To evaluate the effect of bathing patients with 2% chlorhexidine on the rates of central vascular catheter (CVC)–associated bloodstream infection (BSI) at a long-term acute care hospital (LTACH).

Quasi-experimental study.

A 70-bed LTACH in the greater Chicago area.

All consecutive patients admitted to the LTACH during the period from February 2006 to February 2008.

For patients at the LTACH, daily 2% chlorhexidine baths were instituted during the period from September 2006 until May 2007 (ie, the intervention period). A preintervention period (in which patients were given daily soap-and-water baths) and a postintervention period (in which patients were given daily nonmedicated baths and weekly 2% chlorhexidine baths) were also observed. The rates of CVC-associated BSI and ventilator-associated pneumonia were analyzed for the intervention period and for the pre- and postintervention periods.

The rates of CVC-associated BSI were 9.5, 3.8, and 6.4 cases per 1,000 CVC-days during the preintervention, intervention, and postintervention periods, respectively. By the end of the intervention period, there was a net reduction of 99% in the CVC-associated BSI rate. No changes were seen in the rates of ventilator-associated pneumonia during the preintervention and intervention periods.

Daily chlorhexidine baths appeared to be an effective intervention to reduce rates of CVC-associated BSI in an LTACH.

Although many studies have examined nosocomial bloodstream infection (BSI), US national estimates of incidence and case-fatality rates have seldom been reported.

The purposes of this study were to generate US national estimates of the incidence and severity of nosocomial BSI and to identify risk factors for nosocomial BSI among adults hospitalized in the United States on the basis of a national probability sample.

This cross-sectional study used the US Nationwide Inpatient Sample for the year 2003 to estimate the incidence and case-fatality rate associated with nosocomial BSI in the total US population. Cases of nosocomial BSI were defined by using 1 or more International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification codes in the secondary field(s) that corresponded to BSIs that occurred at least 48 hours after admission. The comparison group consisted of all patients without BSI codes in their NIS records. Weighted data were used to generate US national estimates of nosocomial BSIs. Logistic regression was used to identify independent risk factors for nosocomial BSI.

The US national estimated incidence of nosocomial BSI was 21.6 cases per 1,000 admissions, while the estimated case-fatality rate was 20.6%. Seven of the 10 leading causes of hospital admissions associated with nosocomial BSI were infection related. We estimate that 541,081 patients would have acquired a nosocomial BSI in 2003, and of these, 111,427 would have died. The final multivariate model consisted of the following risk factors: central venous catheter use (odds ratio [OR], 4.76), other infections (OR, 4.61), receipt of mechanical ventilation (OR, 4.97), trauma (OR, 1.98), hemodialysis (OR, 4.83), and malnutrition (OR, 2.50). The total maximum rescaled R2 was 0.22.

The Nationwide Inpatient Sample was useful for estimating national incidence and case-fatality rates, as well as examining independent predictors of nosocomial BSI.

To measure the interobserver agreement, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of data submitted to a statewide surveillance system for identifying central line-associated bloodstream infection (BSI).

Retrospective review of hospital medical records comparing reported data with gold standard according to definitions of central line–associated BSI.

Six Victorian public hospitals with more than 100 beds.

Reporting of surveillance outcomes was undertaken by infection control practitioners at the hospital sites. Retrospective evaluation of the surveillance process was carried out by independent infection control practitioners from the Victorian Hospital Acquired Infection Surveillance System (VICNISS). A sample of records of patients reported to have a central line-associated BSI were assessed to determine whether they met the definition of central line–associated BSI. A sample of records of patients with bacteremia in the intensive care unit during the assessment period who were not reported as having central line–associated BSI were also assessed to see whether they met the definition of central line-associated BSI.

Records of 108 patients were reviewed; the agreement between surveillance reports and the VICNISS assessment was 67.6% (κ = 0.31). Of the 46 reported central line–associated BSIs, 27 were confirmed to be central line–associated BSIs, for a positive predictive value of 59% (95% confidence interval [CI], 43%–73%). Of the 62 cases of bacteremia reviewed that were not reported as central line–associated BSIs, 45 were not associated with a central line, for a negative predictive value of 73% (95% CI, 60%–83%). Estimated sensitivity was 35%, and specificity was 87%. The positive likelihood ratio was 3.0, and the negative likelihood ratio was 0.72.

