Patient density, nurse-to-patient ratio and nosocomial infection risk in a pediatric cardiac intensive care unit

Abstract

The NIR was most strongly correlated with patient census but also was strongly associated with the nursing hours:patient day ratio. These factors may influence the infection rate because of breaks in health care worker aseptic technique or decreased hand washing. Increased patient census alone may increase the risk of cross-transmission of nosocomial infections. As hospitals proceed with cost containment efforts the effect of fluctuations in patient census and nurse staffing on patient outcomes needs evaluation.

Preventing healthcare-associated infection through education: Have surgeons been overlooked?

“…The costs of these educational interventions are small in comparison with the estimated savings [17][18][19]36]. In these times of constrained financial resources, infection prevention and control measures become even more critical given the association between inadequate staffing in the ICU setting and increased rates of HCAI [36,[40][41][42]. There is evidence in the literature to suggest that the most important factor in determining infection rates in surgical practice is the competence and conscientiousness of the individual surgeon [43,44].…”

Empfehlung zur Prävention nosokomialer Infektionen bei neonatologischen Intensivpflegepatienten mit einem Geburtsgewicht unter 1500 g

“…Zahlreiche Studien aus der Neonatologie und aus anderen Fachdisziplinen bestätigen dies übereinstimmend [196,197,198,199,200,201,202,203,204] [196]. F Es ist wissenschaftlich gesichert, dass eine nicht angemessene Ausstattung der NIPS mit qualifiziertem und vor Ort eingearbeitetem Personal das Risiko nosokomialer Infektionen erhöht (Kategorie IA).…”

Hand Hygiene

“…187 Overcrowding and understaffing are commonly observed in health-care settings and have been associated throughout the world, particularly in developing countries where limited personnel and facility resources contribute to the perpetuation of this problem. [183][184][185][186][188][189][190] Overcrowding and understaffing were documented in the largest nosocomial outbreak attributable to Salmonella spp. ever reported 191 ; in this outbreak in Brazil, there was a clear relationship between understaffing and the quality of health care, including hand hygiene.…”