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The Role of Nurse Understaffing in Nosocomial Viral Gastrointestinal Infections on a General Pediatrics Ward

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Jacob Stegenga ,
Erica Bell  and
Anne Matlow
Jacob Stegenga
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Erica Bell
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Anne Matlow*
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Department of Pediatric and Laboratory Medicine, The Hospital for Sick Children; and the Departments of Pediatrics and Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
*
Infection Prevention and Control Program, The Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Avenue, Toronto, M5G 1X8 Ontario, Canada
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Abstract

Objective:

To examine the relationship between nurse staffing levels and the rate of nosocomial viral gastrointestinal infections (NVGIs) in a general pediatrics population.

Design:

Retrospective descriptive study.

Setting:

A general pediatrics ward at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, a 320-bed, tertiary-care pediatric institution.

Results:

Forty-three NVGIs were detected in 37 patients of 2,929 admissions (1.3%). The monthly NVGI rate correlated significantly with the monthly night patient-to-nurse ratio (r = 0.56) and the monthly day patient-to-nurse ratio (r = 0.50). The nursing hours per patient-day during the preinfection period (PIP) were significantly lower than those during the nonpreinfection period (NPIP; 12.5 vs 13.0). There was no difference between the PIP and the NPIP day patient-to-nurse ratios (3.31 vs 3.32), but there was a significant difference between the PIP and the NPIP night patient-to-nurse ratios (3.26 vs 3.16). The incidence of NVGIs in the 72-hour period after any day when the nursing hours per patient-day were less than 10.5 was 6.39 infections per 1,000 patient-days, compared with 2.17 infections per 1,000 patient-days in periods with more than 10.5 nursing hours per patient-day (rate ratio, 2.94; 95% confidence interval, 2.16 to 4.01).

Conclusion:

Nurse understaffing contributed to an increased NVGI rate in our general pediatrics population, and should be assessed as a risk factor in outbreak investigations.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 23 , Issue 3 , March 2002 , pp. 133 - 136
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 2002

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