Multi-hospital collaboration using standardized clinical infection and environmental cleaning programs can help control the spread of Clostridium difficile, according to an article on the Becker's Hospital Review website.
Research published in the Journal for Healthcare Quality said that when 35 acute-care hospitals in the New York area participated in a comprehensive C. difficile reduction plan, the participating hospitals had 1,084 fewer cases of C. diff than expected.
Participating institutions were almost exclusively teaching hospitals with more than 100 beds, and standardized clinical infection prevention and environmental cleaning protocols were adopted and monitored using checklists, the article said.