National Healthcare-associated Infections Surveillance Research Articles

A Validation Study of Surveillance Data: Focus on the Korean National Healthcare-associated Infections Surveillance System (KONIS), Intensive Care Unit Module

A Validation Study of Surveillance Data: Focus on the Korean National Healthcare-associated Infections Surveillance System (KONIS), Intensive Care Unit Module

The burden of healthcare-associated infection in Moroccan hospitals: systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Healthcare-associated infections (HAI) continue to be a major public health concern throughout the world because of the associated mortality and socioeconomic costs. The significant financial burden of healthcare-associated infections is especially relevant for developing countries. Meta-analysis can be a major tool that can aid in decision making in the realm of public health, owing to theirevidence level, especially in countries with limited resources, such as Morocco. In Morocco, recently, the Ministry of Health creates the national coordination unit and the technical committee for the surveillance of antimicrobial resistance but still does not have a national HAI surveillance system making it very difficult to systematically assess and report on the burden of hospital-acquired infections HAIs. The main objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to estimate the overall prevalence of infections acquired in hospitals in Morocco using data from prevalence studies. We also studied the variability in the evolution of these infections over time.Methods: A multisource search strategy was used to retrieve all published and unpublished data.The search terms were used in databases, conference abstracts, national research banks, the World Health Organization database, Google scholar and were also applied in a manual search. Two reviewers independently extracted and evaluated the data and the concordance between the two examiners was calculated by Kappa (κ) statistical coefficient. The meta-analysis was performed using the R and Stata software with a random effects model.Results: Fourteen studies with 6,532 patients were included. The pooled prevalence of HAI was 10% (CI 95%: 8 - 12, I2= 87%). Of the 14 studies, ten were conducted in tertiary hospitals with pooled prevalence of 10.84% (CI 95%: 8.9 - 13.714 I2=86%), compared with 6.34% (CI 95% 4.43 – 8.99, I2=63%) in non-tertiary hospitals. When subgrouping analysis by infection type, the most common HAI were nosocomialurinary tract infections with a proportion of 24.52% (CI 95 %:14.09 - 39.15, I2=87%). This proportion was followed closely by surgical wound infections at 24.42% (CI 95%: 20.15 – 29.26, I2=51%). Respiratory infections accounted for 16.82% (CI 95%: 12.51 - 22.24, I2=57%) of the HAI. The change in number of HAI over time has increased between 2004 and 2014 (beta =0.05, 95% CI -0.07 to 0.16 and p = 0.9). There were no publication biases, as evaluated by Funnel Plot and Begg and Egger tests (p> 0.05).Conclusion: The pooled prevalence of HAI across 6,632 patients in Morocco was 10%. The most common HAI were nosocomial urinary tract infections (rate of 24.52%), followed by surgical wound infections (rate of 24.42%), and respiratory infections (rate of 16.82%).

2470. A Survey of the Collection of Denominator Data in the Korean National Healthcare-associated Infections Surveillance System (KONIS), Intensive Care Unit Module

Abstract Background National surveillance data should be validated to identify data quality issues. While denominator data can have a significant effect on the healthcare-associated infection (HAI) rate, they are relatively overlooked compared to numerator data. The Korean National Healthcare-associated Infections Surveillance System (KONIS) has been conducting data validation, and this study analyzed the current status of, and problems with, collecting denominator data for the first time. Methods The web-based cross-sectional survey was conducted on January 6, 2023 on 183 infection control nurses from 127 hospitals, among a total of 275 participating hospitals in the KONIS ICU module. The questionnaire was delivered using the QR code method and answered online by participants via SurveyMonkey®. The survey examined denominator data collection methods, such as patient days and device days of central lines and urinary catheters. The knowledge of the types of central lines and urinary catheters for KONIS reporting and the responses to case questions about specific situations related to the calculation of device days, were also evaluated. Results The respective proportions of manual vs. electronic methods for counting denominator data were 10.4% vs. 81.4% for patient days, 22.4% vs. 67.8% for central line days, and 23.5% vs. 69.4% for urinary catheter days. About 27.3%, 29.5%, and 31.1% of respondents reported periodically checking the accuracy of patient days, central line days, and urinary catheter days data, respectively. Infection control nurses were responsible for collecting the majority (66.1%) of the denominator data and entering them into the Web-based Report and Analysis Program (88.0%). The survey results indicated that the rate of accurately understanding and responding to the case questions on device days for central lines ranged from 24.6% to 78.7%, while for urinary catheters, it ranged from 27.3% to 92.3%. Conclusion To maintain the reliability of the national HAI surveillance data, it is important to collect accurate denominator data, in addition to numerator data. This study has identified several areas where improvements in denominator data collection methods are needed. Continuing education on the definition of denominator data and accurate data collection methods is crucial. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures

