BACKGROUND Recent nosocomial outbreaks have raised concern about the risk of Mycobacterium tuberculosis transmission in United States hospitals. METHODS To determine current tuberculosis (TB) infection control practices, we surveyed a sample of approximately 3000 acute care facilities about the number of patients with drug-susceptible or multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB), health care worker (HC...

OBJECTIVES To quantify differences in early-onset sepsis (EOS) evaluations, evaluation-associated resource utilization, and EOS cases detected, when comparing time periods before and after the implementation of an EOS algorithm based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2010 guidelines for prevention of perinatal Group B Streptococcus (GBS) disease. METHODS Retrospective co...

BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE Diagnosis of congenital syphilis is problematic: infants with congenital syphilis are often asymptomatic, and signs in symptomatic infants are frequently subtle and nonspecific. Furthermore, there are no readily available diagnostic tests that provide a definitive diagnosis. Previously, the diagnosis of congenital syphilis was based on a complex set of clinical and labo...

background: intravenous catheterization is a routine technique in medical centers which can cause diverse problems such as thrombophlebitis. objective: this study aimed to resolve replacement scheduling and proper cannula diameter and position issues for intravenous catheters. methods: in this 2015 experimental cohort study, 232 hospitalized patients receiving medication intravenously were asse...

Screening Strategies The goal of ending AIDS begins with diagnosis of individual people. Current treatment has made HIV infection a chronic disease by prolonging survival and preventing further transmission. Ending the epidemic will be very difficult, and only effective screening can make it remotely possible. Given this reality, the latest HIV screening guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Serv...

BACKGROUND & AIMS Isoniazid is a leading cause of liver injury but it is not clear how many cases are reported or how many clinicians and patients adhere to American Thoracic Society (ATS) guidelines. We collected data on cases of isoniazid hepatotoxicity and assessed adherence to ATS guidelines and reports to the Centers for Disease Control's (CDC) isoniazid severe adverse events program. ME...

OBJECTIVE The objective of this work was to elucidate aspects of organizational culture associated with hospital performance in perioperative antibiotic prophylaxis using quantitative data in a multicenter and multidimensional study. DESIGN Cross-sectional retrospective study using a survey data and administrative data. SETTING Eighty-three acute hospitals in Japan. PARTICIPANTS A total o...

Aspergillus spp. are ubiquitous environmental fungi that are increasingly recognized as a cause of severe illness and mortality in immunocompromised patients. More than 60 outbreaks of healthcare-associated invasive aspergillosis have been described in the English literature. Information gained from outbreak investigations, especially control measures, form the basis for current guidelines to p...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the positive predictive value (PPV) of group B Streptococcus (GBS) cultures at 35-37 weeks of gestation relative to GBS colonization status at delivery. METHODS Rectovaginal swabs from 221 women at labor in four Lisbon hospitals were collected for GBS screening according to the CDC guidelines. RESULTS The PPV was 24.4%. IAP was administered to 100% of prenatally GBS po...