Antibiotic-resistant organism (ARO) colonization rates in skilled nursing facilities (NFs) are high; hand hygiene is crucial to interrupt transmission. We aimed to determine factors associated with hand hygiene adherence in NFs and to assess rates of ARO acquisition among healthcare personnel (HCP).

HCP were observed during routine care at 6 NFs. We recorded hand hygiene adherence, glove use, activities, and time in room. HCP hands were cultured before and after patient care; patients and high-touch surfaces were cultured. HCP activities were categorized as high-versus low-risk for self-contamination. Multivariable regression was performed to identify predictors of hand hygiene adherence.

We recorded 385 HCP observations and paired them with cultures performed before and after patient care. Hand hygiene adherence occurred in 96 of 352 observations (27.3%) before patient care and 165 of 358 observations (46.1%) after patient care. Gloves were worn in 169 of 376 observations (44.9%). Higher adherence was associated with glove use before patient care (odds ratio [OR], 2.55; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.44–4.54) and after patient care (OR, 3.11; 95% CI, 1.77–5.48). Compared with nurses, certified nurse assistants had lower hand hygiene adherence (OR, 0.31; 95% CI, 0.15–0.67) before patient care and physical/occupational therapists (OR, 0.22; 95% CI, 0.11–0.44) after patient care. Hand hygiene varied by activity performed and time in the room. HCP hands were contaminated with AROs in 35 of 385 cultures of hands before patient care (0.9%) and 22 of 350 cultures of hands after patient care (6.3%).

Hand hygiene adherence in NFs remain low; it is influenced by job title, type of care activity, and glove use. Hand hygiene programs should incorporate these unique care and staffing factors to reduce ARO transmission.

Surveillance of surgical site infections (SSIs) is important for infection control and is usually performed through retrospective manual chart review. The aim of this study was to develop an algorithm for the surveillance of deep SSIs based on clinical variables to enhance efficiency of surveillance.

Retrospective cohort study (2012–2015).

A Dutch teaching hospital.

We included all consecutive patients who underwent colorectal surgery excluding those with contaminated wounds at the time of surgery. All patients were evaluated for deep SSIs through manual chart review, using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) criteria as the reference standard.

We used logistic regression modeling to identify predictors that contributed to the estimation of diagnostic probability. Bootstrapping was applied to increase generalizability, followed by assessment of statistical performance and clinical implications.

In total, 1,606 patients were included, of whom 129 (8.0%) acquired a deep SSI. The final model included postoperative length of stay, wound class, readmission, reoperation, and 30-day mortality. The model achieved 68.7% specificity and 98.5% sensitivity and an area under the receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) of 0.950 (95% CI, 0.932–0.969). Positive and negative predictive values were 21.5% and 99.8%, respectively. Applying the algorithm resulted in a 63.4% reduction in the number of records requiring full manual review (from 1,606 to 590).

This 5-parameter model identified 98.5% of patients with a deep SSI. The model can be used to develop semiautomatic surveillance of deep SSIs after colorectal surgery, which may further improve efficiency and quality of SSI surveillance.

To sustainably improve cleaning of high-touch surfaces (HTSs) in acute-care hospitals using a multimodal approach to education, reduction of barriers to cleaning, and culture change for environmental services workers.

Prospective, quasi-experimental, before-and-after intervention study.

The study was conducted in 2 academic acute-care hospitals, 2 community hospitals, and an academic pediatric and women’s hospital.

Frontline environmental services workers.

A 5-module educational program, using principles of adult learning theory, was developed and presented to environmental services workers. Audience response system (ARS), videos, demonstrations, role playing, and graphics were used to illustrate concepts of and the rationale for infection prevention strategies. Topics included hand hygiene, isolation precautions, personal protective equipment (PPE), cleaning protocols, and strategies to overcome barriers. Program evaluation included ARS questions, written evaluations, and objective assessments of occupied patient room cleaning. Changes in hospital-onset C. difficile infection (CDI) and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) bacteremia were evaluated.

On average, 357 environmental service workers participated in each module. Most (93%) rated the presentations as ‘excellent’ or ‘very good’ and agreed that they were useful (95%), reported that they were more comfortable donning/doffing PPE (91%) and performing hand hygiene (96%) and better understood the importance of disinfecting HTSs (96%) after the program. The frequency of cleaning individual HTSs in occupied rooms increased from 26% to 62% (P < .001) following the intervention. Improvement was sustained 1-year post intervention (P < .001). A significant decrease in CDI was associated with the program.

