To determine the effectiveness of World Health Organization (WHO) multimodal strategy in promoting hand hygiene (HH) among healthcare workers (HCWs) in long-term care facilities (LTCFs).

Cluster-randomized controlled trial.

Eighteen homes for the elderly in Hong Kong were randomly allocated to 2 intervention arms and a control arm. Direct observation of HH practice was conducted by trained nurses. Either handrubbing with alcohol-based handrub (ABHR) or handwashing with liquid soap and water was counted as a compliant action. Disease notification data during 2007–2010 were used to calculate incidence rate ratio (IRR).

Managers and HCWs of the participating homes.

The WHO multimodal strategy was employed. All intervention homes were supplied with ABHR (WHO formulation I), ABHR racks, pull reels, HH posters and reminders, a health talk, video clips, training materials, and performance feedback. The only difference was that intervention arms 1 and 2 were provided with slightly powdered and powderless gloves, respectively.

A total of 11,669 HH opportunities were observed. HH compliance increased from 27.0% to 60.6% and from 22.2% to 48.6% in intervention arms 1 and 2, respectively. Both intervention arms showed increased HH compliance after intervention compared to controls, at 21.6% compliance (both P < .001). Provision of slightly powdered versus powderless gloves did not have any significant impact on ABHR usage. Respiratory outbreaks (IRR, 0.12; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.01–0.93; P = .04) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections requiring hospital admission (IRR, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.38–0.97; P = .04) were reduced after intervention.

A promotion program applying the WHO multimodal strategy was effective in improving HH among HCWs in LTCFs.

To evaluate the use of inpatient pharmacy and administrative data to detect surgical site infections (SSIs) following hysterectomy and colorectal and vascular surgery.

Retrospective cohort study.

Five hospitals affiliated with academic medical centers.

Adults who underwent abdominal or vaginal hysterectomy, colorectal surgery, or vascular surgery procedures between July 1, 2003, and June 30, 2005.

We reviewed the medical records of weighted, random samples drawn from 3,079 abdominal and vaginal hysterectomy, 4,748 colorectal surgery, and 3,332 vascular surgery procedures. We compared routine surveillance with screening of inpatient pharmacy data and diagnosis codes and then performed medical record review to confirm SSI status.

Medical records from 823 hysterectomy, 736 colorectal surgery, and 680 vascular surgery procedures were reviewed. SSI rates determined by antimicrobial- and/or diagnosis code-based screening followed by medical record review (enhanced surveillance) were substantially higher than rates determined by routine surveillance (4.3% [95% confidence interval, 3.6%—5.1%] vs 2.7% for hysterectomies, 7.1% [95% confidence interval, 6.7%–8.2%] vs 2.0% for colorectal procedures, and 2.3% [95% confidence interval, 1.9%–2.9%] vs 1.4% for vascular procedures). Enhanced surveillance had substantially higher sensitivity than did routine surveillance to detect SSI (92% vs 59% for hysterectomies, 88% vs 22% for colorectal procedures, and 72% vs 43% for vascular procedures). A review of medical records confirmed SSI for 31% of hysterectomies, 20% of colorectal procedures, and 31% of vascular procedures that met the enhanced screening criteria.

Antimicrobial- and diagnosis code-based screening may be a useful method for enhancing and streamlining SSI surveillance for a variety of surgical procedures, including those procedures targeted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The goal of this study was to develop a prognostic scoring system for the development of prosthetic joint infection (PJI) that could risk-stratify patients undergoing total hip (THA) or total knee (TKA) arthroplasties.

Previously reported case-control study.

Tertiary referral care setting from 2001 through 2006.

A derivation data set of 339 cases and 339 controls was used to develop 2 scores. A baseline score and a 1-month-postsurgery risk score were computed as a function of the relative contributions of risk factors for each model. Points were assigned for the presence of each factor and then summed to get a subject's risk score.

The following risk factors were detected from multivariable modeling and incorporated into the baseline Mayo PJI risk score: body mass index, prior other operation on the index joint, prior arthroplasty, immunosuppression, ASA score, and procedure duration (c index, 0.722). The 1-month-postsurgery risk score contained the same variables in addition to postoperative wound drainage (c index, 0.716).

The baseline score might help with risk stratification in relation to public reporting and reimbursement as well as targeted prevention strategies in patients undergoing THA or TKA. The application of the 1-month-postsurgery PJI risk score to patients undergoing THA or TKA might benefit those undergoing workup for PJI.

The incidence of invasive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections in the United States decreased during 2005–2008, but noninvasive community-associated MRSA (CA-MRSA) infections also frequently lead to hospitalization. We estimated the incidence of all MRSA infections among inpatients at US academic medical centers (AMCs) per 1,000 admissions during 2003–2008.

Retrospective cohort study.

