Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology最新文献

{"title":"Real-world use of procalcitonin for antimicrobial stewardship in severe community-acquired pneumonia.","authors":"Jad Saab, Rebecca Schulte, Matthew A Pappas, Ming Wang, Ramara E Walker, Abhishek Deshpande, Michael Klompas, Peter K Lindenauer, Thomas L Higgins, Sameer S Kadri, Daniel D Rhoads, Andrea M Pallotta, Marya Zilberberg, Aaron C Hamilton, Michael B Rothberg","doi":"10.1017/ice.2026.10600","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/ice.2026.10600","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Real-world evidence is limited regarding the use and impact of procalcitonin (PCT) on antibiotic duration in severe community-acquired pneumonia (SCAP) patients.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A retrospective cohort study of adult patients with SCAP (defined by modified American Thoracic Society [ATS] criteria) to 12 hospitals between November 2022 and June 2025. We analyzed clinical characteristics and estimated the association between PCT testing within 24 hours of hospital admission and antibiotic duration, and between low (<.5 µg/L) and high (≥.5 µg/L) PCT values and antibiotic duration. Clinical stability was determined based on ATS criteria (temperature <100 °F with ≤1 sign of instability within 24 hours of admission).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Among 1,553 SCAP admissions, 325 (21%) were clinically stable on admission and 924 patients (59.5%) had PCT testing within 24 hours; 452 (48.9%) of PCTs were low. Clinical stability was not associated with testing. PCT testing was associated with fewer antibiotic days (mean 6.9 vs 7.4 days adjusted mean difference, -.5 days, 95% CI: -.8, -.3), particularly in stable (mean 6.6 vs 7.3 days, adjusted mean difference, -.8 days, 95% CI: -1, -.1) versus unstable patients (mean 7.2 vs 7.5 days, adjusted mean difference, -.4 days, 95% CI: -.8, -.05). Low PCT values were associated with shorter antibiotic durations than high values (mean 6.5 vs 7.6 days, adjusted mean difference, -1.1 days, 95% CI: -1.9, -.3).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>PCT testing was associated with shorter antibiotic duration, especially among stable patients, but was performed without regard to clinical stability. Reserving PCT testing for stable patients may improve efficiency.</p>","PeriodicalId":13663,"journal":{"name":"Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology","volume":" ","pages":"1-11"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149220237","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"MALDI-TOF for healthcare transmission prediction: comparison with whole genome sequencing.","authors":"Alexander J Sundermann, Jieshi Chen, Chang Liu, Marissa P Griffith, Kathleen Shutt, Hannah Creager, Artur Dubrawski, Lora Lee Pless, Lee Harrison","doi":"10.1017/ice.2026.10595","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/ice.2026.10595","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":13663,"journal":{"name":"Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology","volume":" ","pages":"1-3"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149193153","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Comparative effectiveness of proactive exposure management and illness-based exclusion strategies for COVID-19 in healthcare personnel.","authors":"Amanda Brown Marusiak, Hilary Babcock, Emily Sickbert-Bennett, Daniel Westreich, Justin Lessler, David J Weber","doi":"10.1017/ice.2026.10553","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/ice.2026.10553","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>To evaluate whether COVID-19 exposure management in healthcare personnel (HCP) reduced presenteeism, occupational exposures and cases, comparing contact tracing and self-reporting exposure to standard illness management (i.e. calling out sick).</p><p><strong>Design: </strong>Retrospective cohort study.</p><p><strong>Setting: </strong>Large academic medical center, ambulatory and acute care.</p><p><strong>Participants: </strong>HCP COVID-19 exposure and case records (N = 30,102) collected at the University of North Carolina Medical Center, March 2020 through June 2021.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Among COVID-positive HCP, we measured hours worked while infectious and symptomatic, onward exposures, and secondary cases caused. Using negative binomial regression, we estimated mean count differences for each outcome comparing contact-tracing and self-reporting to standard illness management. We calculated the \"number of encounters needed\" to prevent one additional outcome (e.g., single onward exposure) by multiplying count differences by the proportion of exposure management encounters that identified a case.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Contact tracing and self-reporting exposures captured a higher proportion of asymptomatic cases (14 and 18%) than standard illness management (5%). Both strategies reduced infectious work time by ~8 hours and presenteeism by ~3.5 hours. We found large relative reductions in onward exposures (62% contact tracing, 66% self-report) and secondary cases (79%, 100%), but small absolute reductions. Preventing one secondary case required identifying >1,000 traced contacts or >350 self-reports.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Compared with standard illness management, COVID-19 exposure management reduced infectious work time, presenteeism and onward exposures, but preventing secondary cases was highly inefficient. Layered with comprehensive institutional mitigation strategies, exposure management provided limited case prevention benefits. Presenteeism was common and remains an important healthcare safety challenge.