Pneumonia is one of the most common healthcare-acquired infections and can result in significantly longer lengths of stay and increased costs. In this retrospective study of more than six million hospitalized Veterans Health Administration patients, approximately 1 in 200 patients developed non-ventilator-associated hospital-acquired pneumonia (NV-HAP). Length of stay and mortality were significantly higher for patients with NV-HAP.

Healthcare-associated infections remain a patient safety issue at long-term care facilities. Based on incident data from the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Reporting System (PA-PSRS), this analysis found that healthcare-associated infections in long-term care settings increased by 12.5% between 2021 and 2022; over half of this increase is due to an increase in respiratory and gastrointestinal infections.

Standard precautions, including hand hygiene and sharps safety, keep patients and staff safe, but adherence is suboptimal. An earlier systematic review shows an association between standard precaution compliance and overall safety climate. This study aimed to determine if adherence to standard precautions and safety climate were associated with healthcare associated infection (HAI) rates. Adherence rates were low (64%) and associated with HAI and healthcare worker needlesticks.

As more patients with COVID-19 were admitted to hospitals during the pandemic, concerns about healthcare-acquired COVID-19 and potential associated adverse events increased. In this retrospective study, 126 patients with hospital-acquired COVID-19 were moved to isolation or quarantine. Twenty-nine patients experienced one or more adverse events due to isolation or quarantine, including delayed transfer to other specialties and delayed diagnostic tests. Nosocomial COVID-19 infection was confirmed as cause of death in one patient, and a possible cause in 11 others.

Changes in healthcare delivery due to the COVID-19 pandemic raised concerns about increases in healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs). This cross-sectional analysis of more than five million hospitalizations between 2020 and 2022 found that the incidence of HAIs was higher among patients hospitalized with COVID-19 compared to patients hospitalized without COVID-19.

Staffing shortages are temporarily alleviated with floating or redeployed staff. This qualitative study of intensive care unit (ICU) critical care nurses and floating non-critical care nurses sought to identify the pros and cons of floating nurses, and strategies to improve patient safety. Floating nurses reported concerns surrounding unfamiliarity with the types of patients or locations of equipment. Critical care nurses reported cognitive overload with doing their routine duties plus orienting floating nurses. One recommendation to improve safety is competency-based nursing curriculum and provide floating nurses occasional training/experience in the ICU.

Health care-associated infections continue to be one of the most common health care-related complications. This systematic review including 67 studies identified several cost-effective interventions addressing health care-associated infections, including screening high-risk individuals, universal decolonization in intensive care units, hand hygiene, environmental cleaning, and surveillance. The authors found limited evidence evaluating the cost-effectiveness of other strategies such as education and training or use of personal protective equipment.

Previous research has found that central line-associated blood stream infections (CLABSIs) increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. This article describes the development, implementation, and evaluation of a quality improvement initiative (QI) at one community health system in Canada to reduce CLABSIs between July 2019 and May 2022. The QI initiative included changes in six areas – organizational oversight and accountability, education and training, standardized central line processes, optimized central line equipment, improving data and reporting, and fostering a culture of safety. Over the study period, CLABSIs were reduced by 51% and the use of both central line insertion checklists and central line capped lumens increased.

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) continue to be a preventable safety problem. This study explored the correlation between hospitals’ Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade and Magnet designation on measures of patient safety, including healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs). The researchers found that Leapfrog safety scores were higher for Magnet-designated versus non-Magnet-designated hospitals – particularly for structural measures – but Magnet-designated hospitals did not have lower HAI rates.

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are among the most common complications of hospital or long-term care stays. HAI data reported to the Veterans Affairs centralized database was analyzed to determine rates of several HAIs, both before and during the pandemic, to assess changes. Rates were variable in acute care and no changes were seen in long-term care.

Trust between patients and providers is essential to safe, effective healthcare. This survey of German patients undergoing implant surgeries (e.g., hip and knee replacements, dental implants, cochlear implants) found that adverse events negatively impact patient trust in their physicians, but effective patient-provider communication can mitigate the impacts.