Practice resources

An Overview of Surgical Irrigation

Surgical irrigation is a common intraoperative practice intended to reduce microbial contamination, remove debris, and support optimal wound healing. Over the past decade, several leading professional, advisory, and regulatory organizations have released evidence-based recommendations to guide clinicians in selecting appropriate irrigation solutions and techniques. Collectively, these guidelines and practice guidance recommendations prioritize patient safety, infection prevention, and the judicious use of antiseptic agents in surgical settings. This document synthesizes current evidence-based guidelines (EBGs), regulatory considerations, and practical implementation strategies to support infection preventionists (IPs) in understanding what are currently considered standardized, safe, and effective surgical irrigation practices for reducing SSI.

Centralized Healthcare-Associated Infection Surveillance Programs in Acute Care Health Systems

Infection preventionists play a critical role in preventing healthcare-associated infections, yet too much of their time is consumed by manual surveillance. This guide introduces the benefits, infrastructure needs, and implementation strategies for a centralized surveillance program (CSP), highlighting how it can improve data accuracy, standardization, and efficiency while allowing IPs to focus more on prevention and patient safety.

Implementing the use of Enhanced Barrier Precautions in Skilled Long-Term Care Nursing Facilities

Enhanced Barrier Precautions (EBP) are an effective infection control intervention used to reduce the transmission of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) in skilled long-term care nursing facilities. This practice guidance tool outlines when EBP should be implemented for residents, provides infection control recommendations for routine care activities, and includes case study examples with a self-quiz to help reinforce learning.

Surveillance Plan Essentials for Long-Term Care

This guidance helps long-term care facilities create a surveillance plan to monitor infections and strengthen infection prevention strategies using data-driven approaches. The document provides information on how to customize an infection prevention surveillance plan that access the specific needs and risks of the facility, with the goal to minimize transmission of pathogens.   

Resources for Infection Preventionists in Long-Term Care Setting

This tool was designed to provide Infection Prevention and Control resources to Infection Preventionists in Long-Term Care settings. These resources can be utilized to develop site-specific policies, plans, and procedures within the Long-Term Care setting.

Best Practices for Chronic Wound Management: Clean Versus Sterile Techniques – A Joint Guidance from APIC and WOCN

Wound care practices can differ significantly depending on the healthcare setting, often reflecting longstanding institutional policies. This joint document from APIC and WOCN aims to provide an evidence-based overview of the current literature, addressing the role of clean versus sterile techniques in optimizing wound healing and patient outcomes.

The Impact of Health Disparities and Inequities on Healthcare-Associated Infections: A Call to Action

The Impact of Health Disparities on HAIs: A Call to Action examines how SDOH and systemic inequities influence HAIs. Compiled by the APIC Health Equity Committee, it highlights key barriers, resource limitations, unconscious bias, and data challenges while providing strategies to advance equity in infection prevention

Heightening Awareness for the Infection Preventionist in the Behavioral Health Setting: Top Ten Key Points

This document provides a comprehensive overview of key principles and challenges encountered in various behavioral healthcare settings, including outpatient facilities and inpatient units. With a focus on enhancing awareness, it aims to empower Infection Preventionists to effectively address concerns among both patients and staff.

Top Ten Key Points Infection Preventionists Need to Know about AAMI

The Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to advance safe and effective technology to improve health. AAMI is a primary source of consensus standards, both national and international, for the medical device industry, as well as practical information, support, and guidance for healthcare technology and sterilization professionals. This document is intended to assist Infection Preventionists in selecting, interpreting, and utilizing advisory documents regarding processing medical devices and equipment.

USP <797>: Pharmaceutical Compounding—Sterile Preparations

USP <797>: Pharmaceutical Compounding—Sterile Preparations describes the minimum requirements that apply to all persons who prepare compounded sterile preparations (CSPs) and all places where CSPs are prepared. USP <797> has been revised for the first time since 2008, and the implementation date for the revision is November 1, 2023. The upcoming implementation date for USP <797> offers infection preventionists (IPs) opportunities to educate and support staff in pharmacy, nursing, anesthesia, microbiology/labs, environmental services, and facilities to minimize harm. Occasionally, IPs pose questions regarding the most recent changes to USP <797>. This document has summarized the key points we think are most important for IPs to understand. 

Animals in Healthcare Facilities

Animals in Healthcare Facilities: Recommendations to Minimize Potential Risks (Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, May 2015, vol. 36, no. 5)

This White Paper provides general guidance for managing animals in healthcare. It includes a literature review, review of hospital policies, results of a survey on institutional policies on animals in healthcare and guidance to minimize infection risks associated with animals in healthcare. Specifically, animal assisted activity animals, service animals, research animals, and personal pet visitation are the focus.

The authors stress that the recommendations and guidance in the article are not evidence-based but rather, are practical, expert opinion based recommendations made in the absence of robust evidence and research.

The paper includes specific guidance on managing the different animal categories and specifically stresses the importance of:

• developing a policy regarding animals in healthcare; 
• compliance with state and regulatory agency guidelines; 
• outlining clear definitions about service animals and other categories of animals; 
• proposes detailed recommendations for specific animal categories;
• continuing research in this arena to develop more evidence-based guidance.

Bulk Package of Contrast Material SBAR

Information and recommendations related to infection control risk with innappropriate use of pharmacy bulk packages of IV contrast materials. 

Compendium of Strategies to Prevent Healthcare-Associated Infections in Acute Care Hospitals 
The Compendium consolidates infection prevention research regarding six of the most common healthcare-associated infections: Clostridium difficile, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, central line-associated bloodstream infections, ventilator-associated pneumonia, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, and surgical site infections. The Compendium was developed by a partnership of healthcare organizations.

Healthcare personnel immunization 
Obtain immunization resources and read more on APIC’s position on influenza immunizations of healthcare personnel.