The agreement between the reporting of central line–associated BSI and the gold standard application of definitions was unacceptably low. False-negative results were problematic; more than half of central line–associated BSIs may be missed in Victorian public hospitals.

Healthcare-associated, community-acquired bacteremia is a subcategory of community-acquired bacteremia distinguished by recent exposure of the patient to the healthcare system before hospital admission. Our objective was to apply this category to a prospective cohort of hospitalized patients with gram-negative bacteremia to determine differences in the epidemiological characteristics, treatment, and outcome of community-acquired bacteremia; healthcare-associated, community-acquired bacteremia; and hospital-acquired bacteremia.

A 6-month prospective cohort study.

A 1,250-bed tertiary care hospital.

Adults hospitalized with gram-negative bacteremia.

Among 250 patients, 160 (64.0%) had bacteremia within 48 hours after admission; 132 (82.5%) of these were considered to have healthcare-associated, community-acquired bacteremia, according to previously published criteria. For patients with healthcare-associated, community-acquired bacteremia, compared with patients with community-acquired bacteremia, malignancies (59 [44.7%] of 132 patients vs 3 [10.7%] of 28 patients; P = .001), open wounds at admission (42 [31.8%] vs 3 [10.7%]; P = .02), and intravascular catheter-related infections (26 [19.7%] vs 0; P = .009) were more frequent and Escherichia coli as a causative agent was less frequent (16 [57.1%] vs 33 [25.0%]; P = .001). There was no difference between these 2 groups in inadequate empirical antibiotic treatment (36 [27.3%] vs 6 [21.4%]; P = .5) and hospital mortality (18 [13.6%] vs 2 [[7.1%]; P = .5). Compared with 90 patients with hospital-acquired bacteremia, patients with healthcare-associated, community-acquired bacteremia had a higher Charlson score (odds ratio [OR], 1.31 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.14–1.49]) but were less likely to have lymphoma (OR, 0.07 [95% CI, 0.01–0.51]), neutropenia (OR, 0.21 [95% CI, 0.07–0.61]), a removable foreign body (OR, 0.08 [95% CI, 0.03–0.20]), or Klebsiella pneumoniae infection (OR, 0.26 [95% CI, 0.11–0.62]).

Many cases of gram-negative bacteremia that occurred in hospitalized patients were healthcare associated. The patients differed in some aspects from patients with community-acquired bacteremia and from those with hospital-acquired bacteremia, but not in mortality.

Despite the high prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection in the hospital, the proportion of patients with MRSA bacteremia who receive appropriate empirical therapy remains suboptimal.

To investigate the proportion of patients with MRSA bloodstream infection (BSI) who received appropriate empirical antibiotic therapy and to identify risk factors associated with receipt of appropriate empirical therapy.

We studied a cohort of patients from 10 hospitals. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients who received appropriate empirical antibiotic therapy for MRSA BSI. Appropriate therapy was defined as receipt of daptomycin, linezolid, quinupristin-dalfopristin, or vancomycin within 1 calendar day after the first blood culture result positive for S. aureus (ie, before antimicrobial susceptibilities were known). Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine variables associated with receipt of appropriate empirical therapy.

The study included 562 patients with MRSA BSI. The mean (± standard deviation) age of the patients was 64 ± 16 years, and 288 (51.2%) were male. Only 291 (51.8%) patients received appropriate empirical therapy. Patients were more likely to receive appropriate therapy if they required hemodialysis (odds ratio [OR], 1.36 [95% confidence interval {CI}, 1.00–1.85]), had undergone knee or hip arthroplasty (OR, 3.04 [95% CI, 1.21–7.6]), had a central venous catheter at admission (OR, 1.72 [95% CI, 1.01–2.93]), or had a McCabe score of 1 at admission (OR, 1.83 [95% CI, 1.16–2.83]). Bowel incontinence (OR, 0.41 [95% CI, 0.19–0.92]) and BSIs categorized as primary (OR, 0.41 [95% CI, 0.27–0.63]) were associated with a decreased likelihood of receiving appropriate empirical therapy.

