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: Patient Notification

Advocate Lutheran General Hospital Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria carbapenem Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) Carbapenems Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Custom Ultrasonics Disease Transmission Endoscope Reprocessing Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) Escherichia coli Ethylene Oxide Gas Sterilization Food and Drug Administration Gastrointestinal Endoscopy GI Endoscopes Healthcare-Acquired Infections Hepatitis (B and C) Viruses High-Level Disinfection HIV Infection Prevention Klebsiella pneumoniae Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase]-producing K. pneumoniae Low-Temperature Sterilization Medical Errors Outbreak Investigations Patient Notification Pentax Risk Assessment Risk Management Veterans Health Administration

Lessons Taught by a Recent “Superbug” Outbreak: Could ‘Ex Post Facto’ Notification be Warranted?

January 21, 2014 Lawrence F Muscarella PhD

April 21, 2014 — Advocate Lutheran General Hospital (Park Ridge, IL) in 2013 linked multiple patient infections and colonizations of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, or “CRE,” to contaminated gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopes. This…

Advocate Lutheran General Hospital Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) Endoscope Reprocessing Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Glutaraldehyde Instrument Reprocessing Klebsiella pneumoniae Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase]-producing K. pneumoniae Outbreak Investigations Patient Notification Pentax

Response to a Fox News Report about a “Superbug” Outbreak at a Hospital in Illinois, 2013

January 16, 2014 Lawrence F Muscarella PhD

January 16, 2014 — The leading news source Fox News produced the insightful report: “Troubling outbreak of drug-resistant bacteria a growing threat” (January 15, 2014). While this report by Fox…

Ambulatory Surgery Centers Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Automated Endoscope Reprocessors Bedside Cleaning Best Practices Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) Cystoscopes Flexible "ENT" Laryngoscopes Glutaraldehyde Hepatitis (B and C) Viruses HIV Instrument Reprocessing Joint Commission (JCAHO) Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase]-producing K. pneumoniae ortho-phthalaldehyde Patient Notification Pseudomonas aeruginosa Risk Management Serratia spp. Sheaths Transparency

Risk of Disease Transmission during Cystoscopy: Discussion of a Specific Error in Maine

December 6, 2013 Lawrence F Muscarella PhD

December 5, 2013 —A hospital in Maine (USA) confirmed today a medical error — namely, that it had been improper cleaning cystoscopes after their use during certain urological procedures. This…

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