Gram-positive bacteria in the genus Enterococcus are a frequent cause of catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI), a disease whose treatment is increasingly challenged by multiantibiotic-resistant strains. We have recently shown that E. faecalis uses the Ebp pilus, a heteropolymeric surface fiber, to bind the host protein fibrinogen as a critical step in CAUTI pathogenesis. Fibrinoge...

Patients with long-term indwelling urinary catheters are at an increased risk for urinary tract infection due to bacteriuria. Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) are a significant source of morbidity and mortality in long-term care facilities as well as in ambulatory patients requiring long-term catheterization. There is increased interest in the financial impact of CAUTI as M...

In primary and community health care settings, long-term (> 28 days) urinary catheterisation (LTC) is most commonly used in managing older people and those with neurological conditions. Studies suggest that in the UK LTC is used in 0.5 per cent of people aged 75 or over (Kohler-Ockmore and Feneley, 1996) and in four per cent of people receiving domiciliary care (Getliffe and Mulhall, 1991). Mos...

OBJECTIVES Vascular and epidural catheter-related infections cause significant morbidities and mortality in hospitalized patients. This meta-analysis assessed the effect of chlorhexidine-impregnated dressing on the risk of vascular and epidural catheter bacterial colonization and infection. METHODS Literature search was based on MEDLINE (1966 to 1 November 2005), EMBASE and Cochrane Controlle...

methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (mrsa) is a major cause of nosocomial infections all around the world. mrsas are usually present in health care centers and hospitals. nowadays methicillin-resistant mrsas in two groups of healthcare associated mrsa (ha_mrsa) and community associated mrsa (ca_mrsa)were studied. predisposing factors for ha_mrsa infections included hemodialysis, surgery...

From the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia (C.V.G.); the Center for EvidenceBased Practice, University of Pennsylvania Health System, Philadelphia (C.A.U., R.K.A., G.K. ); and the Division of Infectious Diseases, David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles (D.A.P.). Members of HICPAC are listed at ...

Central venous catheters inserted for short-term use have become common and important devices in caring for hospitalized patients, especially the critically ill. While they have important advantages (eg, ability to administer large volumes of fluid), short-term vascular catheters are also associated with serious complications, the most common of which is infection. Intravascular catheters are o...

BACKGROUND Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) are common, morbid, and costly. Nearly 25% of hospitalized patients are catheterized yearly, and 10% develop urinary tract infections. Evidence-based guidelines exist for indwelling urinary catheter management but are not consistently followed. METHODS A pre/post intervention design was used in this quality improvement project t...