The past month was full of interesting and attention-grabbing news and industry updates, that one could have missed in a daily routine.
Achieving High-Reliability in Flexible Endoscope High-level Disinfection | Aorn
May 5, 2019
The Periop Life sat down with the first-place poster winners in the evidence-based category presented at Global Surgical Conference & Expo 2019, authors Daniel Fedderson, BSN, RN, MAJ, AN and Kenneth Romito, MSN, RN, MAJ, AN, to learn how one perioperative team is achieving near 100% compliance with standardized processes for endoscope reprocessing. The intricate design of flexible endoscopes and multiple steps required for cleaning and high-level disinfection (HLD) make the process vulnerable to human error.
There's a right and wrong way to use cleaning wipes, apparently | Today
May 2019
Disposable disinfectant wipes may seem like a convenient way to keep your house clean and family healthy, but how effective are they? “We think of them as easy to use, but the problem is that they don’t work unless you use them properly,” Dr. Neha Pathak, a board-certified internal medicine doctor and WebMD medical editor, told TODAY Home. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “disinfection usually requires the product to remain on the surface for a certain period of time (e.g., letting it stand for 3 to 5 minutes).”
Cardiovascular Sonography is a Career Poised for Significant Growth | North Jersey
May 15, 2019
Diagnostic ultrasounds are a common, non-invasive way to help doctors detect internal bodily abnormalities and determine sources of pain or discomfort. Technicians use high-frequency sound waves to create detailed scans of organs that can be viewed on computers. Cardiovascular sonography is a specialized type of scan focused on obtaining images of the heart and vascular system. This imaging is used to detect heart conditions and residual harm to the organ after a heart attack.
Universal Late Pregnancy Ultrasound Scans Would Prevent Breech Births and Save Lives, Say University of Cambridge Researchers | Cambridge Independent
May 5, 2019
Universal late pregnancy ultrasound scans would eliminate undiagnosed breech births, reduce the rate of emergency caesarean sections and improve the health of mothers and babies, according to research led by the University of Cambridge. Researchers performed ultrasound screening at 36 weeks’ gestation for 3,879 women having their first pregnancies in England. The scans led to 179 women (4.6 per cent) being diagnosed with breech presentation. In 55 per cent of these cases, there was no prior suspicion of this.
Potential Solutions for Limiting Exposure to Candida Auris in Healthcare Facilities | MedicalXpress
May 23, 2019
Researchers show that procedures used to contain Candida auris infection in an animal facility can potentially be applied to hospitals and nursing homes to limit its spread. A new study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Healthhas established protocols for containing the drug resistant Candida auris(C. auris ) in an animal facility, and by doing so, has identified four simple rules that can potentially be adopted by healthcare facilities to limit exposure to staff and patients. The study found that their double personal protective equipment (PPE), work 'buddy' system, disinfection and biomonitoring protocols were effective at containing high levels of C. auris infection within their animal facility, even six months after their experiments.