorMaureen Spencer, RN, M.Ed., CIC is an Infection Preventionist Consultant in the Boston area. She has more than 40 years experience in the field and is board certified in infection control. You may learn more at www.maureenspencer.com ArchivesCategories |
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