Theramed Corporation signs an eight year extension with EUSA Pharma Ltd. for the exclusive right to import, market and distribute COLLATAMP® G in Canada
Working to Save Lives and Limbs—New Hope Emerges For Canadians with Diabetic Foot Ulcers
Hospital-Acquired Infections in the News
Leading Canadian Hospitals Quick to Use New Implantable Antibiotic for Prevention and Treatment of Surgical Infections
New Website Educates Public on the Risks and Prevention of Deadly Surgical Infections
Economic Model Demonstrates Hospital Cost Savings Using Collatamp G
Ontario's Mandatory Public Reporting of Surgical Site Infections Puts SSIs on the Public's Radar
New Implantable Antibiotic Helps Canadian Hospitals Save Lives And Money By Preventing Surgical Infections
FDA Designates Gentamicin Surgical Implant (Collatamp G) as a Fast Track Development Program
Theramed Announces Long-Term Partnership with Canadian Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons
Hospital-Acquired Infections in the News
Use this page to stay up-to-date on the latest developments in preventing hospital-acquired infections, including methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), C. difficile and surgical site infections.
MRSA Superbug Study Tracks Infection
Patients, staff and visitors all help spread drug-resistant staph bacteria within hospitals, a new study that precisely tracked transmission suggests. (CBC News, January 22, 2010)
Gene Sleuthing Tracks Variation in MRSA Superbug
WASHINGTON -- A new kind of genetic sleuthing suggests hospital outbreaks of drug-resistant staph bacteria don't always spread from one patient to another, but that numerous people - patients, visitors or staff - bring in the deadly germ. (Washington Post, January 21, 2010)
Canadians Becoming 'Fed Up' With Hospital Infections
Each year in Canada, between 8,000 and 12,000 people die of infections they acquired in hospital. (Metro News, January 12, 2010)
MRSA Surgical Infections Exact Heavy Clinical, Financial Toll
Preventing the resistant staph infection could lower readmission and mortality rates and save hospitals thousands in costs associated with caring for readmitted patients. (American Medical News, January 14, 2010)
Exterminating Superbugs at the Source
The hospital should be a place you go to get well, but that very same hospital can sometimes be the cause of your illness.(ABC News, January 6, 2010)
Hospitals Could Stop Infections by Tackling Bacteria Patients Bring In, Studies Find
Hundreds of thousands of patients each year suffer from infections after surgery, and experts say more than half of those infections stem from bacteria the patients themselves are carrying in their nose or on their skin. (New York Times, January 6, 2010)
Unique Bacteria Problems Can Dog Those with Diabetes
"Snap, crackle, pop" may bring a smile at the breakfast table, but if you're a doctor examining an infected wound, those sounds are just plain scary. (Pasadena Star News, January 6, 2010)
Sharing Hospital Room Raises Infection Risk
Sharing a hospital room with another person raises the risk of getting a hospital-acquired infection, Ontario scientists say. (
CBC News
, January 5, 2010)
Amid High-Tech Advances, a Simple Checklist Emerges as a Medical Solution
A hospital -- as the saying goes -- is no place for sick people. It's filled with hazards to your health, not least of which are the myriad infections, missed diagnoses, dosage mistakes and other complications that arise from human error. (South Florida Sun Sentinel, January 4, 2010)
Disinfectant Misuse Might Help Germs Resist Antibiotics
The incorrect use of a disinfectant could cause some germs to develop resistance to antibiotics, new research suggests. (Business Week, December 29, 2009)
MRSA Leads to Worse Outcomes, Staggering Expenses for Surgical Patients
Post-surgical infections significantly increase the chance of hospital readmission and death and cost as much as $60,000 per patient, according to Duke University Medical Center researchers who conducted the largest study of its kind to date. (ScienceDaily.com, December 17, 2009)
Hospital Death Rates Fall in New Era of Disclosure
Rates of preventable patient deaths at just about every hospital in the Greater Toronto Area are falling, three years after Canadian hospitals began releasing such data. (Toronto Star, December 11, 2009)
Canadian Hospitals Aim to Reduce Mortality Rates, But Severe Infections Still Prominent
While Canadian hospitals are aiming to reduce mortality rates across the country, a new study found that nearly 10,000 patients died in hospital of sepsis in 2008, a condition resulting from the body's response to severe infection. (CTV Edmonton, December 10, 2009)
Infections Are Common in ICUs
Half of patients treated in intensive care units around the globe have infections and more than two out of three are treated with antibiotics, according to a new study. (WebMD.com, December 3, 2009)
Diabetic Foot Ulcers Tied to Earlier Death
Among people with diabetes, those who develop foot ulcers seem to die earlier than those without the complication, a new study finds. (Reuters, December 2009)
Hospital Workers May Trigger Dangerous Outbreaks
Hospital workers who see many patients may play a disproportionate role in spreading dangerous hospital-acquired infections, a new study finds. (MSN Health and Fitness, October19, 2009)
Wash Your Hands, You're Being Watched
