Audrey Adams

The Incidence of Nosocomial Pneumonia Following Urgent Endotracheal Intubation

The risk of nosocomial pneumonia following emergency or urgent endotracheal intubation was studied prospectively. Pneumonia developed in 35 of 78 (45%) patients within three days of intubation. No differences in age, sex, underlying illness, respiratory infection, or antibiotic use were found between those with or without pneumonia. There were also no differences in the frequency of complications occurring during intubation. Patients developing pneumonia tended to have the same organisms isolated from the sputum at the time of intubation and at the time of diagnosis of pneumonia (9 of 20 were identical, 5 differed by a single organism). Sputum cultures taken at the time of intubation were helpful in predicting the subsequent pathogens in patients who developed pneumonia. There were no differences in mortality between patients with (29%) and without (28%) pneumonia. Emergency endotracheal intubation appears to contribute to the overall incidence of nosocomial pneumonia.

Infection control in the department of nuclear medicine

Concern about the spread of infections in the hospital setting has prompted regulatory agencies to mandate infection control standards. Each hospital department is required to have written policies and procedures which describe measures to prevent and control the spread of nosocomial infections (hospital acquired infections), along with quality assurance programs to assure that procedures are followed. The Department of Nuclear Medicine, as other departments, should have procedures which address special precautions for the prevention of nosocomial infections. This article will focus on a new approach to prevent nosocomial infections, guidelines for handling patients and contaminated equipment, and the importance of quality assurance activities to monitor compliance to established standards. An opening discussion on the routes of transmission, and factors necessary for transmission of infection, will serve as a review to assist with understanding the concept for handling the hospitalized patient in a Nuclear Medicine setting.