Ten Years of Hospital District-wide Prevalence Surveys of Healthcare-Associated Infection (HAI) in Southwest Finland

Background:

The Hospital District of Southwest Finland consists of a University Hospital (UH) and three district hospitals (DHs) with 1396 bedplaces. Repeated prevalence surveys were performed in the hospitals as a way to register the effect of intensified hospital hygiene efforts during the years 2001-2010.

Objective:

To assess the magnitude and characteristics of HAI in the district and to establish prevalence surveys as a useful method for routine surveillance.

Methods:

Prevalence study was performed in each DHs once a year, and twice a year in the UH. HAIs were classified according to the modified CDC definitions.

Results:

12.5% (1829/14675) of all patients had HAI. The overall prevalence rate was 14.2% (2089/14675). The most frequent HAIs in UH were surgical wound infections (22.6%), pneumonia (20.4%) and bloodstream infection (17.3%) while the most common HAIs in DHs were pneumonia (33.9%), infections of the urinary tract (28.3%), and surgical wound infections (17.1%). The rate of antibiotic use was 35.8% of all patients on the prevalence days. The prevalence of HAI varied from 0% in some departments to 75% in the intensive care units.

Conclusions:

Prevalence surveillance detected changes in the patterns that indicated an infection problem. High risk wards and procedures were identified and intensified infection control measures were performed. A new IT-system has been developed as part of the incidence surveillance system (SAI) to make data collection and analysis easier.