Speakers explained ASHRAE Standard 241’s key concepts — an infection risk management mode (IRMM), an equivalent clean‑air metric (ECA_i) tied to CFM per person and a standardized test appendix — and discussed that 241 is a standard (published 2023), not yet a code requirement.

The HCAI design guide endorses unit‑level flexibility — 'acuity adjustable patient units' — that let entire units flex from med‑surg to ICU capacity and use shared anterooms so units can convert to airborne infection isolation rooms (AIIRs) during surges, the webinar presenters said.

Candida auris continues to challenge infection preventionists with its persistence, resistance, and potential for outbreaks. New evidence shows that early, expanded screening—beginning in the emergenc...

View abstract Objective:To evaluate healthcare workers’ (HCWs) adherence to contact precautions (CP) in pediatric intensive care settings and to identify factors associated with compliance.Design:Prospective observational study.Setting:Pediatric intensive care units (PICUs) and a pediatric surgical intensive care unit (PSCU) at a tertiary care hospital.Participants:Healthcare workers involved in patient care activities in PICUs and PSCU.Methods:HCWs were directly observed during patient care procedures. Adherence to CP measures was evaluated using a five-step checklist, and compliance levels were categorized as low, moderate, or high. Associations between compliance and potential influencing factors were analyzed.Results:A total of 367 observations were performed. High compliance was observed in 30.4% of procedures, moderate compliance in 54.2%, and low compliance in 15.4%. Compliance levels were significantly associated with professional category and ICU unit, whereas no significant association was found with the type of patient care activity or microorganism type.Conclusions:Compliance with CP was suboptimal and varied according to professional category and ICU unit. These findings suggest that adherence is influenced by both individual and unit-level factors. Targeted, context-specific interventions and continuous education may improve adherence to infection control measures.

In a 72-day randomized trial involving 568 participants in Japan, an experimental hand sanitizer containing ethanol, benzalkonium chloride, and lactic acid was associated with a 40% lower cumulative i...

Evonne Curran explains why she is sceptical about how the new infection prevention and control strategy for Scotland will achieve its aims.