Discussions in Infection Control

An independent site by Lawrence F Muscarella PhD -- a national authority on the causes and prevention of healthcare-associated infections and related errors.

Category: Healthcare-Acquired Infections

Automated Endoscope Reprocessors Auxiliary Water Channel Best Practices Bronchoscopes Case Study Colonoscopes Disease Transmission Disinfection Gastrointestinal Endoscopy GI Endoscopes Healthcare-Acquired Infections Hepatitis (B and C) Viruses High-Level Disinfection HIV Infection Prevention Instrument Reprocessing Joint Commission (JCAHO) MAJ-855 Water Tube Medical Errors Risk Assessment Risk Management Root Causes Analysis Semicritical Devices

Root Cause Analysis of an Endoscope-Reprocessing Breach

April 30, 2013 Lawrence F Muscarella PhD

Initial remarks: This blog, which was written by Lawrence F. Muscarella, Ph.D. and is divided into 2 parts, discusses: a confirmed infection-control breach in a hospital’s Endoscopy Unit; the employment…

Bronchoscopes Bronchoscopy Case Study Disease Transmission Endoscope Sampling Healthcare-Acquired Infections Infection Prevention Nontuberculous Mycobacteria ("NTM") Pseudo Infections Semicritical Devices

Distinction Between a “True” and “Pseudo” Bacterial Outbreak

March 19, 2013 Lawrence F Muscarella PhD

Initial remarks: This blog by Lawrence F Muscarella, PhD, uses a question-and-answer format to reveal the difference between a true and pseudo-outbreak caused by one or more bacterium. ♦ A…

Antibiotic Therapy Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) Carbapenems Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Contact Precautions Disease Transmission Gloves and Other Personal Protective Equipment Hand Hygiene and Antisepsis Healthcare-Acquired Infections Infection Prevention Instrument Reprocessing Isolation Precautions Klebsiella pneumoniae Standard Precautions Transmission-Based Precautions

Growing National Concerns about Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae, or CRE

March 8, 2013 Lawrence F Muscarella PhD

March 8, 2013 — A number of recent newspaper reports have highlighted the growing threat for patients in hospitals, long-term acute care facilities, and nursing homes of the increasing resistance…

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September 16, 2024 Lawrence F Muscarella PhD