Validation of healthcare-associated infection surveillance in smaller Australian hospitals

J Hosp Infect. 2018 May;99(1):85-88. doi: 10.1016/j.jhin.2017.10.006. Epub 2017 Oct 12.

Abstract

A validation study was conducted in smaller (<100 acute beds) Victorian hospitals to evaluate case detection for Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream (SAB), meticillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) infections. Overall, 142 infections were identified in 20 hospitals. For routine surveillance of SAB events, sensitivity was 74.4% and specificity was 100.0%. For MRSA infections, sensitivity was 47.5% and specificity was 90.9%. All confirmed VRE infections were reported correctly. Of unreported SAB and MRSA infections, 80% (N = 16) and 83.9% (N = 26) were community-associated infections, respectively. Future programme refinements include targeted education to ensure appropriate application of case definitions, particularly those including community onset.

Keywords: Australia; Healthcare-associated infections; Small hospitals; Staphylococcus aureus; Surveillance; Validation; Vancomycin-resistant enterococci.

Publication types

  • Validation Study

MeSH terms

  • Bacteremia / diagnosis
  • Bacteremia / epidemiology
  • Bacteremia / microbiology
  • Community-Acquired Infections / diagnosis
  • Community-Acquired Infections / epidemiology
  • Community-Acquired Infections / microbiology
  • Cross Infection / diagnosis
  • Cross Infection / epidemiology*
  • Epidemiological Monitoring*
  • Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections / diagnosis
  • Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections / epidemiology*
  • Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections / microbiology
  • Hospitals*
  • Humans
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Staphylococcus aureus / isolation & purification*
  • Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci / isolation & purification*
  • Victoria / epidemiology