C. auris outbreak traced to multi-use thermometers in NICU | Tool increases ability to predict antibiotic susceptibility | Study: Pregnant women with infection at higher risk of stroke
One of the largest outbreaks of multi-drug resistant Candida auris, which occurred in the Oxford University Hospitals' NICU, was linked to multi-use thermometers, researchers reported during the annual meeting of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. "Despite a bundle of infection-control interventions, the outbreak was only controlled following removal of the temperature probes," said researcher Dr. David Eyre.
An antibiogram using hospital and patient-specific data was more accurate in predicting antibiotic susceptibility than an antibiogram only using hospital statistics, researchers reported at the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America's conference. The study included data on more than 7,500 patients at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.
The United States scored 7.1 out of 10 on the 2018 National Health Security Preparedness Index, an improvement of nearly 11% compared to the country's score five years ago when the index was introduced. There were still certain states that lagged, but Dr. Stephen Redd, director of the CDC's Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response, said, "(t)he index helps pinpoint where cross-sector investments are paying off and how the nation can increase resilience."
Research published in JAMA Surgery showed 36% of readmissions for surgery patients likely were not related to surgical quality. Readmissions associated with surgical quality included diagnoses of infection, sepsis, pneumonia, and hemorrhage or hematoma.
Michigan hospitals are using electronic medical records and other technology to improve care in their ICUs. Henry Ford Hospital is implementing the Sick Bay software program from Medical Informatics Corp. to predict negative patient events, and Beaumont Hospital is using Epic Systems' telemedicine software with its ICU EMR.
A new hacker group known as Orangeworm has been targeting health care organizations around the world, according to Symantec. The hackers are installing back doors in systems used by health care providers, pharmaceutical companies and vendors that work for health organizations and are likely doing so for commercial purposes, Symantec says.