</p>","PeriodicalId":13663,"journal":{"name":"Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology","volume":" ","pages":"1-10"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149193132","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Automating case extraction and screening for hospital-associated <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> bacteremia surveillance in two Canadian hospitals.","authors":"Michael Payne, Minh T Nguyen, Shay-Anne Daniels, Azra Sharma, Shayan Shakeraneh, Sultan Alawfi, Sulaiman Tabesh, Jany Chan, Jin Huang, Elizabeth Martin, Steven Chan, Christopher F Lowe, Victor Leung","doi":"10.1017/ice.2026.10566","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/ice.2026.10566","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Outline our process in creating an efficient surveillance system through increased automation of detecting hospital-associated Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (HA-SAB). To describe the rate and attributable source of HA-SAB over time at our institutions.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We developed an algorithm for extracting cases that met the temporal case definition of hospital-onset Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (HO-SAB) through our electronic medical record system. The expanded temporal definition included both instances of S. aureus bacteremia (SAB) if occurring>48 hours after admission (HO-SAB Current Admission) or if admitted ≤48 hours but had a previous admission within the past 4 weeks (HO-SAB Previous Admission). Following extraction, clinical review was performed to ascertain if the algorithm extracted HO-SAB cases were hospital-associated SAB (HA-SAB) versus community-associated SAB (CA-SAB) and source(s) of infection.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Over a 5-year period from 2020 to 2025, the rate of HA-SAB was 15.2-26.2 per 10,000 patient admissions and 1.5-2.7 per 10,000 patient days. Our automated process screened 5,146 total cases of SAB, and determined that 222 cases (4%) fit the temporal definition of HO-SAB. Of these 222 HO-SAB, we classified 189 (85%) cases as HA-SAB and 33 (15%) as CA-SAB. The most common sources of HA-SAB were central lines (23%) and peripheral IVs (22%).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>An automated process is effective at screening cases of SAB. This can improve workflows to enable a sustainable HA-SAB surveillance program as a quality metric for institutions. Our expanded definition of HO-SAB allowed detection and evaluation of an additional 38 (20%) previous admission cases.</p>","PeriodicalId":13663,"journal":{"name":"Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology","volume":" ","pages":"1-7"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149193085","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Predictive value of methicillin-resistant <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> (MRSA) nasal screening for MRSA in a clinical culture in solid organ transplant recipients.","authors":"Jennifer Schultheis, Ellen Hanlon, Connor Deri, Stephen P Bergin, Alice Parish, Jennifer L Saullo","doi":"10.1017/ice.2026.10550","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/ice.2026.10550","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In this retrospective cohort study of 318 solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients, the MRSA nasal PCR demonstrated high specificity (0.95) and negative predictive value (0.98) for MRSA in clinical cultures. In low-risk SOT recipients, negative MRSA nasal PCR may support de-escalation of therapy; exploratory results require confirmation in higher-prevalence cohorts.</p>","PeriodicalId":13663,"journal":{"name":"Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology","volume":" ","pages":"1-4"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149193107","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"No \"other\" way: modification of urinalysis-driven reflex urine culture protocol to reduce inpatient urine cultures.","authors":"Mackenzie Rae Keintz, Jasmine R Marcelin, Elizabeth Lyden, Mark E Rupp, Trevor C Van Schooneveld","doi":"10.1017/ice.2026.10596","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/ice.2026.10596","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>To evaluate the impact of removing the \"other\" free text special indication from an inpatient urinalysis (UA)-driven reflex urine culture UTI panel on urine culture utilization and special indication designation.</p><p><strong>Design: </strong>Single-center interrupted time series analysis using segmented regression to assess changes in urine culture ordering before and after intervention.</p><p><strong>Setting: </strong>Tertiary academic medical center inpatient units, July 1, 2022-October 31, 2025.</p><p><strong>Patients: </strong>All hospitalized adults with UTI panels during the study period. Urine culture orders from emergency and ambulatory settings were excluded.</p><p><strong>Interventions: </strong>Removal of the \"other\" free text special indication from the UTI panel in February 2024. A new \"deceased donor\" special indication was added to maintain compliance with local organ procurement regulations.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Among 39,218 UTI panels, 11,923 cultures were performed. Postintervention urine cultures decreased by 2.09 per 1,000 patient days (PD) (<i>P</i> <.05), with a significant postintervention downward trend of 0.15 cultures per 1,000 PD per month (<i>P</i> <.05). Special indication designation decreased immediately by 2.17 special indications per 1,000 PD (<i>P</i> <.05) with a reversal of the preintervention upward trend (<i>P</i> <.05). Designation for neutropenia increased by 0.74 indications per 1,000 PD immediately postintervention (<i>P</i> <.05); renal/pancreas transplant and pregnancy indications remained stable or declined. No compensatory increase in total urine cultures was observed.