Hospitalized patients at 90% of nonprofit US AMCs during 2003–2008.

Administrative data on MRSA infections from a hospital discharge database (University HealthSystem Consortium [UHC]) were adjusted for underreporting of the MRSA V09.0 International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification code and validated using chart reviews for patients with known MRSA infections in 2004–2005, 2006, and 2007.

The mean sensitivity of administrative data for MRSA infections at the University of Chicago Medical Center in three 12-month periods during 2004–2007 was 59.1%. On the basis of estimates of billing data sensitivity from the literature and the University of Chicago Medical Center, the number of MRSA infections per 1,000 hospital discharges at US AMCs increased from 20.9 (range, 11.1–47.7) in 2003 to 41.7 (range, 21.9–94.0) in 2008. At the University of Chicago Medical Center, among infections cultured more than 3 days prior to hospital discharge, CA-MRSA infections were more likely to be captured in the UHC billing-derived data than were healthcare-associated MRSA infections.

The number of hospital admissions for any MRSA infection per 1,000 hospital admissions overall increased during 2003–2008. Use of unadjusted administrative hospital discharge data or surveillance for invasive disease far underestimates the number of MRSA infections among hospitalized patients.

Interventions for reducing methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) healthcare-associated disease require outcome assessment; this is typically done by manual chart review to determine infection, which can be labor intensive. The purpose of this study was to validate electronic tools for MRSA healthcare-associated infection (HAI) trending that can replace manual medical record review.

This was an observational study comparing manual medical record review with 3 electronic methods: raw culture data from the laboratory information system (LIS) in use by our healthcare organization, LIS data combined with admission-discharge-transfer (ADT) data to determine which cultures were healthcare associated (LIS + ADT), and the CareFusion MedMined Nosocomial Infection Marker (NIM). Each method was used for the same 7-year period from August 2003 through July 2010.

The data set was from a 3-hospital organization covering 342,492 admissions.

Correlation coefficients for raw LIS, LIS + ADT, and NIM were 0.976, 0.957, and 0.953, respectively, when assessed on an annual basis. Quarterly performance for disease trending was also good, with R2 values exceeding 0.7 for all methods.

The electronic tools accurately identified trends in MRSA HAI incidence density when all infections were combined as quarterly or annual data; the performance is excellent when annual assessment is done. These electronic surveillance systems can significantly reduce (93% [in-house-developed program] to more than 99.9999% [commercially available systems]) the personnel resources needed to monitor the impact of a disease control program.

The literature is conflicted as to whether people colonized with Staphylococcus aureus are at an increased risk of mortality. The aim of this meta-analysis was to review and analyze the current literature to determine whether prior history of S. aureus colonization is associated with mortality among S. aureus-infected patients.

The PUBMED databases were searched with keywords related to S. aureus colonization and mortality. After reviewing 380 article abstracts and 59 articles in detail, only 7 studies had data on the association between S. aureus colonization and mortality among S. aureus-infected patients. Crude estimates of study odds ratios (ORs) were calculated on the basis of data from subset analyses. We pooled crude ORs from the 7 studies using a random-effects model. Woolf's test for heterogeneity was assessed.

When all studies were pooled in a random-effects model, no association between S. aureus colonization and mortality among S. aureus-infected patients was seen (pooled OR, 1.08 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.32–3.66]; n = 7; heterogeneity P = .05). When the analyses were restricted to infection-attributable mortality, the association between colonization and mortality among S. aureus-infected patients was not statistically significant (pooled OR, 0.42 [95% CI, 0.15–1.21]; n = 4; heterogeneity P = .28).

S. aureus colonization was not associated with mortality among patients who developed an S. aureus infection. Interventions to decolonize S. aureus carriers may prevent S. aureus infections but may not be sufficient to prevent mortality.

To determine the proportion of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) detections identified by nasal swabbing using agar culture in comparison with multiple body site testing using agar and nutrient broth culture.

Cross-sectional study.

Adult patients admitted to 36 general specialty wards of 2 large hospitals in Scotland.

Patients were screened for MRSA via multiple body site swabs (nasal, throat, axillary, perineal, and wound/invasive device sites) cultured individually on chromogenic agar and pooled in nutrient broth. Combined results from all sites and cultures provided a gold-standard estimate of true MRSA prevalence.

This study found that nasal screening performed better than throat, axillary, or perineal screening but at best identified only 66% of true MRSA carriers against the gold standard at an overall prevalence of 2.9%. Axillary screening performed least well. Combining nasal and perineal swabs gave the best 2-site combination (82%). When combined with realistic screening compliance rates of 80%–90%, nasal swabbing alone probably detects just over half of true colonization in practice. Swabbing of clinically relevant sites (wounds, indwelling devices, etc) is important for a small but high-prevalence group.