A novel program that addressed environmental services workers’ knowledge gaps, challenges, and barriers was well received and appeared to result in learning, behavior change, and sustained improvements in cleaning.

In cluster-randomized trials (CRT), groups rather than individuals are randomized to interventions. The aim of this study was to present critical design, implementation, and analysis issues to consider when planning a CRT in the healthcare setting and to synthesize characteristics of published CRT in the field of healthcare epidemiology.

A systematic review was conducted to identify CRT with infection control outcomes.

We identified the following 7 epidemiological principles: (1) identify design type and justify the use of CRT; (2) account for clustering when estimating sample size and report intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC)/coefficient of variation (CV); (3) obtain consent; (4) define level of inference; (5) consider matching and/or stratification; (6) minimize bias and/or contamination; and (7) account for clustering in the analysis. Among 44 included studies, the most common design was CRT with crossover (n = 15, 34%), followed by parallel CRT (n = 11, 25%) and stratified CRT (n = 7, 16%). Moreover, 22 studies (50%) offered justification for their use of CRT, and 20 studies (45%) demonstrated that they accounted for clustering at the design phase. Only 15 studies (34%) reported the ICC, CV, or design effect. Also, 15 studies (34%) obtained waivers of consent, and 7 (16%) sought consent at the cluster level. Only 17 studies (39%) matched or stratified at randomization, and 10 studies (23%) did not report efforts to mitigate bias and/or contamination. Finally, 29 studies (88%) accounted for clustering in their analyses.

We must continue to improve the design and reporting of CRT to better evaluate the effectiveness of infection control interventions in the healthcare setting.

To evaluate the clinical, cost-efficiency, and budgetary implications of universal versus targeted latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) screening strategies among healthcare workers (HCWs) in an intermediate tuberculosis (TB)-burden country.

Pragmatic cost-effectiveness and budget impact analysis using decision-analytic modeling.

A tertiary-care hospital in Singapore.

We compared 7 potentially implementable LTBI screening programs including universal and targeted strategies with different screening frequencies. Feasible targeting methods included stratification by country of origin (a proxy for risk of prior TB exposure) and by high-risk occupation. The clinical and financial consequences of each strategy were estimated relative to “no screening” (current practice) and compared to locally appropriate cost-effectiveness thresholds. All analyses were conducted from the hospital’s perspective over a 3-year time horizon, based on the typical hospital planning period. Parameter uncertainties were accounted for using sensitivity analyses.

In our model, relative to current practice, screening new international hires and triennial screening of existing high-risk workers is most cost-effective (US$58 per quality adjusted life year [QALY]) and decreases active TB cases from 19 to 14. Screening all new hires combined with triennial universal screening, with or without annual high-risk screening or annual universal screening, reduced active TB to a range of 19 to 6 cases, but these strategies are less cost-effective and require substantially higher expenditures.

Targeted LTBI screening for HCWs can be highly cost-effective for hospitals in settings similar to Singapore. More inclusive screening strategies (including regular universal screening) can yield better outcomes but are less efficient and may even be unaffordable.

Alternatives to skin preparation with conventional preoperative antiseptics are required because of adverse reactions and the potential emergence of resistance. Here, we present 2 phase 2 studies of ZuraGard (ZG), a novel formulation of isopropyl alcohol and functional excipients developed for preoperative skin antisepsis.

Microbial skin flora on abdominal and inguinal sites in healthy volunteers were quantitatively assessed following application of ZG versus a negative control (ZV) and a chlorhexidine/alcohol preparation, Chloraprep (CP). In trial 1, ZG administered for both recommended and abbreviated application times was compared with CP and ZV via bacterial reductions at 10 minutes, and 6 hours, 12 hours, and 24 hours following application. In trial 2, the 10-minute postapplication responder rates (RRs) for ZG, participants with abdominal ≥2 log10 per cm2, and inguinal ≥3 log10 per cm2 reductions in colony-forming units (CFU) were compared to RRs of participants treated with CP.

In trial 1, ZG at the recommended application time reduced mean bacterial counts by ~3.18 log10 CFU/cm2 and ~2.98 log10 CFU/cm2 at abdominal and inguinal sites, respectively. Qualitatively similar reductions were observed for the abbreviated ZG application time and all CP applications. Application of ZV was ineffective. In trial 2, 10-minute RRs for ZG and CP exceeded 90% at abdominal sites. At inguinal sites, RRs were 83.3% for ZG and 86.7% for CP. No skin irritation or other adverse events were observed.

