Corresponding author: Shelley S. Magill, MD, PhD, Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd., MS A-24, Atlanta, GA 30333, Phone: (404) 639-0291, smagill@cdc.gov. a Current affiliation: Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, USA b Current affiliation: Tanner Medical Center, Villa Rica, GA, USA The study described herein was presented in abstract form at the Fifth Decennial International Conference on Healthcare-Associated Infections, March 18-22, 2010, Atlanta, GA (Abstract #911). Objective-To determine healthcare-associated infection (HAI) prevalence in nine Jacksonville, FL hospitals, evaluate the performance of proxy indicators for HAIs, and refine methodology in preparation for a multi-state survey.
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Design-Point prevalence survey.Patients-Acute care inpatients of any age.Methods-HAIs were defined using National Healthcare Safety Network criteria. In each facility a trained Primary Team (PT) of infection prevention (IP) staff performed the survey on 1 day, reviewing records and collecting data on a random sample of inpatients. PTs assessed patients with ≥1 proxy indicator (abnormal white blood cell count, abnormal temperature, or antimicrobial therapy) for the presence of HAIs. An external IP expert team collected data from a subset of patient records reviewed by PTs to assess proxy indicator performance and PT data collection.Results-Of 851 patients surveyed by PTs, 51 had ≥1 HAI (6.0%, 95% confidence interval 4.5-7.7%). Surgical site infections (n=18), urinary tract infections (n=9), pneumonia (n=9), and bloodstream infections (n=8) accounted for 75.8% of 58 HAIs detected by PTs. Staphylococcus aureus was the most common pathogen, causing 9 HAIs (15.5%). Antimicrobial therapy was the most sensitive proxy indicator, identifying 95.5% of patients with HAIs.
