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Antibiotic Stewardship and Neonatal Sepsis
Research & Practice
Briefs
Preterm Birth and Mood, Anxiety Disorders Contrary to findings from previously conducted research, verypreterm and very-low-birth-weight infants are not necessarily more likely to develop anxiety and mood disorders later in life, according to results from a study in Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. Researchers examined data from a prospective, geographically defined, longitudinal, whole-population study in South Bavaria, Germany, studying 200 very-preterm/very-lowbirth-weight and 197 term individuals from birth to adulthood. At age 6 years, children were not at an increased risk of any anxiety or mood disorders, but by age 8 years—after they had entered school—more children had anxiety disorders. By age 26 years, there was a tendency to have more mood disorders, such as depression, but the findings were not meaningfully different between the two groups. The researchers also found that low social support from a romantic partner mediates the risk for anxiety or mood disorders. Find the study here: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12787.
Handwashing and MRSA in the NICU Even with perfect handwashing, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) still remains a threat in the NICU, according to results from a study published in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology. Researchers say that theoretically perfect compliance with hand hygiene will not completely eliminate the chance for MRSA to spread, because the average risk reduction was 86%. Study authors focused on hand hygiene and examined transmission from newborn to newborn, with the hospital workers who come into contact with them standing as the link. They discovered that even if health workers had absolutely perfect hand hygiene, just under 1 in every 100 contacts between a neonate and a hospital worker could still result in a MRSA transmission. During the average 9-day stay, a newborn is likely to have about 250 contacts with NICU workers that carry risk for MRSA transmission. The study did show that the better hand hygiene was, the more it cut down on the spread of MRSA. The effect never quite leveled off but continued to get better as hygiene levels improved. Find the study here: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/ice.2017.116.
The Yale University School of Medicine NICU significantly reduced the number of cases of late-onset sepsis, a leading cause of death among preterm infants, by implementing guidelines designed to eliminate overuse of antibiotics, according to research published in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology. A multidisciplinary team developed the antibiotic stewardship program consisting of clinical guidelines published to the hospital-based intranet to curtail provider-to-provider variability in prescriptions, as well as a unit-wide educational effort to introduce the principles of stewardship, review guidelines, and present outcomes measures. Using electronic medical records, a daily report of all prescribed antimicrobials was reviewed by stewardship team members, providing timely prescriber oversight and feedback. As a result, health care–associated infections decreased, including evaluations for late-onset sepsis, with an average reduction of 2.65 late-onset sepsis evaluations per year and per provider. Researchers found that physicians followed clinical guidelines for prescribing antibiotics for 98.75% of treatments performed, and no infants with clinical infections developed a recurrent infection after 7 days of discontinuing their antibiotic treatment. Find the study here: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/ice.2017.151.
334
Nursing for Women’s Health
Volume 21
Issue 5
Photos © top: slovegrove, bottom: scyther5 / both from istockphoto.com
Antibiotic Stewardship and Neonatal Sepsis
Briefs
Preterm Birth and Mood, Anxiety Disorders Contrary to findings from previously conducted research, verypreterm and very-low-birth-weight infants are not necessarily more likely to develop anxiety and mood disorders later in life, according to results from a study in Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. Researchers examined data from a prospective, geographically defined, longitudinal, whole-population study in South Bavaria, Germany, studying 200 very-preterm/very-lowbirth-weight and 197 term individuals from birth to adulthood. At age 6 years, children were not at an increased risk of any anxiety or mood disorders, but by age 8 years—after they had entered school—more children had anxiety disorders. By age 26 years, there was a tendency to have more mood disorders, such as depression, but the findings were not meaningfully different between the two groups. The researchers also found that low social support from a romantic partner mediates the risk for anxiety or mood disorders. Find the study here: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12787.
Handwashing and MRSA in the NICU Even with perfect handwashing, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) still remains a threat in the NICU, according to results from a study published in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology. Researchers say that theoretically perfect compliance with hand hygiene will not completely eliminate the chance for MRSA to spread, because the average risk reduction was 86%. Study authors focused on hand hygiene and examined transmission from newborn to newborn, with the hospital workers who come into contact with them standing as the link. They discovered that even if health workers had absolutely perfect hand hygiene, just under 1 in every 100 contacts between a neonate and a hospital worker could still result in a MRSA transmission. During the average 9-day stay, a newborn is likely to have about 250 contacts with NICU workers that carry risk for MRSA transmission. The study did show that the better hand hygiene was, the more it cut down on the spread of MRSA. The effect never quite leveled off but continued to get better as hygiene levels improved. Find the study here: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/ice.2017.116.
The Yale University School of Medicine NICU significantly reduced the number of cases of late-onset sepsis, a leading cause of death among preterm infants, by implementing guidelines designed to eliminate overuse of antibiotics, according to research published in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology. A multidisciplinary team developed the antibiotic stewardship program consisting of clinical guidelines published to the hospital-based intranet to curtail provider-to-provider variability in prescriptions, as well as a unit-wide educational effort to introduce the principles of stewardship, review guidelines, and present outcomes measures. Using electronic medical records, a daily report of all prescribed antimicrobials was reviewed by stewardship team members, providing timely prescriber oversight and feedback. As a result, health care–associated infections decreased, including evaluations for late-onset sepsis, with an average reduction of 2.65 late-onset sepsis evaluations per year and per provider. Researchers found that physicians followed clinical guidelines for prescribing antibiotics for 98.75% of treatments performed, and no infants with clinical infections developed a recurrent infection after 7 days of discontinuing their antibiotic treatment. Find the study here: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/ice.2017.151.
334
Nursing for Women’s Health
Volume 21
Issue 5
Photos © top: slovegrove, bottom: scyther5 / both from istockphoto.com
Antibiotic Stewardship and Neonatal Sepsis