Scholars@Duke
Bobby Warren

Bobby Warren

Associate Research Laboratory Manager
Medicine

Scholarly Works

Comparing rapid molecular and culture methods for detecting fungal contamination in healthcare environments.

Journal article Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol · June 18, 2026 BACKGROUND: Fungal contamination of healthcare environments is increasingly recognized as a potential contributor to healthcare-associated infections, yet standardized environmental surveillance strategies remain poorly defined. Culture-based methods are w ... Full text Link to item Cite

Measuring the efficacy of standard and novel disinfection methods on inpatient clinician-assigned phone: a 2-phase randomized experimental study.

Journal article Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol · April 27, 2026 We conducted a two-phase randomized controlled trial evaluating routine versus automated hydrogen peroxide-peracetic acid disinfection of inpatient clinician-assigned phones. Both strategies significantly reduced microbial bioburden and clinically importan ... Full text Link to item Cite

The "five-second" rule for dropped food: does it apply to dropped medical objects in the operating room? A randomized study of disinfection approaches for contaminated arthroplasty implants.

Journal article Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol · March 26, 2026 Polyethylene liners dropped onto operating room floors rapidly acquire bacterial contamination, including clinically important pathogens. In a randomized bench study, sterile chlorhexidine-alcohol and povidone-iodine immersion significantly reduced bioburd ... Full text Link to item Cite

Efficacy of a foamed disinfectant in reducing pathogen contamination in renovated inpatient in-room sinks: a randomized controlled trial.

Journal article Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol · January 2026 BACKGROUND: Hospital sinks are reservoirs for epidemiologically important pathogens (EIPs), yet practical, effective strategies for sustained decontamination are lacking. METHODS: We conducted a randomized controlled trial of 30 in-room sinks (15 intervent ... Full text Link to item Cite

Measuring the disinfection efficacy of the Tru-D iQ and Tru-D Legacy systems in acute patient care hospital rooms: a randomized experimental study.

Journal article Antimicrob Steward Healthc Epidemiol · 2025 In this randomized experimental study, Tru-D iQ and Legacy UV-C systems both reduced environmental contamination in hospital rooms. Both systems significantly reduced contamination, with the Tru-D iQ achieving comparable efficacy overall and significantly ... Full text Link to item Cite

Comparative analysis of sampling and detection methods for fungal contamination on common healthcare environment surface materials.

Journal article Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol · October 2024 We evaluated sampling and detection methods for fungal contamination on healthcare surface materials, comparing the efficacy of foam sponges, flocked swabs, and Replicate Organism Detection And Counting (RODAC) plates alongside culture-based quantification ... Full text Link to item Cite

Measuring the efficacy of standard and novel disinfection methods on frequently used physical therapy equipment: a 2-phase prospective randomized controlled trial.

Journal article Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol · October 2024 BACKGROUND: Frequently used physical therapy (PT) equipment is difficult to disinfect due to equipment material and shape. The efficacy of standard disinfection of PT equipment is poorly understood. METHODS: We completed a 2-phase prospective microbiologic ... Full text Link to item Cite

Mycobacterium immunogenum acquisition from hospital tap water: a genomic and epidemiologic analysis.

Journal article J Clin Microbiol · June 12, 2024 We identified 23 cases of Mycobacterium immunogenum respiratory acquisition linked to a colonized plumbing system at a new hospital addition. We conducted a genomic and epidemiologic investigation to assess for clonal acquisition of M. immunogenum from hos ... Full text Link to item Cite

A cluster of three extrapulmonary Mycobacterium abscessus infections linked to well-maintained water-based heater-cooler devices.

Journal article Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol · May 2024 BACKGROUND: Various water-based heater-cooler devices (HCDs) have been implicated in nontuberculous mycobacteria outbreaks. Ongoing rigorous surveillance for healthcare-associated M. abscessus (HA-Mab) put in place following a prior institutional outbreak ... Full text Link to item Cite

Racial disparities in Clostridioides difficile testing in three southeastern US hospitals.

Journal article Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol · April 2024 OBJECTIVE: To analyze Clostridioides difficile testing in 3 hospitals in central North Carolina to validate previous racial health-disparity findings. METHODS: We completed a retrospective analysis of inpatient C. difficile tests from 2015 to 2021 at 3 uni ... Full text Link to item Cite

Identification of carbapenem-resistant organism (CRO) contamination of in-room sinks in intensive care units in a new hospital bed tower.

Journal article Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol · March 2024 BACKGROUND: The origins and timing of inpatient room sink contamination with carbapenem-resistant organisms (CROs) are poorly understood. METHODS: We performed a prospective observational study to describe the timing, rate, and frequency of CRO contaminati ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Healthcare Provider N95 Respirator Contamination Worn Behind Face Shields With SARS-CoV-2 During Routine Clinical Care of Patients With COVID-19.