Implementation of a centralized, web-based surveillance for healthcare associated infections among residents of long-term care facilities in Italy

ObjectiveThe Italian National Action Plan to contrast AMR identified among its objectives the development and implementation of a national Healthcare-Associated Infection (HAI) surveillance system based on European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) indications, through point prevalence surveys (PPS) of HAIs and antibiotic use in acute-care hospitals and long-term care facilities (LTCFs). We aimed to assess feasibility and appropriateness of proposed tools for a national surveillance system of HAIs and antibiotic use in LTCFs. Study designPoint prevalence survey. MethodsA pilot PPS was conducted between May–June 2022, among 15 LTCFs of 7 Italian regions. Data were collected in a single day in each LTCF, at the LTCF, ward, and resident levels, using a web-based data collection tool developed ad hoc. Data collector teams of each facility were invited to complete a questionnaire investigating opinions on the proposed tools. ResultsAmong 1025 included residents, the prevalence of residents with at least one HAI was 2.5% (95% CI 1.7%-3.7%) considering all HAIs and 2.2% (95% CI 1.3%–3%) without considering SARS-CoV-2 infections. The prevalence of antimicrobial use was 3% (95% CI 0.2%–4.3%). Overall, most respondents were satisfied with the web-based software, training and protocol, even though some difficulties were reported. ConclusionsA national surveillance network was established, which will facilitate future surveillance efforts. Further studies are necessary to evaluate the impact of the pandemic on HAI transmission and antibiotic use in LTCFs.

External and internal validation of healthcare-associated infection data collected by the Korean National healthcare-associated Infections Surveillance System (KONIS)

This study analyzed the validity of healthcare-associated infection (HAI) data of the Korean National healthcare-associated Infections Surveillance System. The validation process consisted of external (EV) and internal (IV) validation phases. Of the 193 hospitals that participated from July 2016 through June 2017, EV was performed for 10 hospitals that were selected based on the HAI rate percentile. The EV team reviewed 295 medical records for 60 HAIs and 235 non-HAI control patients. IV was performed for both the 10 EV hospitals and 11 other participating hospitals that did not report any HAIs. In the EV, the diagnosis of urinary tract infections had a sensitivity of 72.0% and a specificity of 99.3%. The respective sensitivities of bloodstream infection and pneumonia were 63.2% and 70.6%; the respective specificities were 98.8% and 99.6%. The agreement (ĸ) between the EV and IV for 10 hospitals was 0.754 for urinary tract infections and 0.674 for bloodstream infections (P<.001, respectively). Additionally, IV found additional cases among 11 zero-report hospitals. This study demonstrates the need for ongoing validation and continuous training to maintain the accuracy of nationwide surveillance data. IV should be considered a validation method to supplement EV.

A Survey of the Collection of Denominator Data in the Korean National Healthcare-associated Infections Surveillance System, Intensive Care Unit Module

Je Eun Song, Gang-Bok Oh, Young Hwa Choi, Sung Ran Kim, Su Ha Han, So-Yeon Yoo, Hyeon Mi Yoo, Ji-youn Choi, Myoung Jin Shin, Yee Gyung Kwak. Korean J healthc assoc Infect Control Prev 2023;28:78-84. https://doi.org/10.14192/kjicp.2023.28.1.78

Korean National Healthcare-associated Infections Surveillance System, Intensive Care Unit Module Report: Summary of Data from July 2020 through June 2021

Eun Jin Kim, Yee Gyung Kwak, Sun Hee Kwak, Su Hui Ko, Oh Mee Kweon, Eu Suk Kim, Jin Hwa Kim, Tae Hyong Kim, Taek Soo Kim, Hee-Won Moon, Sun Hee Park, Jin Young Ahn, So-Yeon Yoo, Hyeon Mi Yoo, Sang-Oh Lee, Yu-Mi Lee, Nan-Hyoung Cho, Young Hwa Choi, Pyoeng Gyun Choe, Ki Ho Hong, Mi Suk Lee, Korean National Healthcare-associated Infections Surveillance System (KONIS) ICU module. Korean J healthc assoc Infect Control Prev 2023;28:64-77. https://doi.org/10.14192/kjicp.2023.28.1.64

