Update: management of patients with suspected viral hemorrhagic fever - United States

Article Abstract:

Possible cases of viral hemorrhagic fever (VHF) should be managed according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's interim recommendations published in 1995. VHF includes a group of infectious diseases that are spread through exposure to body fluids. Clinicians should adhere to the universal precautions for infection control when treating patients in the early stages of the disease. Additional barrier precautions are necessary when there is potential contact with patients' body fluids. Patients should be assigned to a private room and subjected to minimal laboratory testing. Surfaces contaminated with body fluids should be cleaned and disinfected according to standard procedures. Soiled linens should be put in leak-proof, labeled bags and decontaminated or burned. Bulk body fluids should be treated before disposal into the sanitation system. People exposed to infectious body fluids should wash the skin or flush the mucous membranes with water and seek follow-up care.

Standards, United States. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Hemorrhagic fever, Hemorrhagic fevers

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Public health: surveillance, prevention, and control of nosocomial infections

Article Abstract:

Infection surveillance and control programs may be a cost-effective method for preventing nosocomial, or hospital-acquired, infections. The four main types of nosocomial infections are those of the urinary and lower respiratory tracts, the bloodstream and surgical wound sites. The cost of a program to control the spread of nosocomial infections (about $243 million for all hospitals in the US) is outweighed by the money saved by preventing nosocomial infections. Nosocomial infections cost US hospitals about $4 billion each year. If the program reduces the number of nosocomial infections by 6% or more, the hospital will save money. All hospitals accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) were required to have infection surveillance and control programs after 1976. A 1976 study found that surveillance programs that had four essential components could reduce the rate of nosocomial infections by 32%.

Diseases, Hospital patients

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Tuberculosis control: back to the future?

Article Abstract:

Outbreaks of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) in Florida and New York between 1988 and 1991 have renewed interest in re-opening TB sanatoriums. A 1992 study found that 10% of patients in a large hospital's HIV unit had TB, and that half had acquired the infection since admission. More than half the nurses working on the same floor had a positive tuberculin test, indicating they were infected with the bacterium. The study also found inadequate air flow in the unit, which would spread the bacterium to other patients. Many TB patients are housed with other patients before their infection is known to health care workers. Health care workers should watch for the signs of TB in all patients who are at risk. Adherence to infection control guidelines published by the Centers for Disease Control should limit the spread of TB within hospitals.

Editorial, Hospitals, Tuberculosis

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