Title : Effect of monitoring behavior of health care workers on control of hospital acquired infections
Abstract:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 2 million patients suffer from hospital-acquired infections every year and nearly 100,000 of them die. Most of these medical errors are preventable. Infection-prevention strategies are essential in the healthcare setting; the infection control department is categorized as non-revenue-producing. Funds dedicated to resources such as staff, educational programs, and prevention measures are vastly limited. Hospital leaders will need to balance the upfront cost needed to prevent hospital-related infections with the non-reimbursed expense accrued secondary to potentially preventable infections. The incidence is about 5-8% of hospitalized patients, 1/3 of which is preventable. The highest frequencies are in East Mediterranean and South-East Asia. A high frequency of HAI is evidence of poor quality health service delivered. Patient may acquire infection before admission to the hospital & inside the hospital.
Healthcare acquired Infection Sites: Urinary tract infection: most common type of HAI (30-40% of reported cases), associated with an indwelling urinary catheter or instrumentation. Lower respiratory and surgical wound infections are the next (each about 15%). Less frequent include blood stream infections (5%), gastrointestinal tract and skin infections.
Impact of Healthcare Acquired Infections: Functional disability, emotional stress to the patient, Reduce the quality of life, one of the leading causes of death, increased economic costs: Excess length of hospital stay, investigations, use of drugs and services of doctors & nurses. Organisms can be transmitted to the community through discharged patients, staff and visitors. Multi- resistant organisms cause significant disease in the community.
Role of Infection Control program: Infection control addresses factors related to the spread of infections within the healthcare setting which includes: Prevention (hand hygiene, disinfection, sterilization, vaccination, surveillance). Monitoring & investigation of demonstrated or suspected spread of infection within a particular health-care setting (surveillance and outbreak investigation). Management (interruption of outbreaks). Training & formulation of guidelines. The optimal structure varies with hospitals types, needs and resources. Hospital can appoint epidemiologist or infectious disease specialist, microbiologist to work as infection control physician. Experienced Infection control nurse per 100 beds should be appointed.
