Becker's Hospital Review

58 CMO / CARE DELIVERY Paper towels spread less bacteria than air hand dryers in hospital bathrooms, study finds By Anuja Vaidya A study published in the Journal of Hospital Infection found bac- terial contamination was lower in washrooms where paper towels were used for hand drying than in washrooms where jet air dryers were used. The study examined hand-drying methods in hospital washrooms and whether they contributed to the risk of bacterial contamination in the hospital environment. Researchers analyzed bacterial contamination levels in washrooms where hand drying occurred either via paper towels or jet air dryers. They studied 120 sampling sessions over a 12-week period in three hospitals. The hospitals were in the United Kingdom, France and Italy. Total bacterial recovery was significantly greater from jet air dryer ver- sus paper towel dispenser surfaces at all sites. In the U.K., methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus recovery was three times more frequent and sixfold higher for jet air dryer ver- sus paper towel surfaces. Additionally, methicillin-resistant S. aureus recovery was three times more frequent from jet air dryer versus pa- per towel surfaces or floors. In France, ESBL-producing bacteria were recovered from dust twice as often during jet air dryer use compared to paper towel use. Bacterial contamination in washrooms in Italy was significantly lower than in bathrooms in France and the U.K. "Hand-drying method affects the risk of [airborne] dissemination of bacteria in real world settings," the study authors wrote. n Pennsylvania hospital makes escape room for sepsis staff training By Harrison Cook A nurse at Philadelphia-based Penn Presbyterian Medical Center created an escape room training activity to educate fellow staff on sepsis, according to ABC 6. Penn Presbyterian physicians and nurses who participated in the train- ing had to solve sepsis-related clues, just like an escape room game, to diagnose and treat a mock patient with sepsis in under one hour. The room, which contained additional medical equipment as a decoy, forced the clinicians to think critically as if the practice were a real-life situation. "This way it was more interactive, more hands-on, and people would re- tain knowledge about sepsis," Lauren McPeake, RN, nurse at Penn Medi- cine at the University of Pennsylvania Health System, told ABC 6. n Why the world could see another flu pandemic By Harrison Cook A century ago, hospitals reported an average of 100 patient deaths a day attributed to in- fluenza. e virus infected about 500 mil- lion people worldwide in 1918. While technological and scientific advancements allow for better flu de- tection, tracking and treatment, health experts said flu pandemics are likely to occur again, according to USA Today. Here are four things to know: 1. Fiy million people — about one out of every 30 humans on the planet — died during the 1918 flu pandemic. A strain of the H1N1 virus, which is ge- netically linked to birds, caused the pandemic. "Influenza viruses, with the vast silent reservoir in aquatic birds, are impossible to eradicate," the World Health Organization said. "With the growth of glob- al travel, a pandemic can spread rapidly globally with little time to prepare a public health response." 2. A pandemic could resurface again if a strain mu- tated or developed directly from an animal flu virus, the CDC said. e agency cited the lack of a world- wide vaccine and humans' weak immunity as the major contributing factors for a potential pandemic. "A global influenza pandemic is No. 1, 2, 3, and 4 on our list of the most-feared public health crises," Michael Osterholm, PhD, director of the Minneapo- lis-based University of Minnesota's Center for Infec- tious Disease Research and Policy, told USA Today. 3. However, health officials can deploy numerous safeguards that did not exist 100 years ago. For in- stance, scientists can implement systems to detect potential outbreaks worldwide, concoct vaccines faster and provide better antiviral drugs than previ- ous generations due to readily evolving technology. 4. During the 2017-18 flu season, about 80,000 peo- ple died from the flu, while 900,000 were hospital- ized. For the 2018-19 flu season, the CDC recom- mends everyone 6 months and older receive their flu shot by the end of October. n

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