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Removing the \"other\" free text option in a UTI panel led to a sustained reduction in overall urine culture ordering and low-value special indication designations. Modifying electronic order set architecture represents a feasible diagnostic stewardship strategy to reduce unnecessary testing and potential overtreatment of asymptomatic bacteriuria while preserving pathways for high-risk populations.</p>","PeriodicalId":13663,"journal":{"name":"Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology","volume":" ","pages":"1-6"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149181597","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Cost-effectiveness of screening for carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales in a university-affiliated tertiary care hospital in Hong Kong: a real-world analysis of data from 2015 to 2024.","authors":"Shuk-Ching Wong, Edmond Siu-Keung Ma, Simon Yung-Chun So, Enoch Hsu, Edwin Kwan-Yeung Chiu, Kelvin Hei-Yeung Chiu, Kwok-Yung Yuen, Vincent Chi-Chung Cheng","doi":"10.1017/ice.2026.10554","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/ice.2026.10554","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE) are a major healthcare-associated threat due to multidrug resistance, gastrointestinal colonization, and hospital transmission. We evaluated the cost-effectiveness of CPE screening using real-world data from 2015 to 2024.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We conducted a healthcare provider-perspective economic evaluation at Queen Mary Hospital, using electronic health records and hospital data. Screening episodes, clinical outcomes, lengths of stay, and costs (laboratory testing, staffing, personal protective equipment, and disinfection) were analyzed. We calculated the number needed to screen (NNS), incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) for infection prevention, and cost per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gained.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Among 375,213 hospitalization episodes in which CPE testing was performed (447,745 tests), 10,046 (2.7%) were positive; 390 (3.9%) were clinical infections and 9,656 (96.1%) colonizations. After patient-level deduplication (149,965 individuals), 3,628 (2.4%) were CPE-positive, with 153 clinical infections. Mean cost per CPE infection was US＄35,290 and per colonization US＄7,721. Annual screening program cost was US＄1,487,969. An estimated 63.6 infections were averted and 47.8 QALYs gained annually (NNS = 590). Compared with no screening, it was cost-saving (annual saving US＄757,604). Sensitivity analyses showed NNS most sensitive to screening effectiveness (-40.9% to +59.2%); screening remained dominant except at lower limit of effectiveness (ICER = US＄1,958; cost/QALY = US＄2,048). Worst-case scenario ICER was US＄31,019 (cost/QALY = US＄29,831). All values were below the World Health Organization cost-effectiveness threshold of US＄54,301 (Hong Kong gross domestic product/capita).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>CPE screening was cost-saving and highly cost-effective, remaining robust across sensitivity analyses. These findings support sustained screening in high-volume tertiary settings.</p>","PeriodicalId":13663,"journal":{"name":"Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology","volume":" ","pages":"1-9"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149166057","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Improving hand hygiene compliance in Greek hospitals: results of a Nationwide Quality Improvement Program (GRIPP-SNF).","authors":"Ilektra Balatsou, Grammatiki-Christina Tsopela, Archontoula Moutou, Paraskevi Varda, Parthenopi Pantelidou, Dimitra Kousi, Eleni Kourkouni, Dimitrios Paraskevis, Vassiliki Papaevangelou, Aggeliki Karaiskou, Eleftherios Thireos, Dafni Kaitelidou, Ioannis Kopsidas, Antonia Koutsoukou, Theoklis Zaoutis","doi":"10.1017/ice.2026.10563","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/ice.2026.10563","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Hand hygiene (HH) is the most effective way to prevent healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and the spread of antimicrobial-resistant pathogens. HH compliance is particularly relevant in Greece, which has among the highest rates of HAIs and antimicrobial resistance in the European Union. The aim of our study was to assess current HH practices in Greece and to improve compliance.</p><p><strong>Design: </strong>Prospective observational quasi-experimental (before-after) study.</p><p><strong>Setting: </strong>Eight public adult tertiary hospitals.</p><p><strong>Participants: </strong>\"Physicians, Nurses, and Ancillary Healthcare Workers.\"</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Three time periods were defined: the baseline period (December 2021-June 2022), intervention period (July 2022-January 2023), and postintervention period (February 2023-May 2024). An improvement bundle was implemented. A minimum of 30 observations per department per month of HH opportunities were required. Trained observers conducted observations using a standardized data collection tool. Interrupted time-series analysis was performed.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>38,069 HH opportunities were observed. Overall compliance was 48.5%. Glove use without proper HH was observed in 72.9% of opportunities. Alcohol-based hand rub was used for HH by 57.8% of HCW who conducted HH. Compliance improved from 37.3% in the baseline period to 53.3% after the intervention (16% increase, <i>P</i> < .001). Improved compliance was observed in 9/13 (69%) intensive care units. Of 10 participating medical and surgical wards, improved compliance was observed in 9 (90%) units, and improvement ranged from 7.2% to 28.3.