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OSHA Announces COVID Inspections in Hospitals, SNFs

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has announced a temporary increase in “focused” inspections of hospitals and skilled nursing facilities that treat or handle COVID-19 patients.

APIC Research Agenda Includes Race and HAIs

With the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic exposing widespread inequities and deep-set systemic racism in healthcare, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology is planning research to address some of these critical issues, including one proposal to design a study to determine if patients of color or non-white ethnicity are at greater risk of acquiring healthcare-associated infections.

Your Brain on COVID: Damage Found in Two New Studies

Dementia and other adverse effects on the brain are occurring in some COVID-19 survivors, an ominous finding for the millions infected — even those with only mild symptoms, according to two new studies.

Misinformation Continues to Undermine Pandemic Response

Misinformation and outright lies have swept the globe during the last two years, undermining the pandemic response in hospitals and communities. In a recent call to action report, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology warned infection preventionists this phenomenon has been harmful and no doubt will occur during the next pandemic.

APIC Asks Feds for Infection Prevention Reinforcements

The leading organization for infection preventionists is trying to elevate and solidify their role in healthcare after many were dislodged from traditional duties or otherwise overwhelmed during the pandemic. The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology has issued a call to action report, which describes IPs as key players in pandemics and emergency response, as well as the longstanding wall between vulnerable patients and healthcare infections.

Mind the Gap: A Wary Shift from Pandemic to Endemic

As COVID-19 cases drop dramatically and public health officials relax masking guidelines based on the local situation, there is the temptation to assume the pandemic is over and is entering a broadly defined endemic phase.

Bebtelovimab Injection

The FDA has issued an emergency use authorization for a monoclonal antibody that demonstrated efficacy against the omicron variant of COVID-19.

VIRSTA vs. PREDICT: Which Is Best for Anticipating Endocarditis?

Researchers in Columbia put predictive scoring methods through their paces.

Importance of Exercise Testing-Associated Ventricular Ectopy

A study of asymptomatic subjects without known cardiovascular disease undergoing treadmill exercise testing and followed for a mean of 20 years showed high-grade premature ventricular contractions during exercise recovery (but not during exercise) are predictive of subsequent cardiovascular mortality.

Herpes Simplex Virus 2 Meningitis in Adults

The incidence of herpes simplex virus 2 meningitis in adults in Denmark over a six-year period was 0.7/100,000 population per year, with 91% of cases occurring in the absence of immunocompromise.