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare-associated infections at intensive care units in South Korea: data from the Korean National Healthcare-Associated Infections Surveillance System (KONIS)

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has influenced hospital infection control practices. To evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in intensive care units (ICUs). A retrospective analysis using data from the Korean National Healthcare-Associated Infections Surveillance System was conducted. Comparisons between incidence rates and micro-organism distributions of bloodstream infection (BSI), central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI), catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI), and ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) before and during the COVID-19 pandemic were performed according to hospital size. The incidence rate of BSI significantly decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the pre-COVID-19 period (1.38 vs 1.23 per 10,000 patient-days, relative change -11.5%; P < 0.001). The incidence rate of VAP (1.03 vs 0.81 per 1000 device-days, relative change -21.4%; P < 0.001) significantly decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the pre-COVID-19 period, whereas rates of CLABSI (2.30 vs 2.23 per 1000 device-days; P= 0.19) and CAUTI (1.26 vs 1.26 per 1000 device-days; P= 0.99) were similar between the two periods. The rates of BSI and CLABSI significantly increased during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the pre-COVID-19 period in large-sized hospitals, whereas these rates significantly decreased in small-to-medium-sized hospitals. The rates of CAUTI and VAP significantly decreased in small-sized hospitals. There were no significant changing trends in the rates of multidrug-resistant pathogens isolated from patients with HAI between the two periods. The incidence rates of BSI and VAP in ICUs decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the pre-COVID-19 period. This decrease was mainly seen in small-to-medium-sized hospitals.

2041. Impact of Coronavirus Disease 2019 pandemic on healthcare-associated infections at intensive care unit in South Korea: Data from Korean National Healthcare-associated Infections Surveillance System (KONIS)

Abstract Background Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has influenced hospital infection control practices. We evaluated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in the intensive care unit. Methods We conducted a retrospective analysis using data from the Korean National Healthcare-Associated Infections Surveillance System (KONIS). KONIS has conducted nationwide prospective surveillance of HAIs in intensive care units. Comparisons of incidence rates of bloodstream infection (BSI), central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI), catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI), and ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) before (Jan 2018-Dec 2019) and during the COVID-19 pandemic (Jan 2020-Jun 2021) were performed according to hospital size. The microorganism distributions in BSI, urinary tract infection, and pneumonia were compared between the period before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results The incidence rate of BSI significantly decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic than in the pre-COVID-19 period (1.38 vs. 1.19 per 10,000 patient-days; P &amp;lt; 0.001) [Table 1]. Incidence rates of CLABSI (2.30 vs. 2.17 per 1,000 device-days; P = 0.03) and VAP (1.03 vs. 0.81 per 1,000 device-days; P &amp;lt; 0.001) decreased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic than in the pre-COVID-19 period, whereas that rate of CAUTI was similar between the two periods. The annual trends of incidence rate of CLABSI and VAP also has decreased (Figure 1). According to the hospital size, the incidence rate per 1,000 device-days of CLABSI significantly decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic than in the pre-COVID-19 period in small to medium-sized hospitals (300-699 beds). The incidence rate per 1,000 device-days of VAP significantly decreased only in small-sized hospitals (200-449 beds). The microorganism distributions in HAIs did not change significantly. Conclusion The incidence rates of CLABSI and VAP decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic than in the pre-COVID-19 period, which was attributable to the changes in small to medium-sized hospitals. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures.

National healthcare-associated infections surveillance programs: A scoping review.