Nasal swabbing is the standard method in many locations for MRSA screening. Its diagnostic efficiency in practice appears to be limited, however, and the resource implications of multiple body site screening have to be balanced against a potential clinical benefit whose magnitude and nature remains unclear.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) pulsed-field type (PFT) USA300 causes skin and soft tissue infections in military recruits and invasive disease in hospitals. Chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) is used to reduce MRSA colonization and infection. The impact of CHG on the molecular epidemiology of MRSA is not known.

To evaluate the impact of 2% CHG—impregnated cloths on the molecular epidemiology of MRSA colonization.

Cluster-randomized, double-blind, controlled trial.

Marine Officer Candidate School, Quantico, Virginia, in 2007.

Military recruits.

Thrice-weekly application of CHG-impregnated or control (Comfort Bath; Sage) cloths over the entire body.

Baseline and serial (every 2 weeks) nasal and/or axillary swab samples were assessed for MRSA colonization. Molecular analysis was performed with pulsed-field gel electrophoresis.

During training, 77 subjects (4.9%) acquired MRSA, 26 (3.3%) in the CHG group and 51 (6.5%) in the control group (P = .004). When analyzed for PFT, 24 subjects (3.1%) in the control group but only 6 subjects (0.8%) in the CHG group (P = .001) had USA300. Of the 167 colonizing isolates recovered from 77 subjects, 99 were recovered from the control group, including USA300 (40.4%), USA800 (38.4%), USA1000 (12.1%), and USA100 (6.1%), and 68 were recovered from the CHG group, including USA800 (51.5%), USA100 (23.5%), and USA300 (13.2%).

CHG decreased the transmission of MRSA—more specifically, USA300—among military recruits. In addition, USA300 and USA800 outcompeted other MRSA PFTs at incident colonization. Future studies should evaluate the broad-based use of CHG to decrease transmission of USA300 in hospital settings.

Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) are rapidly emerging worldwide. Control group selection is critically important when analyzing predictors of antimicrobial resistance. Focusing on modifiable risk factors can optimize prevention and resource expenditures. To identify specific predictors of CRE, patients with CRE were compared with 3 control groups: (1) patients with extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Enterobacteriaceae, (2) patients with non-ESBL-containing Enterobacteriaceae, and (3) uninfected controls.

Matched multivariable analyses.

Patients possessing CRE that were isolated at Detroit Medical Center from September 1, 2008, to August 31, 2009.

Patients were matched (1:1 ratio) to the 3 sets of controls. Matching parameters included (1) bacteria type, (2) hospital/ facility, (3) unit/clinic, (4) calendar year, and (5) time at risk (ie, from admission to culture). Matched multivariable analyses were conducted between uninfected controls and patients with CRE, ESBL, and non-ESBL Enterobacteriaceae. Models were also designed comparing patients with CRE to patients with ESBL, patients with non-ESBL Enterobacteriaceae, and all 3 non-CRE groups combined.

Ninety-one unique patients with CRE were identified, and 6 matched models were constructed. Recent (less than 3 months) exposure to antibiotics was the only parameter that was consistently associated with CRE, regardless of the group to which CRE was compared, and was not independently associated with isolation of ESBL or non-ESBL Enterobacteriaceae.

Exposure to antibiotics within 3 months was an independent predictor that characterized patients with CRE isolation. As a result, antimicrobial stewardship efforts need to become a major focus of preventive Interventions. Regulatory focus regarding appropriate antimicrobial use might decrease the detrimental effects of antibiotic misuse and spread of CRE.

In neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), monitoring hospital-acquired bloodstream infection (BSI) is critical to alert clinicians to variations in the incidence of infection between units and over time. We demonstrate a toolkit of monitoring techniques that account for case mix and could be implemented using routinely available clinical data. This toolkit could enable quality of care comparisons between hospitals to facilitate the sharing of improved practices.

Prospective study over 4 years.

Babies admitted to 2 tertiary London NICUs.

We derived expected numbers of BSI episodes using a Poisson regression risk model adjusting for variations in birth weight, transfers to the NICU from other hospitals, postnatal age, and days spent at each National Health Service level of care. We compared observed and expected numbers of BSI episodes using 2 monitoring techniques: standardized infection ratios (SIRs) and the sequential probability ratio test (SPRT).

Using the SIR method, observed BSI incidence increased over expected incidence in 2002 at both NICUs, but this increase did not reach statistical significance at the 1% level. Using the SPRT method, neither unit showed a clinically important increase or decrease, defined as a 30% deviation from expected incidence.

Risk-adjusted BSI monitoring can be performed using routine hospital data. NICUs could use SIRs for an annual look back at infection incidence and SPRTs for prospective, quarterly monitoring. The SIR and the SPRT methods have different strengths, and both could help clinicians improve infection control and patient care in NICUs.