Category Archives: ID

Copper reduces hospital acquired infections

Posted on May 11, 2013 by dscheurer

The use of copper on high-touch ICU surfaces significantly reduces the risk of hospital acquired infections and MRSA/VRE colonization (abstract).

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Penicillin for cellulitis prophylaxis

Posted on May 4, 2013 by dscheurer

The large trial recruited patients with 2 or more recurrent bouts of leg cellulitis and randomized them to 12 months of penicillin (250mg BID) or placebo. Recurrence was lower in the penicillin group (22% vs 37%), with no difference in … Continue reading →

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Statins for sepsis

Posted on April 18, 2013 by dscheurer

This randomized trial of 250 patients with sepsis, who were randomized to 14 days of statin or placebo, found no difference in serum markers of inflammation, organ dysfunction scores or morality between the groups. However, they did find that among … Continue reading →

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Pneumococcal pneumonia still bad news

Posted on April 18, 2013 by dscheurer

This cohort from the VA found those confirmed with pneumococcal pneumonia had a 12% 1 month mortality, and a 10 year mortality rate of~30%, which is higher than age-matched expectations. The prognosis was worse with bacteremic disease, and with higher … Continue reading →

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Influenza spreads wide and small

Posted on April 13, 2013 by dscheurer

This study found that hospitalized influenza patients can transmit influenza particles up to 6 feet away, and the particle sizes were smaller than what could be controlled with standard surgical masks. This study calls into question the efficacy of standard … Continue reading →

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Shortage of TB skin tests

Posted on April 13, 2013 by dscheurer

The CDC has announced a nationwide shortage of TB skin tests. They are recommending deferring routine screening in low risk populations, and considering using the interferon gamma release assay blood test as an alternative screening method (CDC site).

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Coccidiomycosis on the rise

Posted on April 6, 2013 by dscheurer

This CDC report found that coccidiomycosis infections (eg “valley fever”) have increased substantially, from ~5 to 43 (per 100,000 people) in endemic regions (eg southwest US). Hospitalists should include this in the differential of flu-like illnesses in patients who have … Continue reading →

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Overcoming common barriers to CAUTI reduction

Posted on March 30, 2013 by dscheurer

This cohort of Michigan hospitals found the most common barriers to reducing CAUTI included difficulty engaging providers, family requests for foley catheters, and ED foley insertion practices. These can be overcome by incorporating CAUTI reduction in other patient safety initiatives, … Continue reading →

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CAUTI reduction feasible with preventive measures

Posted on March 30, 2013 by dscheurer

This large cohort of hospitals within and outside Michigan found hospitals within Michigan were significantly more likely to participate in CAUTI preventive measures (such as bladder scanning, removal protocols, and stop orders) compared to hospitals outside of Michigan. This coincided … Continue reading →

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Antibiotic timing and risk of SSI

Posted on March 23, 2013 by dscheurer

This large retrospective VA cohort found timing of perioperative antibiotics did not have any effect on SSIs (eg within or not within 60 minutes of skin incision). Despite longstanding public reporting for CMS, antibiotic timing does not appear to affect … Continue reading →

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