National surveillance of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) is necessary to identify areas of concern, monitor trends, and provide benchmark rates enabling comparison between hospitals. Benchmark rates require representative and large sample sizes often based on pooling of surveillance data. We performed a scoping review to understand the organization of national HAI surveillance programs globally. The search strategy included a literature review, Google search and personal communications with HAI surveillance program managers. Thirty-five countries were targeted from four regions (North America, Europe, United Kingdom and Oceania). The following information was retrieved: name of surveillance program, survey types (prevalence or incidence), frequency of reports, mode of participation (mandatory or voluntary), and infections under surveillance. Two hundred and twenty articles of 6,688 identified were selected. The four countries with most publications were the US (48.2%), Germany (14.1%), Spain (6.8%) and Italy (5.9%). These articles identified HAI surveillance programs in 28 of 35 countries (80.0%), operating on a voluntary basis and monitoring HAI incidence rates. Most HAIs monitored surgical site infections in hip (n=20, 71.4%) and knee (n=19, 67.9%) and Clostridoides difficile infections (n=17, 60.7%). Most countries analyzed have HAI surveillance programs, with characteristics varying by country. Patient-level data reporting with numerators and denominators is available for almost every surveillance program, allowing for reporting of incidence rates and more refined benchmarks, specific to a given healthcare category thus offering data that can be used to measure, monitor, and improve the incidence of HAIs.

Programmes nationaux de surveillance des infections associées aux soins de santé : un examen de la portée

Programmes nationaux de surveillance des infections associées aux soins de santé : un examen de la portée

Five-Year Analysis of Surgical Site Infections in Three Orthopaedics and Trauma Wards under HAI-Net from the South of Poland in 2014-2018 Considering the Standardized Infection Ratio.

Background and Objectives: Surgical site infections (SSIs) are the most common healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in surgical wards. The highest risk of developing SSI is carried by operations involving implants, such as: hip prosthesis (HPRO), knee prosthesis (KPRO), open reduction of fracture (FX), and closed reduction of fracture with internal fixation (CR). Objectives. The objective of the study was to assess the incidence of SSI in patients subjected to HPRO, KPRO, FX, and CR procedures in orthopaedics and trauma wards in 2014–2018 considering risk factors included in the SIR index. Materials and Methods: The study included 6261 patients who were subjected to orthopaedic surgery in 2014–2018. The investigation covered three hospitals with orthopaedics and trauma wards. The research was conducted in the framework of the national HAI surveillance programme according to the methodology of the HAI-Net, ECDC. Results: A total of 6261 surgeries were investigated, of which 111 cases of SSI were detected. The incidence was 1.8%; HPRO (incidence 2.1%, median (Me) surgery duration 90 min, and standardized infection ratio (SIR) above 1 in all units tested); KPRO (incidence 2.0%, Me 103 min, and SIR above 1 for all units tested); FX (incidence 1.9%, Me 70 min, and SIR above 1 for two units tested and below 1 in one unit); CR (incidence 1.0%, Me 55 min, and SIR—not calculated). The etiological agents that were most frequently isolated from patients with SSI were Staphylococcus aureus, coagulase-negative Staphylococcus, and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Conclusions: HPRO, KPRO, and FX operations performed in the studied wards carried a higher risk of developing SSI than that predicted by SIR. SSIs accounted for a significant percentage of the overall infection pool in CR surgeries. Actions should be undertaken to reduce the incidence of SSI in these surgeries. There should be a hospital network which facilitates cooperation in order to better monitor and analyse the incidence of SSI.

ESBL production and carbapenem resistance increased the secondary bloodstream infection rates in intensive care units in Turkey, 2014–2019

Aim: Secondary bloodstream infections (SBSIs) are caused by another infection and differ from primary bloodstream infections (PBSIs) in terms of prevention and treatment strategies. The aim of this study was to determine the risk factors for bloodstream infections which were secondary to the most common healthcare-associated infections caused by the most common microorganisms in intensive care units (ICUs) and to examine whether extended-spectrum beta lactamase (ESBL) production and carbapenem resistance is related to the higher risk or not.Methods: The study population consisted of patients in ICUs with ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), ventilator-associated event (VAE) or catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) caused by E. coli, K. pneumoniae, P. aeruginosa or A. baumannii between 2014 and 2019. The data were obtained through the National Healthcare-associated Infections Surveillance Network. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed separately for VAP/VAE and CAUTI to determine the risk factors for the development of SBSI.Results: Microorganism, ICU type, bed capasity and carbapenem resistance were found to be risk factors for SBSI for both types of infection. For VAPs/VAEs, female gender and hospital type were also identified as risk factors. The highest risk was in K.pneumoniae and in emergency ICUs. Among the hospitals, the highest risk in VAPs/VAEs was found in government education and research hospitals. ESBL production for K. pneumoniae and E. coli increased the risk in patients with VAP/VAE; however, it did not increase in patients with CAUTI.Discussion: By using the risk factors, it may be possible to recognize SBSIs earlier, especially in patients with CAUTIs or VAPs/VAEs caused by carbapenem-resistant or ESBL-producing K. pneumoniae.

