Documents and Studies
Human safety and well-being are threatened by microbes causing numerous infectious diseases resulting in a large number of deaths every year. Despite substantial progress in antimicrobial drugs, many infectious diseases remain difficult to treat. Antimicrobial polymers offer a promising antimicrobial strategy for fighting pathogens and have received considerable attention in both academic and industrial research. This mini-review presents the advances made in antimicrobial polymers since 2013. Antimicrobial mechanisms exhibiting either passive or active action and polymer material types containing bound or leaching antimicrobials are introduced.
A Mini-Review Article originally published September 20, 2016
Management of Suspected Spinal Injury Guideline
ANZCOR Guideline 9.1.6 January 2016 Page 1 of 6 ANZCOR Guideline 9.1.6
Article by Anthony Sannazzaroisco-founder of HIGHMARK highlighting challenges to the healthcare industry by rising patient infection rates, especially from “superbugs” such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). These challenges are only going to increase as the new Medicare rules that went into effect in 2017 that will include MRSA in all reimbursement calculations – potentially costing hospitals hundreds of millions of dollars in lost Medicare reimbursements.
Emergency medical systems teams are constantly faced with challenges of preventing infection transmission. The emergence of antimicrobial-resistant microbes (e.g., healthcare-acquired and community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus[MRSA], vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus[VRE] and multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacilli), along with growing concern regarding the spread of Clostridia difficile bacteria are problems facing all healthcare providers.
Microbial communities in our built environments have great influence on human health and disease. A variety of built environments have been characterized using a metagenomics-based approach, including some healthcare settings. However, there has been no study to date that has used this approach in pre-hospital settings, such as ambulances, an important first point-of-contact between patients and hospitals.
Incidence and cost of hospitalizations associated with Staphylococcus aureus
skin and soft tissue infections in the United States from 2001 through 2009
The emergence of community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (SA) and its role in skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) accentuated the role of SA-SSTIs in hospitalizations.