Building a Successful Infection Prevention Program: Key Components, Processes, and Economics.

Infection control is the discipline responsible for preventing health care-associated infections (HAIs) and has grown from an anonymous field, to a highly visible, multidisciplinary field of incredible importance. There has been increasing focus on prevention rather than control of HAIs. Infection prevention programs (IPPs) have enormous scope that spans multiple disciplines. Infection control and the prevention and elimination of HAIs can no longer be compartmentalized. This article discusses the structure and responsibilities of an IPP, the regulatory pressures and opportunities that these programs face, and how to build and manage a successful program.

Widespread dissemination of CTX-M-15 genotype extended-spectrum-ß-lactamase-producing enterobacteriaceae among patients presenting to community hospitals in the southeastern United States.

Extended-spectrum-ß-lactamase (ESBL)-producing organisms are increasingly prevalent. We determined the characteristics of 66 consecutive ESBL-producing isolates from six community hospitals in North Carolina and Virginia from 2010 to 2012. Fifty-three (80%) ESBL-producing isolates contained CTX-M enzymes; CTX-M-15 was found in 68% of Escherichia coli and 73% of Klebsiella isolates. Sequence type 131 (ST131) was the commonest type of E. coli, accounting for 48% of CTX-M-15-producing and 66% of CTX-M-14-producing isolates. In conclusion, the CTX-M genotype and ST131 E. coli were common among ESBL isolates from U.S. community hospitals.

The network approach for prevention of healthcare-associated infections: long-term effect of participation in the Duke Infection Control Outreach Network.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the rates of several key outcomes and healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) among hospitals that participated in the Duke Infection Control Outreach Network (DICON). DESIGN AND SETTING: Prospective, observational cohort study of patients admitted to 24 community hospitals from 2003 through 2009. METHODS: The following data were collected and analyzed: incidence of central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs), ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs), and HAIs caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA); employee exposures to bloodborne pathogens (EBBPs); physician EBBPs; patient-days; central line-days; ventilator-days; and urinary catheter-days. Poisson regression was used to determine whether incidence rates of these HAIs and exposures changed during the first 5 and 7 years of participation in DICON; nonrandom clustering of each outcome was controlled for. Cost saved and lives saved were calculated on the basis of published estimates. RESULTS: In total, we analyzed 6.5 million patient-days, 4,783 EBPPs, 2,948 HAIs due to MRSA, and 2,076 device-related infections. Rates of employee EBBPs, HAIs due to MRSA, and device-related infections decreased significantly during the first 5 years of participation in DICON (P< .05 for all models; average decrease was approximately 50%); in contrast, physician EBBPs remained unchanged. In aggregate, 210 CLABSIs, 312 cases of VAP, 332 CAUTIs, 1,042 HAIs due to MRSA, and 1,016 employee EBBPs were prevented. Each hospital saved approximately $100,000 per year of participation, and collectively the hospitals may have prevented 52-105 deaths from CLABSI or VAP. The 7-year analysis demonstrated that these trends continued with further participation. CONCLUSIONS: Hospitals with long-term participation in an infection control network decreased rates of significant HAIs by approximately 50%, decreased costs, and saved lives.

Building a successful infection prevention program: key components, processes, and economics.

Infection control is the discipline responsible for preventing nosocomial infections. There has been an increasing focus on prevention rather than control of hospital-acquired infections. Individuals working in infection control have seen their titles change from infection control practitioner to infection control professional and most recently to infection preventionist (IP), emphasizing their critical role in protecting patients. The responsibilities of IPs span multiple disciplines including medicine, surgery, nursing, occupational health, microbiology, pharmacy, sterilization and disinfection, emergency medicine, and information technology. This article discusses the structure and responsibilities of an infection control program and the regulatory pressures and opportunities the program faces.