The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Health Care-Associated Infections in Intensive Care Units: Results From the Egypt National Health Care-Associated Infections Surveillance, 2019-2020

Background The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the unexpected influx of patients leading to high rates of hospitalization. Focusing resources to mitigate the pandemic unintentionally reduced attention to health care-associated infections (HAIs) prevention programs. Intensive care units (ICUs) have suffered the most burden due to requirement of ventilation. Objective In this paper, we aimed to estimate the national HAI rates at ICUs before and during the COVID-19 pandemic to better identify the pandemic’s impact on HAIs. Methods Egypt’s HAI Surveillance was established in 2016 in 177 governmental ICUs. CDC case definitions and questionnaire were used to collect patients’ data. The types of HAIs targeted included bloodstream infections, pneumonia, and urinary tract infections. Pathogen identification and antimicrobial resistance were performed at the central laboratory. Surveillance data 2019-2020 were obtained, and a descriptive data analysis was performed. HAI rates per 100 patient days and device-associated infections (DAIs) per 1000 device days were compared between 2019 and 2020. Results In 2020, 4028 HAIs were reported, including 777 (19.3%) ICU-acquired reports; however, in 2019, 6242 were reported, including 1084 (17.4%) ICU-acquired ones. Incidence significantly decreased in 2020 compared with 2019 (2.67 vs 2.72, P&lt;.001). The percentages of bloodstream infections, pneumonia, and urinary tract infection in 2020, compared with 2019, were 64.0% versus 61.6%, 10.9% versus 12.1%, and 25.1% versus 23.8%, respectively. DAIs decreased significantly, including CLABSI (2.6 vs 2.5, P&lt;.001), VAP (0.75 vs 0.87, P=.04), and CAUTI (1.5 vs 1.6, P=.02). Klebsiella spp. was the predominant pathogen in both years representing (35.6% and 38.1%), followed by S. aureus (11.2% and 15.4%). The rate of carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae insignificantly increased (25% vs 23%, P=0.3), and that of Methicillin-resistant S. aureus decreased (68% vs 70%, P=0.4). Conclusions Egypt’s HAI Surveillance successfully described the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on HAIs. It identified a significant decrease in ICU-acquired HAIs and DAIs at the first pandemic year, which could reflect better the infection control measures. The types of HAIs, causative pathogens, and antimicrobial resistance pattern did not change significantly. Surveillance should be maintained to guide HAIs’ preventive and control measures.

Korean National Healthcare-associated Infections Surveillance System, Intensive Care Unit Module Report: Summary of Data from July 2019 through June 2020

Eun Jin Kim, Yee Gyung Kwak, Sun Hee Kwak, Su Hui Ko, Oh Mee Kweon, Eu Suk Kim, Jin Hwa Kim, Tae Hyong Kim, Taek Soo Kim, Hee-Won Moon, Sun Hee Park, Jin Young Ahn, So-Yeon Yoo, Hyeon Mi Yoo, Sang-Oh Lee, Nan-Hyoung Cho, Pyoeng Gyun Choe, Ki Ho Hong, Yu-Mi Lee, Mi Suk Lee. Korean J healthc assoc Infect Control Prev 2021;26:115-28. https://doi.org/10.14192/kjicp.2021.26.2.115

Building an Interactive Geospatial Visualization Application for National Health Care-Associated Infection Surveillance: Development Study.

BackgroundThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) is the most widely used health care–associated infection (HAI) and antimicrobial use and resistance surveillance program in the United States. Over 37,000 health care facilities participate in the program and submit a large volume of surveillance data. These data are used by the facilities themselves, the CDC, and other agencies and organizations for a variety of purposes, including infection prevention, antimicrobial stewardship, and clinical quality measurement. Among the summary metrics made available by the NHSN are standardized infection ratios, which are used to identify HAI prevention needs and measure progress at the national, regional, state, and local levels.ObjectiveTo extend the use of geospatial methods and tools to NHSN data, and in turn to promote and inspire new uses of the rendered data for analysis and prevention purposes, we developed a web-enabled system that enables integrated visualization of HAI metrics and supporting data.MethodsWe leveraged geocoding and visualization technologies that are readily available and in current use to develop a web-enabled system designed to support visualization and interpretation of data submitted to the NHSN from geographically dispersed sites. The server–client model–based system enables users to access the application via a web browser.ResultsWe integrated multiple data sets into a single-page dashboard designed to enable users to navigate across different HAI event types, choose specific health care facility or geographic locations for data displays, and scale across time units within identified periods. We launched the system for internal CDC use in January 2019.ConclusionsCDC NHSN statisticians, data analysts, and subject matter experts identified opportunities to extend the use of geospatial methods and tools to NHSN data and provided the impetus to develop NHSNViz. The development effort proceeded iteratively, with the developer adding or enhancing functionality and including additional data sets in a series of prototype versions, each of which incorporated user feedback. The initial production version of NHSNViz provides a new geospatial analytic resource built in accordance with CDC user requirements and extensible to additional users and uses in subsequent versions.

Evaluation of existing and desired measures to monitor, prevent and control healthcare-associated infections in Swiss hospitals.

Optimal surveillance and prevention of healthcare-associated infections (HAI) are crucial for a well-functioning health care system. With a view to establishing a national state-of-the-art programme for surveillance and prevention of HAIs, the Swiss National Center for Infection Control, Swissnoso, developed a survey to explore the options for expanding the existing Swiss HAI surveillance system. An online survey was sent to all Swiss acute care hospitals. Local infection prevention and control (IPC) professionals were asked to answer on behalf of their institutions. The questions covered the structure and organisation of IPC programmes, current preventive measures, availability and capacity of electronic medical record (EMR) systems, and ability and willingness to establish and participate in the proposed new surveillance modules. An invitation was sent to the 156 acute care hospitals and hospital networks in June 2020. Responses were collected up to the end of August 2020. Ninety-four hospitals and hospital networks out of 156 (60%) completed the survey. Among 84 hospitals reporting the number of acute care beds, 61 (73%) were small (&lt;200 beds), 16 (19%) medium (200&ndash;650 beds) and 7 (8%) large hospitals (&gt;650 beds). Twenty-nine different EMR systems were used in the participating hospitals. Twenty-two hospitals were using a different EMR system in their intensive care unit. There were 17 hospitals (18%) without an EMR system but which planned to introduce one soon, and eight small hospitals (9%) neither had an EMR system nor were preparing to introduce one. Surveillance for central-line associated bloodstream infection, catheter-associated urinary tract infection and ventilator-associated pneumonia were already established in 26 (28%), 15 (16%) and 15 (16%) hospitals, respectively. Thirty hospitals (36%) would be willing to participate in the pilot phase of a new surveillance system. Of these, 15 stated that they wanted to be part of the pilot hospital network, 6 could provide hospital-wide surveillance denominators (such as catheter-days and patient-days) to compute incidence rates, and 8 indicated interest in doing both. Large hospitals interested in participating in the pilot phase reported more full-time equivalent staff available for surveillance activities than those who did not declare an interest. Baseline information on hospital IPC structure and process indicators are essential for the roll-out of national surveillance programmes and for improving surveillance activities. Having an EMR system in place and adequate personnel resources dedicated for surveillance activities are crucial prerequisites for developing and implementing an effective HAI surveillance system. The lack of an EMR system and the diversity and capacities of EMR solutions will be the main challenges for successful implementation of national HAI surveillance modules.

Epidemiology and Microbiological Profile of Common Healthcare Associated Infections among Patients in the Intensive Care Unit of a General Hospital in Kuwait: A Retrospective Observational Study

