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  • Requiem for Beta-blockers Post-Myocardial Infarction?

    SYNOPSIS: A propensity score analysis of all hospital survivors of acute myocardial infarction in the United Kingdom from 2007-2013 showed that one-year survival in hospital patients without heart failure or left ventricular dysfunction treated with beta-blockers did not differ from survival in those patients not so treated.

  • Early Diuretic Administration Associated With Improved Survival in Acute Heart Failure Patients

    SYNOPSIS: Among patients presenting to the ED with acute heart failure, those who received the first dose of intravenous furosemide within 60 minutes of arrival demonstrated lower in-hospital mortality compared to those receiving the first dose after 60 minutes.

  • Cefazolin Leads to Better Outcomes for Methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia Than Nafcillin or Oxacillin

    SYNOPSIS: A retrospective study that included patients from 119 Veterans Affairs hospitals found lower mortality and a similar recurrence rate for methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia treated with cefazolin compared to nafcillin and oxacillin.

  • CDC Updating Measles Guidelines for HCWs

    The CDC is preparing to review its guideline for measles and healthcare workers, as the once-eradicated childhood infection spreads in ongoing outbreaks in the U.S. and Europe.

  • High-risk Patients, High-risk Infections

    If there is a worst-case scenario in infection control, it likely involves a life-threatening infection spreading in a vulnerable patient population. They don’t get much more vulnerable than babies in a neonatal ICU, or adults undergoing bone marrow transplant. With their frail immune systems compromised, central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) pose a serious threat warranting an immediate infection control response.

  • Twin Peaks: A Persistent Norovirus Outbreak

    A nasty, easily transmitted bug
    that has ruined many a cruise vacation, norovirus can cause chaotic, labor-intensive outbreaks in hospitals. In that regard, an infection preventionists recently described a norovirus outbreak that kept reigniting in different locations in a situation somewhat akin to fighting a forest fire in high wind.

  • Resistance to Change? Try Motivational Interviewing

    How do you get someone to change behavior when simply telling them to do so is met with resistance — the “righting reaction” as APIC closing plenary speaker Sanjay Saint, MD, terms it. One approach is called “motivational interviewing,” which first demonstrated efficacy in the addiction field, said Saint, director of the University of Michigan Patient Safety Enhancement Program.

  • Novel Approaches to Change Behavior and Protect Patients

    Much of infection control work — a frustrating portion to many IPs — is trying to change human behavior. One need look no further than the historic struggle with hand hygiene and the various carrots and sticks that have been dangled and cracked in the name of compliance for decades.

  • Clinical Briefs

    In this section: blood pressure readings for high-risk hypertension patients; Omega-3 fatty acids and diabetic retinopathy; and long-term diabetes control.

  • Betrixaban Capsules (Bevyxxa)

    Betrixaban is indicated for the prophylaxis of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in adult patients hospitalized for an acute medical illness who are at risk for thromboembolic complications because of moderate or severe restricted mobility and other risk factors for VTE.