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Overall, we found low compliance rates and gaps in HH practices in Greek hospitals. A quality improvement intervention improved overall HH compliance. This is the largest study of HH compliance in Greek hospitals to date.</p>","PeriodicalId":13663,"journal":{"name":"Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology","volume":" ","pages":"1-7"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149167016","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Healthcare-associated infections in Singapore's long-term acute care hospitals: results from the first national point prevalence survey.","authors":"Sheryl Beh, Kyaw Zaw Linn, Xin Yi Ong, Adelina Young, Allie Lim, Ray J Lin, Moi Lin Ling, Surinder Pada, Bee Fong Poh, Margaret Soon, Louisa Sun, Si Huei Tan, Koh Cheng Thoon, Albert Ty, Dale Fisher, Kalisvar Marimuthu","doi":"10.1017/ice.2026.10546","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/ice.2026.10546","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>While healthcare-associated infection (HAI) surveillance in Singapore's acute care hospitals is well established, comparable data from long-term acute care hospitals (LTACHs), known as community hospitals, are limited. We conducted the first national point prevalence survey (PPS) to determine HAI prevalence in Singapore LTACHs.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A standardized protocol adapted from the Singapore acute care hospital HAI PPS protocol, which was adapted from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control protocol for acute care hospitals, was implemented across 9 LTACHs. Adult inpatients present in participating wards at 8 a.m. on the survey day were included. Data on patient characteristics, invasive devices, and active infections were collected from electronic medical records. Factors associated with HAIs were determined using multivariate logistic regression.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Among 1,546 patients, 86 had 94 HAIs, corresponding to a prevalence of 5.6% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 4.5-6.8). The most common infection types were unspecified sepsis (36.2%), urinary tract infection (UTI) (24.5%), and surgical site infection (18.1%). Microbiological confirmation was available for 25.5% of HAIs, with <i>Enterobacterales</i> (54.8%) most frequently identified. Presence of central vascular catheter (odds ratio [OR]: 3.88; 95% CI: 1.66-9.08) and peripheral vascular catheter (OR: 10.48; 95% CI: 6.45-17.03) were associated with HAIs, while larger hospital size (≥250 beds) was associated with reduced odds (OR: 0.62; 95% CI: 0.39-0.99).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This inaugural PPS establishes the baseline for HAIs in Singapore's LTACHs. Findings suggest broad infection prevention initiatives may provide the greatest benefit sector-wide, while the high UTI burden highlights an opportunity for targeted prevention strategies.</p>","PeriodicalId":13663,"journal":{"name":"Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology","volume":" ","pages":"1-7"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149181441","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A cross-sectional survey of nursing home resident hand hygiene knowledge, hand hygiene habits, and bathing practices.","authors":"Hailey Blinkiewicz, Yasin Abul, Jessica Ameling, David H Canaday, Christopher J Crnich, Jon P Furuno, Stefan Gravenstein, Tiffany G Harris, Karen Jones, Morgan J Katz, Jennifer Meddings, Avinash Pyreddy, Emily K Short, Chin-Lin Su, Ganga Vijayasiri, Lona Mody","doi":"10.1017/ice.2026.10537","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/ice.2026.10537","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>To characterize nursing home (NH) resident hand hygiene knowledge, hand hygiene habits, and bathing practices to inform intervention strategies.</p><p><strong>Design: </strong>Cross-sectional survey.</p><p><strong>Setting: </strong>Twenty geographically diverse NHs between December 2023 and July 2024.</p><p><strong>Participants: </strong>NH residents.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The survey was administered verbally to NH residents and consisted of 22 questions pertaining to residents' hand hygiene knowledge, hand hygiene habits at their previous residence and at the NH, and bathing practices at the NH.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Among the 495 NH residents who completed the survey, 54% were short-stay/temporary residents, 65% were female, and 79% were aged 70 years or older. Less than a third (29%) of the residents answered all three hand hygiene knowledge-based questions correctly. Residents washed their hands less often at the NH compared to their previous residence. Residents also washed their hands with running water less frequently at the NH (81% vs. 98%). Thirty percent of residents reported facing challenges with hand hygiene at the NH with 53% of the responses mentioning mobility impairments as the main reason why. Additionally, residents facing challenges with hand hygiene had a lower frequency of hand hygiene at the NH. Half (51%) of the residents reported bathing less at the NH compared to their previous residence with NH policy being the most commonly reported reason encompassing 54% of the responses.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>NH residents perform hand hygiene and bathe less frequently at the NH. Our multi-site study identified multiple barriers to resident hand hygiene and bathing that can be modifiable through practice or policy changes.</p>","PeriodicalId":13663,"journal":{"name":"Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology","volume":" ","pages":"1-8"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149181384","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}