BackgroundPatients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) are prone to develop nosocomial infections due to Multidrug-Resistant (MDR) organisms. Inappropriate and overuse of antibiotics play an important role in the emergence of MDR organisms, which cause life-threatening infections resulting in significant morbidity and mortality.MethodsRetrospective surveillance-based study on healthcare-associated infections. The study conducted over two consecutive years 2018 and 2019, looking at ICU related infections of a regional secondary care general hospital and the data were recorded using the methods and definitions of the Kuwait National Healthcare-associated infections Surveillance System (KNHSS).ResultsA total of 1408 patients, admitted to ICU for 7922 days during the 2 years period. Eighty-nine patients were included in this study, where 48 developed one Hospital-acquired Infections (HAI) in the ICU while 25 and two patients presented with two and three HAIs, respectively. The HAIs included Bloodstream Infections (BSI) — 42.3%, pneumonia — 28.8%, Urinary Tract Infections (UTI) — 15.3%, skin and soft tissue infections — 9.6% and Clostridium difficile infection — 3.4%. The overall infection rate was 13.14 per 1000 patient-days. The rates for Device-associated (DA)-HAIs were 6.27 for Central Line-associated BSI (CLABSI) per 1000 Central Line (CL)-days, 4.21 for Ventilator-associated Pneumonia (VAP) per 1000 Mechanical Ventilator (MV)-days, and 1.91 Catheter-associated UTI (CAUTI) per 1000 Urinary Catheter (UC)-days. Data showed that device use ratios for CL, MV, and UC were 0.81, 0.74, and 0.98, respectively. Acinetobacter baumannii and Klebsiella pneumoniae were the most common organisms isolated from the ICU infections with highest rates of antibiotic resistance.ConclusionAmong DA-HAIs CLABSI was found to be most common in our ICU, followed by VAP and CAUTI. Gram-negative organisms with A. baumannii and K. pneumoniae being the leading causative agents with high antimicrobial resistance profiles.

Korean National Healthcare-associated Infections Surveillance System, Intensive Care Unit Module Report: Summary of Data from July 2018 to June 2019

Eun Jin Kim, Yee Gyung Kwak, Sun Hee Kwak, Su Hui Ko, Jin Hwa Kim, Eu Suk Kim, Tae Hyong Kim, Seong Yeol Ryu, Hee-Won Moon, Sun Hee Park, Jin Young Ahn, So-Yeon Yoo, Hyeon Mi Yoo, Na Ra Yun, Mi Suk Lee, Sang-Oh Lee, Nan-hyoung Cho, Ji-youn Choi, Ki Ho Hong, Young Hwa Choi, Mi-Na Kim. Korean J healthc assoc Infect Control Prev 2020;25:115-27. https://doi.org/10.14192/kjicp.2020.25.2.115

Trends in the Epidemiology of Candidemia in Intensive Care Units From 2006 to 2017: Results From the Korean National Healthcare-Associated Infections Surveillance System.

Candidemia is an important healthcare-associated infection (HAI) in intensive care units (ICUs). However, limited research has been conducted on candidemia in the Republic of Korea. We aimed to analyze the secular trends in the incidence and distribution of candidemia in ICUs over 12-years using data from the Korean National Healthcare-Associated Infections Surveillance System (KONIS). KONIS was established in 2006 and has performed prospective surveillance of HAIs including bloodstream infections (BSIs) in ICUs. We evaluated the trends in the distribution of causative pathogens and the incidence of candidemia. From 2006 to 2017, 2,248 candidemia cases occurred in 9,184,264 patient-days (PDs). The pooled mean incidence rates of candidemia significantly decreased from 3.05 cases/10,000 PDs in 2006 to 2.5 cases/10,000 PDs in 2017 (P = 0.001). Nevertheless, the proportion of candidemia gradually increased from 15.2% in 2006 to 16.6% in 2017 (P = 0.001). The most frequent causative pathogen of BSIs from 2006 to 2012 was Staphylococcus aureus; however, Candida spp. emerged as the most frequent causative pathogen since 2013. C. albicans (39.9%) was the most common among Candida spp. causing BSIs, followed by Candida tropicalis (20.2%) and Candida parapsilosis (18.2%). The proportion of candidemia caused by C. glabrata significantly increased from 8.9% in 2006 to 17.9% in 2017 (P < 0.001). There was no significant change in the distribution of Candida spp. by year (P = 0.285). The most common source of BSIs was central lines associated BSI (92.5%). There was a significant increase in the proportion of candidemia by year in hospitals with organ transplant wards (from 18.9% in 2006 to 21.1% in 2017, P = 0.003), hospitals with <500 beds (from 2.7% in 2006 to 13.6% in 2017, P < 0.001), and surgical ICUs (from 16.2% in 2006 to 21.7% in 2017, P = 0.003). The proportion of candidemia has increased in Korea, especially in hospitals with <500 beds and surgical ICUs. Thus, appropriate infection control programs are needed.