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J U N E 2 0 1 4 | O U T P AT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E
L. Silvia Munoz-Price, MD, PhD
INFECTION PREVENTION
A Superbug Meets Its Unlikely Match
Well-designed mass e-mails helped curb Acinetobacter baumannii.
F
or many years, the battle we'd fought against a superbug that had
taken up residence in our facility seemed destined to end in a
draw. Our infection rates weren't getting worse, but they weren't
getting better, either. We'd taken aim with patient-screening tests and
isolation, we'd counterpunched with hand-hygiene interventions, we'd
thrown hooks and haymakers like surface sampling and multidiscipli-
nary meetings — but the resilient multi-drug resistant organism
known as Acinetobacter baumannii wouldn't stay down.
Until, that is, we found a new secret weapon:
e-mail. That's right. Mass-distribution missives were what finally gave
us the upper hand. We haven't knocked the nuisance out yet, but we
finally have it on the ropes.
IMPORTANT READING
E-mail updates raised
accountability and got
everyone's competitive
juices flowing.
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