Becker's Clinical Quality & Infection Control

13 INFECTION PREVENTION Mayo Clinic Reduces C. diff Infections 30% Using UV Light Disinfection By Heather Punke R ochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic was able to reduce Clostridium difficile infection rates by 30 percent by adding pulsed xenon ultraviolet light disinfection robots to the patient room cleaning process. According to a Mayo Clinic News Network video, the hospital tested UV light robots for six months in one unit and compared C. diff rates in that unit to a control. Implementing the devices led to a 30 percent drop in C. diff, but did add 25 minutes to room turnover time. "But a C. difficile infection can result in three extra hospital days, so we figured the 25 minutes was a bargain," said Priya Sampathkumar, MD, chair of Mayo Clinic's infection control committee, in the video. Now, Mayo Clinic uses the UV robots for every discharge in their high-risk units, and has potential plans to expand their use into operating rooms and equipment storage rooms. n C. diff Infections Raise Hospital Costs 40% Per Case, Increase Length of Stay By Heather Punke Clostridium difficile infections increase hospital costs by 40 percent for each case, and also put patients at higher risk for readmission and longer lengths of stay, according to a study in the American Journal of Infection Control. "In the last 15 years, C. diff hospitalizations have increased by more than 200 percent," said Glenn Magee, lead author of the study. "Al- though it's commonly known that C. diff contributes to high costs and less than ideal outcomes, this study is the first to provide a complete look at how much of an impact it has on U.S. hospitals and patients." The study, conducted by Premier, involved analyzing patient discharges between January 2009 and December 2011 from the Premier Healthcare Database, examining length of stay, total inpa- tient costs, readmissions and inpatient mortality associated with C. diff-associated diarrhea. The results showed that patients with C. diff, when compared to patients without, experienced: • A 77 percent higher chance of being readmitted within 30 days • A 55 percent longer hospital stay • A 13 percent higher risk of mortality Additionally, Premier found C. diff contributed to a 40 percent in- crease in cost per case, with an average of $7,285 in additional costs. "This research highlights an infection that providers should be paying extra attention to in order to keep patients safe and avoid unnecessary costs, including payment penalties," said Gina Pugliese, RN, vice president of the Premier Safety Institute. According to Ms. Pugliese, some tactics to avoid C. diff infections include instituting antimicrobial stewardship initiatives, optimizing clinical surveillance analytics to track infections and sharing best practices. n Study Uncovers New Best Practices to Avoid CLABSIs in Pediatric Patients By Max Green A lthough there are widely accept- ed evidence-based practices for decreasing rates of central-line associated bloodstream infections, includ- ing hand hygiene and insertion techniques, some practices are variable and have limit- ed published evidence to back them up. A study in Pediatrics has identified additional best practices for the care and maintenance of central venous catheters in order to avoid CLABSIs, leading to a reduction of such infections by 19 percent among 17 partici- pating children's hospitals. e 17 participating hospitals are part of the Children's Hospitals Neonatal Database, which is the nation's only clinical outcomes database geared toward improving quater- nary care for infants in hospital neonatal intensive care units. e study results support a recommen- dation to incorporate sterile tubing change along with hub care compliance monitoring for further reduction in NICU CLABSI rates, which could reduce infection rates by 1.25 per 1,000 line days, according to the authors. "We've made progress over the years in reducing the rate of these dangerous and costly infections, but we knew we could do better," Eugenia Pallotto, MD, neonatologist and NICU medical director at Children's Mercy in Kansas City, Mo., said in a state- ment. "With our novel research collaboration we identified additional best practices that significantly decreased the infection rate." n INFECTION PREVENTION

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