Late-onset sepsis (LOS) in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) causes significant morbidity and mortality, yet guidance on empiric management is limited. We surveyed NICUs across Canada and the United States regarding their empiric antimicrobial regimens for LOS, thereby identifying large practice variations and high rates of empiric vancomycin use.

We aimed to describe the incidence, pathogens, and antimicrobial susceptibility of central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) in adult intensive care units (ICU).

Post-procedural antimicrobial prophylaxis is not recommended by professional guidelines but is commonly prescribed. We sought to reduce use of post-procedural antimicrobials after common endoscopic urologic procedures.

We evaluated the viral load of varicella-zoster virus (VZV) in ambient air, vesicle, and pharyngeal swabs in VZV-infected patients. Of 46 cases, 6 had VZV detected in indoor air samples from patient rooms. Results suggest an association between viral load in the pharyngeal swab and indoor air.

Asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) treatment is a common form of antibiotic overuse and diagnostic error. Antibiotic stewardship using the inappropriate diagnosis of urinary tract infection (ID-UTI) measure has reduced ASB treatment in diverse hospitals. However, critical access hospitals (CAHs) have differing resources that could impede stewardship. We aimed to determine if stewardship including the ID-UTI measure could reduce ASB treatment in CAHs.

To better delineate multiplexed gastrointestinal polymerase chain reaction (PCR) panel (MGPP) diagnostic and therapeutic stewardship for patients undergoing treatment for acute leukemia including indications and benefits of testing, optimal timing, and interpretation of results.

To determine the regional impact of transmission of multidrug-resistant organisms (MRDOs) and () among a tertiary care hospital and surrounding facilities including long-term care facilities (LTCFs).

Inappropriate antibiotic use in infants can have multiple adverse effects and contribute to the development of bacteria resistant to antimicrobials. Antimicrobial stewardship programs can reduce unnecessary antibiotic use in children. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of an antimicrobial stewardship program implemented in 2017 in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at The Children's Hospital Iceland.

Peripherally inserted central catheters (PICC) and midline catheters (MC) are widely used for intravenous infusions in oncology and critically ill patients. However, controversy remains regarding which method is superior. This meta-analysis systematically compares the safety differences between these 2 methods of intravenous catheterization.

In 2011, the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) and Ronald McDonald House Charities® (RMHC®) established a formal collaboration to develop the first IPC guideline. Both organizations agreed that RMH programs staff and other organizations operating similar programs would benefit from a standardized approach. In 2023, the collaboration was re-established to revise and update the original IPC guideline. This SHEA Practice Update on "Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) in Residential Facilities for Pediatric Patients and Their Families" addresses preventing transmission of infectious agents in "home away from home" residential settings, of which the Ronald McDonald Houses (RMHs) serve as a prototype.

Racial and ethnic variations in antibiotic utilization are well-reported in outpatient settings but little is known about inpatient settings. Our objective was to describe national inpatient antibiotic utilization among children by race and ethnicity.

Universal masking within healthcare settings was adopted to combat the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In addition to mitigating the risk for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, it also had an added benefit of preventing the nosocomial transmission of other respiratory viral diseases.

A 54-question survey about System Healthcare Infection Prevention Programs (SHIPPs) was sent out to SHEA Research Network participants in August 2023. Thirty-eight United States-based institutions responded (38/93, 41%), of which 23 have SHIPPs. We found heterogeneity in the structure, staffing, and resources for system infection prevention (IP) programs.

A surveillance system for measuring patient-level antimicrobial adverse drug events (ADE) may support stewardship activities, however, design and implementation questions remain. In this national survey, stewardship experts favored simple, laboratory-based ADE definitions although there were tensions between feasibility, ability to identify attribution without chart review, and importance of specific ADE.

We evaluated one of the first secure large language models approved for protected health information, for identifying central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) using real clinical notes. Despite no pretraining, the model demonstrated rapid assessment and high sensitivity for CLABSI identification. Performance would improve with access to more patient data.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention encourages nurses to evaluate penicillin allergies as part of hospital-based antibiotic stewardship programs. We evaluated the feasibility of an implementation strategy to improve nurses' comprehensive documentation of penicillin allergies. We defined feasibility as the uptake and acceptability of documentation procedures.

We conducted a quantitative analysis of the microbial burden and prevalence of epidemiologically important pathogens (EIP) found on long-term care facilities (LTCF) environmental surfaces.