Both men and women are more likely to wash their hands properly after using the toilet if they feel they're being watched, British researchers say. (CBC, October 15, 2009)
High Oxygen Use During Surgery Does Not Cut Wound Infections or Pneumonia
Use of 80% oxygen during surgery is no more effective than 30% oxygen in preventing surgical wound infection, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association for October 14. Moreover, no difference was seen in rates of pulmonary complications. (RT Magazine, October 14, 2009)
C. difficile, One Year Later
infection is down 30 percent after 12 months. (Hamilton Spectator, October 1, 2009)
Hospitals Will Have to Complete Surgical Checklist
Ontario hospitals will be required to use a surgical safety checklist and report on their compliance starting next spring as part of a government effort to improve patient safety, The Canadian Press has learned. (Toronto Star, September 30, 2009)
C. diff Rise Due to "Gene Switch"
The rise in Clostridium difficile infections in recent years is due to genetic changes rather than dirty hospitals, say UK researchers. (BBC News, September 27, 2009)
Hospital Infection Prevention Tips for Patients
National Environmental Services and Housekeeping Week (September 13 to 19) is an opportunity to remind patients what an important role they can play in reducing the risk of infection transmission. (Occupational Health and Safety, September 15, 2009)
Antibiotic Resistance Clue Found
US scientists have uncovered a defense mechanism in bacteria that allows them to fend off the threat of antibiotics, which is hoped will boost the effectiveness of existing treatments. (BBC News, September 13, 2009)
Anti-Bacterial Bathing Reduces "Superbugs"
Bathing hospital patients with a weak solution of chlorhexidine may help protect them against superbugs, U.S. researchers say. Chlorhexidine is the same anti-bacterial agent used by surgeons to "scrub in" before an operation. (United Press International, September 7, 2009)
What Happens During Surgery
Step by step coverage of what happens in the OR before, during and after surgery. (KFSM.com, August 24, 2009)
Dead By Mistake
As many as 200,000 Americans die every year from preventable medical errors and hospital-acquired infections, according to a report compiled by journalists from nine different Hearst news outlets. (Hearst Corporation, August 2009)
Can Protecting Patients Be Made Recession-Proof?
At the Patient Safety Congress in National Harbor, Maryland, doctors and patient safety officers explore the business case for quality initiatives. (AMNews.com, July 20, 2009)
Unsung Heroes Work Hard to Cut Hospital-Acquired Infections
Alfonso Torress-Cook is part of a growing movement in medicine that no longer accepts hospital-acquired infections as inevitable complications. Every year, such infections sicken 1.7 million and kill 99,000 people in the United States. (CNN.com, July 9, 2009)
Getting the Message Out: Victim's Daughter Aims to Raise Awareness of C. Diff Dangers
Eighty-nine-year-old Ross Gould survived the horrors of the Second World War. But no amount of bravery or honour could protect the long-time Miltonian from the ravages of C. difficile, which contributed to his death last month at Milton District Hospital. (Milton Canadian Champion, June 19, 2009)
Perforated Surgical Gloves Associated With Surgical Site Infection Risk
Surgical gloves that develop holes or leaks during a procedure appear to increase the risk of infection at the surgical site among patients who are not given antibiotics beforehand, according to a new article. (ScienceDaily.com, June 15, 2009)
Soap-sniffing Technology Encourages Hand Washing To Reduce Hospital-acquired Infections, Save Money
Call it a Breathalyzer for the hands. Using sensors capable of detecting drugs in breath, new technology developed at University of Florida monitors health-care workers' hand hygiene by detecting sanitizer or soap fumes given off from their hands. (ScienceDaily.com, June 5, 2009)
Simple Techniques Slash Hospital Infections: Meeting
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 94,000 Americans get serious, invasive MRSA infections each year and nearly 19,000 die. Treating these patients costs between $3 and $4 billion a year, according to an estimate by Dr. Larry Liu of Pfizer Inc. Reducing such costs is a goal of the just-started healthcare reform effort by President Barack Obama and Congress. (Canada.com, March 23, 2009)
The War Against Superbugs
Every year, 250,000 Canadians pick up infections while they are in hospitals being treated for something else. That's a staggering one out of every nine Canadians who are admitted to hospital. Every year, those infections kill more than 8,000 people. That's more than will die of breast cancer, AIDS and car accidents combined. Many of those deaths can be prevented - by simple hand washing. (CBC.ca, February 12, 2009)
Ontario Releases Rates of 'Superbugs'
For the first time, Ontario hospitals publicly released rates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE). Experts say reporting rates of the antibiotic-resistant "superbugs" to the public will spur hospitals to do more to prevent and manage the infections. (Toronto Star, December 31, 2008)
Ontario Hospitals Not Keeping Track of Handwashing
Almost all Ontario hospitals have implemented handwashing policies in an effort to lower rates of deadly hospital infections, but too few monitor whether staff follow procedures, according to a new report released yesterday. (Toronto Star, October 31, 2008)
