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Healthcare-associated Infections (healthcare-associated + infections)
Selected AbstractsPrevention and control of biofilm-based medical-device-related infectionsFEMS IMMUNOLOGY & MEDICAL MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 3 2010Iolanda Francolini Abstract Biofilms play a pivotal role in healthcare-associated infections, especially those related to the implant of medical devices, such as intravascular catheters, urinary catheters and orthopaedic implants. This paper reviews the most successful approaches for the control and prevention of these infections as well as promising perspectives for the development of novel devices refractory to microbial adhesion, colonization and biofilm formation. [source] Infection probability score, APACHE II and KARNOFSKY scoring systems as predictors of infection onset in haematology,oncology patientsJOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING, Issue 11-12 2010Eleni Apostolopolou Aim., To assess the predictive power of three systems: Infection Probability Score, APACHE II and KARNOFSKY score to the onset of healthcare-associated infections in haematology,oncology patients. Background., The high incidence of healthcare-associated infections is a frequent problem in haematology,oncology patients that affects morbidity and mortality of these patients. Design., A retrospective surveillance survey. Method., The survey was conducted for seven months in the haematology unit of a general hospital in Greece to assess the predictive power of Infection Probability Score, APACHE II and KARNOFSKY score to the onset of healthcare-associated infections. The sample consisted of 102 hospitalised patients. The diagnosis of healthcare-associated infections was based on the definitions proposed by CDC. Results., Among the participants, 53 (52%) were males and 49 (48%) were females with a mean age of 53·30 (SD 18·59) years old (range, 17,85 years). The incidence density of healthcare-associated infections (the number of new cases of healthcare-associated infections per 1000 patient-days) was 21·8 infections per 1000 patient-days. Among the 102 patients, healthcare-associated infections occurred in 32 (31·4%) patients who had a total of 48 healthcare-associated infections (47·5%). Among the 38 patients with neutropenia, 26 (68·4%) had more than one healthcare-associated infection. Of the 48 detected healthcare-associated infections, the most frequent type was blood-stream infection (n = 17, 35·4%), followed by Clostridium difficile infection (n = 11, 22·9%) and respiratory tract infection (n = 8, 3·4%). The best cut-off value of Infection Probability Score (IPS) for the prediction of a healthcare-associated infection was 10 with sensitivity of 59·4% and specificity of 74·3%. Conclusions., Between the three different prognostic scoring systems, IPS had the best sensitivity in predicting healthcare-associated infections. Relevance to clinical practice., IPS is an effective tool and should be used from nurses for the early detection of haematology,oncology patients who are susceptible to the onset of a healthcare-associated infection. [source] Performance indicators and the public reporting of healthcare-associated infection ratesCLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY AND INFECTION, Issue 10 2008H. Humphreys Abstract Surveillance of healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs) makes evident the importance of the quality of patient care, and the increasing demand for public reporting of HCAI surveillance data and related quality indicators is thus not surprising. However, there is little evidence that public reporting results in improved patient care. Debate continues about which HCAI-related indicators are the best measures of performance and thus the most appropriate for public reporting. Suitable indicators should allow improvements leading to better patient outcomes, and should be comparable among hospitals and countries. Appropriate examples include central vascular catheter infections, surgical prophylaxis and surgical site infections. [source] | ||||||||||