We monitored trends of severe COVID-19 morbidity in Slovenia during weeks 13 to 37 2021. National weekly rates of severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) cases testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 at admission in all hospitals varied between 0.2 and 16.3 cases per 100,000 population. Of those without previous COVID-19 diagnosis, SARI COVID-19 admission rates ranged between 0.3 and 17.5 per 100,000 unvaccinated, and 0.0 and 7.3 per 100,000 fully vaccinated individuals. National SARI COVID-19 surveillance is essential in informing COVID-19 response.

IntroductionIn the second Slovenian national healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) prevalence survey, conducted within the European point prevalence survey of HAIs and antimicrobial use in acute-care hospitals, we estimated the prevalence of all types of HAIs and identified risk factors.MethodsPatients from acute-care hospitals were enrolled into a one-day cross-sectional study in October 2011. Descriptive analyses were performed to describe the characteristics of patients, their exposure to invasive procedures and the prevalence of different types of HAIs. Univariate and multivariate analyses of association of having at least one HAI with possible risk factors were performed to identify risk factors.ResultsAmong 5628 patients, 3.8% had at least one HAI and additional 2.6% were still being treated for HAIs on the day of the survey; the prevalence of HAIs was 6.4%. The prevalence of urinary tract infections was the highest (1.4%), followed by pneumoniae (1.3%) and surgical site infections (1.2%). In intensive care units (ICUs), the prevalence of patients with at least one HAI was 35.7%. Risk factors for HAIs included central vascular catheter (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 4.0; 95% confidence intervals (CI): 2.9-5.7), peripheral vascular catheter (aOR 2.0; 95% CI: 1.5-2.6), intubation (aOR 2.3; 95% CI: 1.4-3.5) and rapidly fatal underlying condition (aOR 2.1; 95% CI: 1.4-3.3).ConclusionsThe prevalence of HAIs in Slovenian acute-care hospitals in 2011 was substantial, especially in ICUs. HAIs prevention and control is an important public health priority. National surveillance of HAIs in ICUs should be developed to support evidence-based prevention and control.

These results prove the feasibility of collecting standardized data from CBVCT services in different countries across Europe and demonstrate the usefulness of such data.

Introduction In the third Slovenian national healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) prevalence survey, conducted within the European point prevalence survey of HAIs and antimicrobial use in acute care hospitals, we estimated the prevalence of all types of HAIs and identified factors associated with them. Methods Patients were enrolled into a one-day cross-sectional study in November 2017. Descriptive analyses were performed to describe the characteristics of patients, their exposure to invasive procedures and the prevalence of different types of HAIs. Univariate and multivariate analyses of association of having at least one HAI with possible risk factors were performed to identify risk factors. Results Among 5,743 patients, 4.4% had at least one HAI and an additional 2.2% were still treated for HAIs on the day of the survey, with a prevalence of HAIs of 6.6%. The prevalence of pneumoniae was the highest (1.8%), followed by surgical site infections (1.5%) and urinary tract infections (1.2%). Prevalence of blood stream infections was 0.3%. In intensive care units (ICUs), the prevalence of patients with at least one HAI was 30.6%. Factors associated with HAIs included central vascular catheter (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 4.1; 95% confidence intervals [CI]: 3.1–5.4), peripheral vascular catheter (aOR 3.0; 95% CI: 2.3–3.9), urinary catheter (aOR 1.8; 95% CI: 1.4–2.3). Conclusions The prevalence of HAIs in Slovenian acute care hospitals in 2017 was substantial, especially in ICUs. HAIs prevention and control is an important public health priority. National surveillance of HAIs in ICUs should be developed to support evidence-based prevention and control.

IntroductionThe second Slovenian national healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) prevalence survey (SNHPS) was conducted in acute-care hospitals in 2011. The objective was to assess the sensitivity and specificity of the method used for the ascertainment of six types of HAIs (bloodstream infections, catheter-associated infections, lower respiratory tract infections, pneumoniae, surgical site infections, and urinary tract infections) in the University Medical Centre Ljubljana (UMCL).MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted in patients surveyed in the SNHPS in the UMCL using a retrospective medical chart review (RMCR) and European HAIs surveillance definitions. Sensitivity and specificity of the method used in the SNHPS using RMCR as a reference was computed for ascertainment of patients with any of the six selected types of HAIs and for individual types of HAIs. Agreement between the SNHPS and RMCR results was analyzed using Cohen’s kappa coefficient.Results1474 of 1742 (84.6%) patients surveyed in the SNHPS were included in RMCR. The sensitivity of the SNHPS method for detecting any of six HAIs was 90% (95% confidence interval (CI): 81%-95%) and specificity 99% (95% CI: 98%-99%). The sensitivity by type of HAI ranged from 63% (lower respiratory tract infections) to 92% (bloodstream infections). Specificity was at least 99% for all types of HAIs. Agreement between the two data collection approaches for HAIs overall was very good (κ=0.83).ConclusionsThe overall sensitivity of SNHPS collection method for ascertaining HAIs overall was high and the specificity was very high. This suggests that the estimated prevalence of HAIs in the SNHPS was credible.