Editor's Note A risk-assessment system designed to avoid harm in private industry (ie, Socio-Technical Probabilistic Risk Assessment [ST-PRA]), was used by Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)-funded researchers to identify practices likely to pose infection risks in ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs). The ST-PRA ranks failure points (events) according to…

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Editor's Note Antimicrobial-impregnated scrub clothes are not effective at reducing healthcare provider contamination, this study finds. Cultures were obtained from each of 40 ICU nurses, the healthcare environment, and patients during each shift. Nurses wore standard cotton-polyester surgical scrubs (control), scrubs that contained a complex element compound with a silver-alloy…

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Editor's Note Infection control practices that focus on perioperative patient skin and wound hygiene and transparent display of surgical site infection (SSI) data, not OR attire policies, were associated with lower SSI rates in this multi-center study. A total of 20 American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program…

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Editor's Note A research group from the Global Center for Medical Engineering and Informatics, Osaka University, has developed a self-donning and self-adjusting surgical gown called “Selfgown,” the May 16 EurekaAlert reports. The new gown comprises a special spring along the neckline instead of strings, and the inner belt is removed…

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Editor's Note A mandatory change from surgical skull caps to bouffant caps in the OR did not reduce surgical site infections (SSIs), this study finds. In this analysis of 15,000 class I (clean) surgical procedures performed 13 months before and 13 months after surgical skull caps were banned at a…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced February 15 that it will now evaluate all accredited organizations for compliance with the January 18 Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ban on powdered gloves. Citations will be listed under Leadership (LD) 04.01.01 element of performance (EP) 2: “The organization provides care, treatment and…

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Editor's Note A University of Alberta engineering professor and colleagues have invented a surgical mask that traps and kills viruses by applying a salt formulation to the mask’s filter fibers, the January 5 ScienceDaily reports. When an aerosol droplet carrying a virus contacts the treated fibers, the droplet absorbs the…

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Editor's Note Fresh white coats should be used by nurses for every shift to minimize the risk of infection, and coats should be made of fabric types that minimize microbial contamination, finds this study. The microbial load of nurses’ white coats made of a polyester cotton blend or polyester fabric…

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Editor's Note A study by Duke University researchers, which followed 40 ICU nurses, found 22 cases in which at least one of five drug-resistant bacteria was transmitted from the patient or the room to the nurse’s scrubs or from the patient to the room. The study was presented October 27 at…

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Editor's Note The American College of Surgeons (ACS) on August 4 issued a Statement on Operating Room Attire for surgeons in and out of the OR. The statement  provides detailed guidelines on wearing the skullcap in a way that ensures patient safety, facilitates enforcement of the standard on wearing scubs…

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