Only half of patients with MRSA BSI received appropriate empirical therapy. Factors associated with receiving appropriate empirical antibiotics included the presence of a central venous catheter at admission and a history of joint arthroplasty. Surprisingly, prior MRSA infection was not predictive of receipt of appropriate antimicrobial therapy.

The incidence and severity of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) are increasing, and previously described interventions for controlling the spread of CDI are not easily generalized to multiple healthcare institutions.

We tested prevention and treatment bundles to decrease the incidence of CDI and the mortality associated with CDI at our hospital.

Observational before-after study of adult patients admitted to a tertiary care, university-affiliated hospital during the period from January 2004 through December 2008.

In January 2006, we launched an educational campaign and introduced a prevention bundle—a series of specific processes aimed at preventing the transmission of C. difficile among hospitalized patients, including enhanced isolation practices, laboratory notification procedures, and steps coordinating infection control and environmental services activities. In April 2006, we implemented a treatment bundle—a set of hospital-wide treatment practices aimed at minimizing the risk of serious CDI complications. We tracked quarterly incidence rates and case-fatality rates for healthcare-associated CDI cases at our hospital. Our main outcome was the healthcare-associated CDI incidence rate, measured as the number of healthcare-associated cases of CDI per 1,000 patient-days.

We followed patients for a total of 1,047,849 patient-days. The healthcare-associated CDI incidence rates fell from an average of 1.10 cases per 1,000 patient-days before intervention to 0.66 cases per 1,000 patient-days after intervention. This statistically significant decrease amounts to a 40% reduction in incidence after the intervention.

Our intervention was successful in reducing the incidence of CDI at our hospital. On the basis of our experience, we propose the use of a checklist of hospital interventions to decrease the incidence of healthcare-associated CDI.

The International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) code for Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is used for surveillance of CDI. However, the ICD-9-CM code alone cannot separate nosocomial cases from cases acquired outside the institution. The purpose of this study was to determine whether combining the ICD-9-CM code with medication treatment data for CDI in hospitalized patients could enable us to distinguish between patients with nosocomial CDI and patients who were admitted with CDI. The primary objective was to compare the sensitivity, specificity, and predictive value of using the combination of ICD-9-CM code for CDI and CDI treatment records to identify cases of nosocomial CDI with the sensitivity, specificity, and predictive value of using the ICD-9-CM code alone.

Validation sample cross-sectional study.

Academic health center.

Administrative claims data from July 1, 2004, to June 30, 2005, were queried to identify adults discharged with an ICD-9-CM code for CDI and to find documentation of CDI therapy with oral vancomycin or metronidazole. Laboratory and medical records were queried to identify symptomatic CDI toxin-positive adult patients with nosocomial CDI and were compared with records of patients whose cases were predicted to be nosocomial by means of ICD-9-CM code and CDI therapy data.

Of 23,920 adult patients discharged from the hospital, 62 had nosocomial CDI according to symptoms and toxin assay. The sensitivity of the ICD-9-CM code alone for identifying nosocomial CDI was 96.8%, the specificity was 99.6%, the positive predictive value was 40.8%, and the negative predictive value was 100%. When CDI drug therapy was included with the ICD-9-CM code, the sensitivity ranged from 58.1% to 85.5%, specificity was virtually unchanged, and the range in positive predictive value was 37.9%–80.0%.

Combining the ICD-9-CM code for CDI with drug therapy information increased the positive predictive value for nosocomial CDI but decreased the sensitivity.

The incidence of surgical site infection (SSI) after hysterectomy ranges widely from 2% to 21%. A specific risk stratification index could help to predict more accurately the risk of incisional SSI following abdominal hysterectomy and would help determine the reasons for the wide range of reported SSI rates in individual studies. To increase our understanding of the risk factors needed to build a specific risk stratification index, we performed a retrospective multihospital analysis of risk factors for SSI after abdominal hysterectomy.

