ICCS Infection Prevention & Infection Control Newsletter: March 2020 (1st Half)
This issue of the ICCS Infection Prevention & Control Newsletter covers news from the first half of March. Topics include COVID-19, ECRI top patient safety concerns, nursing homes, urinary catheters and antibiotic prescribing.
Note: Catch up on news you may have missed from the latter half of February here.
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Outbreak Readiness: How Prepared is Your Facility — ICCS Founder Phenelle Segal contributed to the March issue of Healthcare Hygiene magazine.
WHO: PPE Shortage Could Increase Health Worker Risk From COVID-19 — The World Health Organization (WHO) warned of increased risk for health workers of exposure to COVID-19 and other infectious diseases due to the growing shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE).
ECRI: Sterile Processing, Antimicrobial Stewardship Top Patient Safety Concerns — Challenges concerning sterile processing and antimicrobial stewardship appeared on the ECRI Institute's "Top 10 Patient Safety Concerns for Healthcare Organizations 2020" report.
KHN: Nursing Homes Struggling With 'Basic Infection Prevention Protocols' — A Kaiser Health News (KHN) report highlighted the struggles of many nursing homes around the country with following "basic infection prevention protocols."
Coronavirus: COVID-19 Is Now Officially A Pandemic, WHO Says — On March 11, WHO officially declared the novel coronavirus a pandemic.
Study Highlights Ease of Spread of COVID-19 Viruses — COVID-19 can be spread before it causes symptoms, when it produces symptoms like those of the common cold and as many as 12 days after recovery, according to a virologic analysis.
Patients With COVID-19 May Experience GI Symptoms, Possible Fecal-Oral Transmission — Before respiratory symptoms, many COVID-19 patients had diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal discomfort, according to researchers.
As Coronavirus Spreads, Infectious Disease Doctors Suggest Travel History Be Made 5th Vital Sign — It may be time to add a fifth "vital sign" when physicians and other clinicians evaluate patients: their travel history.
Researchers Develop New Coating to Reduce Pain and Risk of Infection for Catheter Users — Researchers have developed a new antimicrobial coating which can be applied to urinary catheters to significantly reduce pain and lower infection risk.
Repeat Antibiotic Prescribing Linked to Higher Risk of Hospital Admissions — Epidemiologists have discovered an association between the number of prescriptions for antibiotics and a higher risk of hospital admissions.
Coronavirus: For Healthcare Workers, Risk of Infection, But Also Burnout — Two prominent emergency medicine physicians called for hospitals and other healthcare organizations to be vigilant and proactive in protecting healthcare workers during the coronavirus crisis.
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