Abstract
In a 1400-bedded teaching hospital singleday prevalence surveys of hospital infection were done every six months for 3 years. The prevalence of community-acquired infection remained constant; but, after the introduction of a general infection-control policy, the prevalence of hospital-acquired infection (HAI) fell linearly from 10·5% in the second survey to 5·6% in the last. After the introduction of a specific urinary catheter care policy, the prevalence of hospital-acquired urinary tract infection (HAUTI) fell from 3·2% in the first four surveys to 2·0% in the last three. These differences persisted when the results were adjusted by logistic regression for patient risk factors, which varied between surveys: the declines for HAI and HAUTI were then 9·9% to 6·0% and 2·9% to 2·2% respectively. Infection control policies, therefore, can have substantial impact on the prevalence of HAI, and their effectiveness can readily be measured by repeated prevalence surveys.
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