Retrospective case-control study of 545 abdominal and 275 vaginal hysterectomies from July 1, 2003, to June 30, 2005, at 4 institutions. SSIs were defined by using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance criteria. Independent risk factors for abdominal hysterectomy were identified by using logistic regression.

There were 13 deep incisional, 53 superficial incisional, and 18 organ-space SSIs after abdominal hysterectomy and 14 organ-space SSIs after vaginal hysterectomy. Because risk factors for organ-space SSI were different according to univariate analysis, we focused further analyses on incisional SSI after abdominal hysterectomy. The maximum serum glucose level within 5 days after operation was highest in patients with deep incisional SSI, lower in patients with superficial incisional SSI, and lowest in uninfected patients (median, 189, 156, and 141 mg/dL, respectively; P = .005). Independent risk factors for incisional SSI included blood transfusion (odds ratio [OR], 2.4) and morbid obesity (body mass index [BMI], >35; OR, 5.7). Duration of operation greater than the 75th percentile (OR, 1.7), obesity (BMI, 30–35; OR, 3.0), and lack of private health insurance (OR, 1.7) were marginally associated with increased odds of SSI.

Incisional SSI after abdominal hysterectomy was associated with increased BMI and blood transfusion. Longer duration of operation and lack of private health insurance were marginally associated with SSI.

To examine the impact of different acellular pertussis booster vaccination strategies on the probability of a nosocomial pertussis outbreak occurring and the distribution of outbreak sizes observed for each intervention strategy.

Neonatal intensive care unit.

We developed a stochastic, agent-based simulation model to examine the impact of booster vaccination strategies for pertussis on health care-related transmission.

Our results demonstrate that healthcare worker booster vaccination decreases the probability of secondary transmission from 49% (base case, no boosting) to 2% (if 95% of healthcare workers are boosted) and decreases final outbreak size. Boosting family caregivers did not have a clinically significant impact on nosocomial disease transmission.

The provision of booster vaccine to healthcare workers in the neonatal intensive care unit substantially reduces the risk of hospital-centered pertussis outbreaks in a manner that enhances the health of hospitalized children. A formal health economic analysis of this finding is currently under way. Policies to protect patient safety in pediatric facilities should include compliance with the United States Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which recommends provision of pertussis booster vaccination to healthcare workers.

Observational surveys of hand hygiene compliance are time consuming. Measuring the use of a hand hygiene product is a less time-consuming method of monitoring the frequency of hand hygiene performance.

To evaluate the usefulness of electronic devices for monitoring alcohol-based hand rub use.

Prospective observational trial.

A university-affiliated teaching hospital.

Prototypes of an electronic device designed to record each time a dispenser is used (hereafter referred to as a hand hygiene event) were placed in alcohol-based hand rub dispensers on the general medical ward and in the surgical intensive care unit. Data were downloaded wirelessly to a data logger and then uploaded to a dedicated Web site for analysis. Alcohol-based hand rub dispensers were located in patient rooms and in corridors.

During a 6-month trial, 105,462 hand hygiene events occurred in the surgical intensive care unit, and 44,845 events occurred on the general medical ward. The dispensers located in patient rooms accounted for 47% of the hand hygiene events performed in the surgical intensive care unit but for only 36% of events on the general medical ward (P<.001). The dispensers most often used were located in corridors. Hand hygiene events were most common on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, between 7:00 AM and 11:00 AM.

The use of these electronic devices provided an efficient and accurate method of monitoring the frequency of alcohol-based hand rub performance on the general medical ward and in the surgical intensive care unit, and yielded more detailed information on usage patterns than did expressing use as liters per 1,000 patient-days. The wireless downloading of data from dispensers required a limited amount of time, and the dedicated Web site facilitated data analysis. Such devices should prove useful in monitoring the impact of various interventions on the frequency of hand hygiene performance.