The battle for infection control is fought daily in wound management where the body's first line of defense against microbes has been breeched.
Sometimes something old is made new again with a twist of new technology, as is the case in new infection-fighting wound care products that use shrimp shells, honey and silver as their key ingredients.
The silver bullet

Many clinicians probably feel like they are being treated like a 5-year-old with the constant warnings and reminders to wash their hands to prevent getting sick or spreading bacteria. While it is simple and we all know hand-washing is important to prevent the spread of hospital-acquired infections like MRSA, people also know smoking is harmful to health, yet every medical convention I have attended I see doctors and nurses outside the convention doors smoking. Medical professionals know what is right, but must be reminded to walk the talk.

Between 44,000 and 98,000 Americans die each year from preventable medical errors, according to the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) 1999 report. That single fact, along with all the complications associated with it — patient lawsuits, regulatory pressures and media scrutiny — has compelled hospitals to implement new systems to reduce preventable errors, including decreasing errors associated with the administration of medications. According to an American Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists survey, the No.