Editor's Note This study from Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong, investigates the source of an outbreak of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRA) in a general hospital due to contamination of a laundry evaporative cooler and the laundry environment. A total of 58 patients were affected in the outbreak. Their most…

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Editor's Note The COVID-19 Omicron subvariant EG.5 is now the dominant variant in the US, replacing Arcturus XBB.1.16, according to the August 4 US News & World Report. EG.5 accounts for more than 17% of new COVID-19 cases in the US in the past 2 weeks, and it is increasing…

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Editor's Note On July 14 and 15, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) hosted a virtual event, the Anesthesia Quality and Patient Safety Meeting, which brought to light new research on when to administer epidural anesthesia in the OR, an anesthesiologist-led infection prevention program reducing rates of surgical site infections…

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Editor's Note This study from the Falls Church, Virginia-based Inova Health System finds that an alternative work schedule improved work-life balance, productivity, and morale of its infection preventionists (IPs). With the surges and threats of emerging infectious diseases, the Inova Health System was dealing with a shortage of IPs and…

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Editor's Note This study, led by researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital and the American College of Surgeons, finds that a small number of surgical procedures account for a disproportionate number of surgical site infections (SSIs) in elective pediatric surgery. This multicenter analysis included SSI data from 90 hospitals and 11,689…

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Editor's Note This study by researchers from the University of Pittsburgh, UPMC Mercy, examines OR traffic monitoring with direct observation and an automated counter. Direct observations were collected during neurosurgical procedures and included OR traffic, hand hygiene, and information on the type of healthcare worker and reason for traffic. Automated…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is tracking a new COVID-19 Omicron variant, EU.1.1, that is responsible for 1.7% of new cases in the US and up to 8.7% of those in the western regions of Montana, Colorado, North and South Dakota, Wyoming, and Utah, the…

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Editor's Note The Association for Professionals in Infection Control (APIC), on June 26, announced the creation of the APIC Health Equity Fund, which will help underwrite the cost of infection prevention and control (IPC) tools and resources for underserved communities in the US. For the first 3 years, the fund…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission, on June 21, announced that there is still time to comment on its proposed new Infection Control (IC) chapter requirements for hospitals and critical access hospitals. The goal of revising the chapter is to align the IC standards and elements of performance more closely with…

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Editor's Note This study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, finds that standardized infection ratios (SIRs) were significantly higher during COVID-19 than during the prepandemic period, and the incidence of healthcare associated infections (HAIs) was elevated during periods of high COVID-19 hospitalizations. The analysis revealed elevated incidence…

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