ZG matched CP efficacy under these experimental conditions with immediate and persistent microbial reductions, including abbreviated application times. Further clinical studies of this novel preoperative antiseptic are merited.

To investigate a Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) outbreak event involving multiple healthcare facilities in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; to characterize transmission; and to explore infection control implications.

Outbreak investigation.

Cases presented in 4 healthcare facilities in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: a tertiary-care hospital, a specialty pulmonary hospital, an outpatient clinic, and an outpatient dialysis unit.

Contact tracing and testing were performed following reports of cases at 2 hospitals. Laboratory results were confirmed by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) and/or genome sequencing. We assessed exposures and determined seropositivity among available healthcare personnel (HCP) cases and HCP contacts of cases.

In total, 48 cases were identified, involving patients, HCP, and family members across 2 hospitals, an outpatient clinic, and a dialysis clinic. At each hospital, transmission was linked to a unique index case. Moreover, 4 cases were associated with superspreading events (any interaction where a case patient transmitted to ≥5 subsequent case patients). All 4 of these patients were severely ill, were initially not recognized as MERS-CoV cases, and subsequently died. Genomic sequences clustered separately, suggesting 2 distinct outbreaks. Overall, 4 (24%) of 17 HCP cases and 3 (3%) of 114 HCP contacts of cases were seropositive.

We describe 2 distinct healthcare-associated outbreaks, each initiated by a unique index case and characterized by multiple superspreading events. Delays in recognition and in subsequent implementation of control measures contributed to secondary transmission. Prompt contact tracing, repeated testing, HCP furloughing, and implementation of recommended transmission-based precautions for suspected cases ultimately halted transmission.

To investigate an outbreak of acute gastroenteritis caused by norovirus (NoV) in a long-term care facility (LTCF) in Portugal to describe and estimate its extent, and we implemented control measures.

Outbreak investigation.

Probable cases were residents or staff members in the LTCF with at least 1 of the following symptoms: (1) diarrhea, (2) vomiting, (3) nausea, and/or (4) abdominal pain between October 31 and December 8, 2017. Confirmed cases were probable cases with positive NoV infection detected by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and the same genotype in stool specimens.

The outbreak was caused by NoV GII.P16-GII.4 Sydney 2012 variant and affected 146 people. The highest illness rates were observed in residents (97 of 335, 29%) and nurses (16 of 83, 19%). All 11 resident wards were affected. Data on cases and their working or living areas suggest that movement between wards facilitated the transmission of NoV, likely from person to person.

The delay in the identification of the causative agent, a lack of restrictions of resident and staff movement between wards, and ineffective initial deep-cleaning procedures resulted an outbreak that continued for >1 month. The outbreak ended only after implementation of strict control measures. Recommendations for controlling future NoV outbreaks in LTCFs include emphasizing the need to control resident’s movements and to restrict visitors, timely and effective environmental cleaning and disinfection, leave of absence for ill staff, and encouraging effective hand hygiene.

Although most hospitals report very high levels of hand hygiene compliance (HHC), the accuracy of these overtly observed rates is questionable due to the Hawthorne effect and other sources of bias. In the study, we aimed (1) to compare HHC rates estimated using the standard audit method of overt observation by a known observer and a new audit method that employed a rapid (<15 minutes) “secret shopper” method and (2) to pilot test a novel feedback tool.

Quality improvement project using a quasi-experimental stepped-wedge design.

This study was conducted in 5 acute-care hospitals (17 wards, 5 intensive care units) in the Midwestern United States.

Sites recruited a hand hygiene observer from outside the acute-care units to rapidly and covertly observe entry and exit HHC during the study period, October 2016–September 2017. After 3 months of observations, sites received a monthly feedback tool that communicated HHC information from the new audit method.

The absolute difference in HHC estimates between the standard and new audit methods was ~30%. No significant differences in HHC were detected between the baseline and feedback phases (OR, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.84–1.01), but the standard audit method had significantly higher estimates than the new audit method (OR, 9.83; 95% CI, 8.82–10.95).

HHC estimates obtained using the new audit method were substantially lower than estimates obtained using the standard audit method, suggesting that the rapid, secret-shopper method is less subject to bias. Providing feedback using HHC from the new audit method did not seem to impact HHC behaviors.