FREE NEJM E-TOC    HOME   |   SUBSCRIBE   |   CURRENT ISSUE   |   PAST ISSUES   |   COLLECTIONS   |   Search Term  Advanced Search

Sign in | Get NEJM's E-Mail Table of Contents — Free | Subscribe

Previous Volume 344:1544-1545 May 17, 2001 Number 20 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

	Full Text PDF Purchase this article Add to Personal Archive Add to Citation Manager Notify a Friend E-mail When Cited Related Article by Grohskopf, L. A. PubMed Citation

It seemed like a simple plan. After the rubber top of a vial was swiped with an alcohol-soaked pledget and pierced with a needle, a dose of medication was aspirated, and any residual content was pooled for later use. What could go wrong? But this procedure carries as much as a 2 percent risk of introducing bacteria into the container,¹ and that can trigger a dangerous cascade. If the hands of the operator are contaminated, if there is a nearby reservoir of potential pathogens (e.g., contaminated soap or hand lotion), if the medication is preservative-free, if the contaminant can grow . . . [Full Text of this Article]

References

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Burke, J. P. (2003). Infection Control -- A Problem for Patient Safety. NEJM 348: 651-656 [Full Text]  
• Friedman, N. D., Kaye, K. S., Stout, J. E., McGarry, S. A., Trivette, S. L., Briggs, J. P., Lamm, W., Clark, C., MacFarquhar, J., Walton, A. L., Reller, L. B., Sexton, D. J. (2002). Health Care-Associated Bloodstream Infections in Adults: A Reason To Change the Accepted Definition of Community-Acquired Infections. ANN INTERN MED 137: 791-797 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• DeOreo, P. B., Kliger, A. S., Issack, M. I., Sullivan, J. D., Kremer, K., Grohskopf, L. A., Jarvis, W. R., Weinstein, R. A. (2001). Serratia liquefaciens Infections at a Hemodialysis Center. NEJM 345: 921-923 [Full Text]  
• (2001). Nosocomial Infections Revisited -- New Variations on Old Themes. JWatch Infect. Diseases 2001: 5-5 [Full Text]