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| A Promising New Technique for Closing Colon Wounds
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Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston say clips and sutures delivered with an endoscopic technique match the effectiveness of invasive surgery for repairing perforations that accidentally occur during colonoscopies when the colon is overstretched or polyps are removed.
"We have shown in a series of experiments that both types of perforations can be closed successfully using an endoscope without the need for invasive surgery," says G.S. Raju, MD, a professor at UTMB and lead investigator for the minimally invasive wound repair studies. He adds that researchers "have even accomplished a leak-proof seal of the perforation."
Current repair techniques involve either laparotomy or laparoscopy under general anesthesia, exploration of the abdominal cavity to find the perforation and closure with either sutures or a stapler, according to Dr. Raju. "The advantage of colonoscopic closure of fresh perforations that happen during colonoscopy, either after removal of polyps or due to stretching injury of the colon, is that they can be seen by the endoscopist," he explains. "Most [perforations] are small and can be closed quickly. We have closed 2cm perforations in two to three minutes in the experimental laboratory."
The work of Dr. Raju's research team has involved closing colon perforations of less than one inch in pigs using clips inserted via endoscopes. By next year, says Dr. Raju, his in vivo research may be applied to improving the care of human patients with gastrointestinal perforations and postoperative leaks.
Eventually, Dr. Raju hopes to employ minimally invasive repair techniques on patients with gastrointestinal tumors. "These patients go for surgery now because of the fear of perforation when we attempt to remove the polyps," he says. "Hopefully, if we do another study to show that perforations that happen after polyp removal can also be closed successfully with an endoscope, then we can offer endoscopic removal of polyps with the understanding that if perforation happens at least we can try and close it, with surgery as a back up if need be."
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| Patients May Be Bringing MRSA to Your Facility
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Rather than acquiring methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in healthcare facilities, patients are more likely to bring it through your door, according to a study published in the May 28 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. Researchers at Chicago's Cook County Hospital System found that the incidence of community-acquired MRSA infections — incidents in which patients acquired the bacteria outside of the healthcare setting — went up seven-fold between 2000 and 2005.
"Why CA-MRSA has emerged at such a rapid rate remains unclear," write the researchers. "Clonal CA-MRSA infection has emerged [especially] among Chicago's urban poor [and] has occurred in addition to, not in place of, methicillin-susceptible S. aureus infection. Epidemiological analysis suggests that control measures could focus initially on core groups that have contributed disproportionately to risk, although CA-MRSA becomes endemic as it disseminates within communities."
There are ways to prevent the spread and acquisition of the infection. Five beta sites in the United States are currently taking the actions prescribed by the Plexus Institute MRSA Initiative: contact precautions, hand hygiene and nares culture testing of patients admitted to certain units. In a development that may kickstart pre-admission testing, the United Kingdom's National Health Service is testing a new system that enables healthcare workers to screen patients for MRSA in 10 minutes, according to Glasgow's Sunday Herald.
The screening technology, developed by Blaze Venture Technologies and researchers at Strathclyde University, works like this: You swab the patient's nares and bacteriophages applied to the culture detect MRSA. The swabs are read on a machine that nurses can use at the point of care and don't require lab testing. According to the Sunday Herald article, the system will let healthcare workers "identify quickly the 80 percent of people who are not carrying MRSA ... and allow them to concentrate infection control measures on high-risk patients."
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| Pre-op Pharmacists Can Help Prevent Medication Errors
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Rather than acquiring methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in healthcare facilities, patients are more likely to bring it through your door, according to a study published in the May 28 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. Researchers at Chicago's Cook County Hospital System found that the incidence of community-acquired MRSA infections — incidents in which patients acquired the bacteria outside of the healthcare setting — went up seven-fold between 2000 and 2005.
"Why CA-MRSA has emerged at such a rapid rate remains unclear," write the researchers. "Clonal CA-MRSA infection has emerged [especially] among Chicago's urban poor [and] has occurred in addition to, not in place of, methicillin-susceptible S. aureus infection. Epidemiological analysis suggests that control measures could focus initially on core groups that have contributed disproportionately to risk, although CA-MRSA becomes endemic as it disseminates within communities."
There are ways to prevent the spread and acquisition of the infection. Five beta sites in the United States are currently taking the actions prescribed by the Plexus Institute MRSA Initiative: contact precautions, hand hygiene and nares culture testing of patients admitted to certain units. In a development that may kickstart pre-admission testing, the United Kingdom's National Health Service is testing a new system that enables healthcare workers to screen patients for MRSA in 10 minutes, according to Glasgow's Sunday Herald.
The screening technology, developed by Blaze Venture Technologies and researchers at Strathclyde University, works like this: You swab the patient's nares and bacteriophages applied to the culture detect MRSA. The swabs are read on a machine that nurses can use at the point of care and don't require lab testing. According to the Sunday Herald article, the system will let healthcare workers "identify quickly the 80 percent of people who are not carrying MRSA ... and allow them to concentrate infection control measures on high-risk patients."
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| News and Notes
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Rather than acquiring methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in healthcare facilities, patients are more likely to bring it through your door, according to a study published in the May 28 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. Researchers at Chicago's Cook County Hospital System found that the incidence of community-acquired MRSA infections — incidents in which patients acquired the bacteria outside of the healthcare setting — went up seven-fold between 2000 and 2005.
"Why CA-MRSA has emerged at such a rapid rate remains unclear," write the researchers. "Clonal CA-MRSA infection has emerged [especially] among Chicago's urban poor [and] has occurred in addition to, not in place of, methicillin-susceptible S. aureus infection. Epidemiological analysis suggests that control measures could focus initially on core groups that have contributed disproportionately to risk, although CA-MRSA becomes endemic as it disseminates within communities."
There are ways to prevent the spread and acquisition of the infection. Five beta sites in the United States are currently taking the actions prescribed by the Plexus Institute MRSA Initiative: contact precautions, hand hygiene and nares culture testing of patients admitted to certain units. In a development that may kickstart pre-admission testing, the United Kingdom's National Health Service is testing a new system that enables healthcare workers to screen patients for MRSA in 10 minutes, according to Glasgow's Sunday Herald.
The screening technology, developed by Blaze Venture Technologies and researchers at Strathclyde University, works like this: You swab the patient's nares and bacteriophages applied to the culture detect MRSA. The swabs are read on a machine that nurses can use at the point of care and don't require lab testing. According to the Sunday Herald article, the system will let healthcare workers "identify quickly the 80 percent of people who are not carrying MRSA ... and allow them to concentrate infection control measures on high-risk patients."
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