Journal article Open Forum Infect Dis · March 2024 N95 respirator contamination with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) during clinical care of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 is poorly understood. We performed a prospective observational study on healthcare provider's (HCP ... Full text Link to item Cite

Disinfection efficacy of Oxivir TB wipe residue on severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

Journal article Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol · July 19, 2023 We assessed Oxivir Tb wipe disinfectant residue in a controlled laboratory setting to evaluate low environmental contamination of SARS-CoV-2. Frequency of viral RNA detection was not statistically different between intervention and control arms on day 3 (P ... Full text Link to item Cite

Evaluation of hospital blood culture utilization rates to identify opportunities for diagnostic stewardship.

Journal article Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol · February 2023 OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the pattern of blood-culture utilization among a cohort of 6 hospitals to identify potential opportunities for diagnostic stewardship. METHODS: We completed a retrospective analysis of blood-culture utilization during adult inpatien ... Full text Link to item Cite

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 environmental contamination in hospital rooms is uncommon using viral culture techniques.

Journal article Clin Infect Dis · August 24, 2022 We assessed environmental contamination of inpatient rooms housing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients in a dedicated COVID-19 unit. Contamination with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 was found on 5.5% (19/347) of surfaces via reve ... Full text Link to item Cite

The Impact of Infection Versus Colonization on Clostridioides difficile Environmental Contamination in Hospitalized Patients With Diarrhea.

Journal article Open Forum Infect Dis · April 2022 BACKGROUND: Patients with Clostridioides difficile infections (CDIs) contaminate the healthcare environment; however, the relative contribution of contamination by colonized individuals is unknown. Current guidelines do not recommend the use of contact pre ... Full text Link to item Cite

Impact of preoperative chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) application methods on preoperative CHG skin concentration.

Journal article Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol · April 2021 Elective surgical patients routinely bathe with chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) at home days prior to their procedures. However, the impact of home CHG bathing on surgical site CHG concentration is unclear. We examined 3 different methods of applying CHG and ... Full text Link to item Cite

Measuring the impact of continuous disinfection strategies on environmental burden in outpatient settings: A prospective randomized controlled trial

Journal article Open Forum Infectious Diseases · October 1, 2020 Background. Our primary objective was to determine the effectiveness of 2 enhanced disinfection strategies compared with standard disinfection: “near-UV” light (Arm 1) and a persistent organosilane quaternary ammonium disinfectant (Arm 2) using a triple-bl ... Full text Cite

Efficacy of UV-C disinfection in hyperbaric chambers.

Journal article Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol · September 2020 Ultraviolet C (UV-C) light reduces contamination on high-touch clinical surfaces. We assessed the efficacy of 2 UV-C devices at eradicating important clinical pathogens in hyperbaric chambers. Both devices were similarly efficacious against MRSA but differ ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

The Synergistic Influence of Life Experiences and Cultural Nuances on Development of Depression: A Cognitive Behavioral Perspective.

Journal article Issues in mental health nursing · January 2020 The synergistic influences of everyday life experiences, societal expectations, and cultural nuances affect a person's ability to successfully manage their life and remain mentally healthy. Persons from culturally and ethnically diverse populations may inc ... Full text Cite

Changing Characteristics of Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia: Results From a 21-Year, Prospective, Longitudinal Study.

Journal article Clin Infect Dis · November 13, 2019 BACKGROUND: We conducted a longitudinal study to evaluate changes in the clinical presentation and epidemiology of Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (SAB) in an academic, US medical center. METHODS: Consecutive patients with monomicrobial SAB were enrolled ... Full text Link to item Cite

The Antimicrobial Scrub Contamination and Transmission (ASCOT) Trial: A Three-Arm, Blinded, Randomized Controlled Trial With Crossover Design to Determine the Efficacy of Antimicrobial-Impregnated Scrubs in Preventing Healthcare Provider Contamination.

Journal article Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol · October 2017 OBJECTIVE To determine whether antimicrobial-impregnated textiles decrease the acquisition of pathogens by healthcare provider (HCP) clothing. DESIGN We completed a 3-arm randomized controlled trial to test the efficacy of 2 types of antimicrobial-impregna ... Full text Link to item Cite

Increased in vitro phenol-soluble modulin production is associated with soft tissue infection source in clinical isolates of methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus.

Journal article J Infect · March 2016 BACKGROUND: Phenol-soluble modulins (PSM) are amphipathic proteins produced by Staphylococcus aureus that promote virulence, inflammatory response, and biofilm formation. We previously showed that MRSA isolates from soft tissue infection (SSTI) produced si ... Full text Link to item Cite