Becker's Hospital Review

9 INFECTION CONTROL & PATIENT SAFETY FDA clears duodenoscope designed to decrease infection risks By Maia Anderson T he FDA on Nov. 15, 2019, approved the marketing of Montvale, N.J.-based Pentax of America's new duodeno- scope design that reduces the chances of transmitting infection-causing bacteria between patients. Duodenoscopes are used in more than half a million procedures each year to treat cancerous tumors, gallstones and other gastrointestinal conditions and are critical for lifesaving care for many patients in the U.S. e device has many small parts that can be difficult to clean and can trap contaminated tissue or fluid in its crevices and transmit bacteria between patients if it's not properly cleaned and disinfected. e scope, called the Pentax Medical Video, has a sterile, disposal elevator component that is meant to reduce the number of parts that need to be cleaned and disinfected between uses. e device is intended to provide visualization and access to the upper gastrointestinal tract to treat bile duct disorders and other upper GI problems. n CMS cites Houston hospital over C-section death By Gabrielle Masson A patient at Houston-based Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital died after giving birth by cesarean sec- tion in September, the sixth preventable death in Houston hospitals in 2019, according to a CMS report cited by the Houston Chronicle. CMS issued the 405-page report Nov. 8 regarding safety deficiencies at Houston-based Harris Health System, which runs LBJ and Ben Taub Hospital. The report found the C-section patient died after her heart rate increased and never dropped. Her physicians never consulted other medical staff about the increased heart rate, and, despite having a history of high blood pressure, there was no record of the patient's blood pressure or tem- perature ever being taken. In the report, LBJ's chief of obstetrics and gynecology acknowledged these shortcomings, saying the hospi- tal needed to create a plan to better address obstetric patients' needs. In total, CMS found safety deficiencies in five areas that could put Harris Health patients in "immediate jeopardy." The agenc y removed Harris Health's immediate jeop- ardy designation after the system made several initial corrections. The health system submitted a full plan of correction to CMS Nov. 18. This is the sixth time CMS cited a Houston hospital for a preventable death in 2019, with other deaths occurring at Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center, MD Anderson Cancer Center and Ben Taub Hospital, a sister institution of LBJ. n Hospital employees' psychological safety linked to stronger infection control efforts By Mackenzie Bean H ospitals that foster high levels of psychological safety are more likely to implement comprehen- sive infection control programs with social inter- ventions that require staff feedback, according to a study published in the American Journal of Infection Control. For the study, researchers from the University of Michi- gan Medical School in Ann Arbor and the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System surveyed a random sample of infec- tion preventionists from nearly 900 hospitals nationwide in 2017. The survey included questions on hospitals' infection control program characteristics, organizational factors and psychological safety. Only 38 percent of hospitals reported high psychological safety, which refers to the shared belief that team mem- bers will not be reprimanded for raising concerns, asking questions or making mistakes. Researchers found hospitals with high psychological safe- ty were more likely to use infection prevention practices that require employees to speak up or go against the status quo. "Multiple studies have shown that organizational efforts to prevent [healthcare-associated infections] require both technical and socioadaptive interventions," the study authors said in a news release. "Ensuring that infection prevention programs are well supported may enhance safety climates and provide a platform for organizations to build a culture of psychological safety to improve patient safety." n

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