Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1529883
6 INFECTION CONTROL IV nutrition shortages leave patients in limbo: What to know By Elizabeth Gregerson H urricane Helene-related IV supply shortages have le parenteral nutrition-dependent patients in limbo, according to an Oct. 18 report from KFF Health News. Here are seven things to know: 1. Two weeks aer Helene destroyed the Baxter factory in North Carolina that produced 60% of the fluid needed for parenteral nutrition, CVS announced it was closing its Coram infusion pharmacy division. 2. CVS on Oct. 8 began telling its parenteral nutrition patients they would need to find a new infusion pharmacy, according to a news release provided to KFF Health News. 3. Parenteral nutrition patients are unable to digest food and rely on IV supplies to provide nutritional fluid via catheter. ere are approximately 25,000 patients who depend on parenteral nutrition in the U.S. 4. Manpreet Mundi, MD, an endocrinologist at Rochester, Minn.- based told KFF Health News that patients can "fall ill within a day or two" without access to parenteral nutrition. Seven or eight Mayo Clinic patients were unable to be discharged because they could not find an infusion company to accept them, Dr. Mundi said. 5. e FDA is allowing U.S. compounding pharmacies to produce some of the fluids in addition to allowing emergency imports. 6. e FDA on Oct. 9 said it would allow Baxter to import emergency supplies from Canada, China, Ireland and the U.K. e military is also flying in supplies from Baxter plants overseas. Baxter is currently prioritizing hospital patients over home infusion companies, the KFF Health News report said. 7. President Joe Biden has invoked the Defense Production Act, allowing the government to prioritize rebuilding the Baxter plant. n States with highest, lowest CAUTI rates By Mariah Taylor Vermont has the highest catheter associated urinary tract infections rate in the country while North Dakota has the lowest, CDC data shows. e Healthcare-Associated Infections dataset, updated July 31, includes performance data for five types of infections collected through the CDC's National Healthcare Safety Network. e measures show how oen patients in a particular hospital contract certain infections during an inpatient stay compared to similar hospitals. e CDC calculates and publishes standardized infection ratios for each measure by state. e measures apply to all patients treated in acute care hospitals, including adult, pediatric, neonatal, Medicare and non-Medicare patients, according to the CMS data dictionary. Data was collected from October 2022 through September 2023. Here are the states with the highest and lowest CAUTI rates: Lowest North Dakota — 0.345 Kansas — 0.387 Arizona — 0.391 Arkansas — 0.4 Florida — 0.41 Highest Vermont — 1.053 Alaska — 0.981 Maine — 0.919 Oregon — 0.903 Wyoming — 0.814 n Dengue fever cases more than double 2023 total: 4 notes By Mariah Taylor T he number of dengue fever cases is now more than double the total cases from last year, ABC News reported Oct. 31. Here are four things to know: 1. In 2024, more than 6,800 cases of dengue were reported nationally, compared to 3,352 cases in 2023, the CDC found. 2. Currently, Puerto Rico has reported most of the cases at 4,200. The territory has declared a public health emergency amid the rise. 3. There are three possible reasons behind the rise in cases: warmer, wetter weather in 2024, more people traveling, and the fact that dengue is a cyclical virus that has large outbreaks every few years, federal officials said. 4. Of the 6,800 cases in 2024, 4,400 were acquired locally, meaning there was no history of travel to areas where dengue normally spreads. n