Becker's Clinical Quality & Infection Control

10 INFECTION CONTROL & PATIENT SAFETY Infectious disease deaths drop in US: 5 study findings By Megan Knowles O verall, deaths from infectious diseases are declining in the U.S. — but these improvements varied significantly among counties — according to a study published in JAMA. e study examined mortality rates and trends by county from 1980 to 2014 from lower respiratory infections, diarrheal dis- eases, HIV/AIDS, meningitis, hepatitis and tuberculosis. To determine these rates and trends, the researchers used deidentified death records from the National Center for Health Statistics and population counts from the U.S. Census Bureau, NCHS and the Human Mortality Database. Here are five study findings. 1. Between 1980 and 2014, the U.S. recorded more than 4 million deaths from infectious diseases. 2. Lower respiratory infections were the leading cause of death from infectious diseases and ac- counted for nearly 79 percent of the total deaths. 3. Diarrheal diseases were the only cause of infectious disease mortality to increase from 2000 to 2014, while deaths from tuberculosis and meningitis decreased. 4. Deaths from lower respiratory infections also significantly varied among counties. East Feliciana Parish County, La., had the highest re- spiratory mortality rate at 88 deaths per 100,000 people, compared to only 7 deaths in Collier County, Fla. 5. e study found mortality rates from infec- tious diseases were significantly higher among men than women in all years. However, the decline from 1980 to 2014 was more substantial among men. n Study: Mandatory flu vaccinations reduce absenteeism among healthcare workers By Anuja Vaidya A study published in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology examined the effect of mandatory and nonmandatory influenza vaccination policies on both vaccination rates, as well as absenteeism among healthcare workers. Researchers conducted the retrospective observational cohort study at three university medical centers with mandatory flu vaccination policies and four Department of Veterans Affairs healthcare systems with nonmandatory vaccination policies. Researchers included 2,304 outpatient healthcare workers at mandatory vaccination sites and 1,759 outpatient work- ers at nonmandatory vaccination sites. They performed the study over three viral respiratory illness, from 2012 through 2015. Study participants reported their flu vaccination status and symptomatic days absent from work every week for 12 weeks during the peak illness season each year. The study shows the proportion of participants who received the flu vaccine was lower at nonmandatory sites each year as compared to mandatory vaccination sites. Of healthcare workers who reported at least one sick day, vaccinated work- ers had fewer days of absenteeism compared to workers who were not vaccinated. "These data suggest that mandatory [healthcare worker] influenza vaccination policies increase influenza vaccination rates and that [healthcare worker] symptomatic absenteeism diminishes as rates of influenza vaccination increase," the study authors concluded. n 5 hospitals jump from 'F' to 'A' rating on Leapfrog By Alyssa Rege F ive acute care hospitals received an "A" safety grade rating from The Leapfrog Group in 2018 after receiving "F" ratings in past years, the organi- zation announced April 24. The Leapfrog Group released the spring 2018 Leap- frog Hospital Safety Grades updates April 24. The list is updated every six months — once in the spring and again in the fall. Leapfrog found hospitals have made notable prog- ress in reducing avoidable deaths from errors and infections. "The national numbers on death and harm in hospi- tals have alarmed us for decades," said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. "What we see in the new round of Safety Grades are signs of many hospitals making significant improvements in their patient safety record." Here are three insights from the Safety Grades update. 1. Five hospitals that received an "A" grade this spring for the first time held "F" ratings in past years. 2. Forty-six hospitals achieved an "A" rating for the first time since the organization began ranking hospi- tals six years ago. 3. Eighty-nine hospitals that received an "A" rating this spring held "D" or "F" ratings in the past. n

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