The overall incidence of both MRSA colonization and MRSA infection increased 17-fold in Canadian hospitals from 1995 to 2007. There has also been a dramatic increase in cases of community-associated MRSA infection due to the CMRSA-10 (USA300) clone. Continued surveillance is needed to monitor the ongoing evolution of MRSA colonization or infection in Canada and globally.

Health care is one of the largest contributors to waste production in the United States. Given increased awareness of the environmental and financial costs associated with waste disposal and its public health impact, many hospitals are adopting environmentally friendly practices that reduce waste production and offer equally effective, yet less expensive alternatives. Reprocessing of medical equipment is one such practice that has gained popularity in recent years and has led to major cost savings across several medical disciplines. In this commentary, we seek to take a closer look at the practice of reprocessing, explore the evidence surrounding its safety, and suggest implications of reprocessing for medical centers.

In 2006, hospital-acquired pneumonia and sepsis took 48,000 lives in the U.S. and cost $8.1 billion. Patients who contracted sepsis following surgery were about 20 percent likely to die; stayed in the hospital an average 11 days longer; and cost $32,900 per patient. Hospital-acquired pneumonia patients, meanwhile, were about 11 percent likely to die; stayed in the hospital an average 14 days longer; and cost $46,400 per patient 

ICU catheter-related infections can be prevented, a Keystone ICU initiative that kept rates at nearly zero for three years in Michigan hospitals showed. By implementing low-tech measures such as removing unnecessary catheters and handwashing, the hospitals saw no rebound in catheter-related infections, Peter J. Pronovost of Johns Hopkins and colleagues reported online in British Medical Journal. The researchers found that in the first 18 months of their initiative, catheter-related infections dropped from an average of 7.7 per 1,000 catheter days to zero. Three years later, infection rates remained near zero, with an average of 1.1 per 1,000 catheter days. The results show that hospitals are mistaken in thinking these infections are inevitable, Pronovost said.

A policy requiring influenza vaccination improves immunization rates of health care workers, a study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases found. The study, conducted by Hilary Babcock of the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and colleagues, focused on BJC Healthcare, a Midwest multihospital health care system, which implemented a mandatory influenza vaccination policy for its 26,000 employees in 2008. The policy increased the system’s vaccination rate to 98 percent, compared with 71 percent in 2007 and 54 percent in 2006, the study said. These results reveal that such policies lead to extremely high vaccination coverage rates among health care workers, the researchers said.