A patient with severe burns who was colonized by multiresistant Acinetobacter baumannii was cared for in contact isolation by staff intensively trained on hospital hygiene. Of the 1,907 post-exposure cultures from the staff and 425 environmental samples, only 0.7% and 4%, respectively, yielded this microorganism. These data show that strict hygienic measures may limit staff colonization and contamination of the environment by A baumannii.

Gloves, worn by the surgical team to prevent transmission of infections from and to patients, are prone to tears and perforations. This study was done to determine the frequency and sites of unrecognized glove perforation during surgical procedures. The percentage of glove perforation was 14%. Of the punctures, 73% occurred in one of four contiguous locations on the glove. We recommend glove reinforcement at these locations to provide better protection, as well as to reduce the burden of double gloving.

Unlike hepatitis B virus and human immunodeficiency virus, there currently are no immunization or chemoprophylactic interventions available to prevent infection after an occupational exposure to hepatitis C virus (HCV). A “Reality Check” session was held at the 4th Decennial International Conference on Nosocomial and Healthcare-Associated Infections to gather information on current practices related to management of occupational exposures to HCV, generate discussion on controversial issues, and identify areas for future research. Infection control professionals in attendance were knowledgeable in most issues addressed regarding the management of occupational exposures to HCV. Areas of controversy included the use of antiviral therapy early in the course of HCV infection and the appropriate administrative management of an HCV-infected healthcare worker.

Establishing a clinical diagnosis of infection in residents of long-term–care facilities (LTCFs) is difficult. As a result, deciding when to initiate antibiotics can be particularly challenging. This article describes the establishment of minimum criteria for the initiation of antibiotics in residents of LTCFs. Experts in this area were invited to participate in a consensus conference. Using a modified delphi approach, a questionnaire and selected relevant articles were sent to participants who were asked to rank individual signs and symptoms with respect to their relative importance. Using the results of the weighting by participants, a modification of the nominal group process was used to achieve consensus. Criteria for initiating antibiotics for skin and soft-tissue infections, respiratory infections, urinary infections, and fever where the focus of infection is unknown were developed.

We investigated the frequency and patterns of biological-monitoring–test contamination and the effect of contamination on the growth of test organisms. Overall, the contamination rate was 0.81%, but the rate of contamination varied significantly by sterilization method. Contamination did not appear to inhibit growth of test organisms.