Collaborative effort seeks to curb hospital infections.

HOSPITAL-ACQUIREDINFECTIONSREmainapersistentproblem,affecting about 1 in 20 patients each year, according to estimates from the US Department of HealthandHuman Services.Butefforts to curb such infections have had mixed results. To achieve better results, 2 groups critical to the management of hospital-acquired infections—infection controlprofessionals, or infection preventionists (IPs), and laboratory professionals—are working together on a project to promote better collaboration between their respective professions. To improve communication between these 2 specialties, the IP Col-labboration Project (http://labproject.site .apic.org/) is using online resources, such as webinars and tools that outline best practices in such areas as sample collection and processing. The Association for Professionals in InfectionControl (APIC) and the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) are working together on the effort, which is being funded by an unrestricted grant from Roche. Initially, an e-mail survey of members of both organizations assessed how interprofessional interactions could be improved. About 1800 individuals responded (just 8.9% of the sample), most of whom work in hospitals. Furthermore, a disproportionate number of APIC members were represented among the respondents (78%). Some members of each organization may have opted not to participate because they may not work in a relevant specialty. About half of the IPs surveyed said they need to evaluate results of tests for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) within 12 hours to enable timely initiation of precautions to prevent the spread of such infections. However, it takes take 24 to 48 hours for results from MRSA cultures, a common screening method used to detect these microbes, to be finalized. Although the low response rate for the study may limit the generalizability of the results because the responses may have been skewed toward those with greater or lesser concerns, the findings suggested that greater communication between IPs and laboratory professionals may help address this issue. “Thesesurveyresultsindicatethatthere areareasfor improvementintherelationshipbetweenIPsandlabprofessionals to ensure the best patient outcomes,” said Lance Peterson, MD, an advisor to ASM and director of microbiology and infectiousdiseasesresearchatNorthShoreUniversity HealthSystem in Evanston, Ill, in a statement. Ja ni ce H ar ve y C ar r/ C D C news@JAMA From JAMA’s Daily News Site