American Journal of Epidemiology Vol. 121, No. 2: 182-205
Copyright © 1985 by The Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health
research-article |
THE EFFICACY OE INFECTION SURVEILLANCE AND CONTROL PROGRAMS IN PREVENTING NOSOCOMIAL INFECTIONS IN US HOSPITALS
1Hospital Infections Program, Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control, Public Health Service, US Department of Health and Human Services Atlanta, GA
Address for reprints: SENIC Project, 
Public Inquiries Office, Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, GA 30333
In a representative sample of US general hospitals, the authors found that the establishment of intensive infection surveillance and control programs was strongly associated with reductions in rates of nosocomial urinary tract infection, surgical wound infection, pneumonia, and bacteremia between 1970 and 1975–1976, after controlling for other characteristics of the hospitals and their patients. Essential components of effective programs included conducting organized surveillance and control activities and having a trained, effectual infection control physician, an infection control nurse per 250 beds, and a system for reporting infection rates to practicing surgeons. Programs with these components reduced their hospitals' infection rates by 32%. Since relatively few hospitals had very effective programs, however, only 6% of the nation's approximately 2 million nosocomial infections were being prevented in the mid-1970s, leaving another 26% to be prevented by universal adoption of these programs. Among hospitals without effective programs, the overall infection rate increased by 18% from 1970 to 1976.
cost control; costs and cost analysis; cross infection; evaluation studies; health services research; health surveys; hospitals
2Current address:Division of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Southwestern Medical School, University of Texas Health Science Center at Dallas, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX
3Current address: Department of Internal Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Harborview Medical Center, 6010 43rd Street, NE, Seattle, WA
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