Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimicrobial Use Prevalence Surveys

Healthcare-associated Infections (HAIs) and Antimicrobial Use (AU) Prevalence Surveys are conducted at 10 Emerging Infections Program (EIP) sites in the United States. HAIs are an important public health problem because of their devastating effects on the wellbeing of patients, in addition to the billions of dollars in unnecessary expense they add to the healthcare system. Research suggests that a growing number of HAIs are caused by organisms that have developed resistance to standard antimicrobial drugs. Understanding AU in hospital and nursing home settings is an important part of identifying the connections between improper AU and development of HAIs. The purpose of the surveyis to examine the number and type of HAIs and AU in hospitals and nursing homes and to identify the reasons antimicrobial drugs are used in these settings. This information will help create policies and procedures to make healthcare safer for patients in U.S. healthcare facilities.

1. Estimate HAI number and frequency
2. Identify HAIs by a. pathogen (including antimicrobial-resistant pathogens) b. major infection site
3. Describe the indications for antimicrobial use
4. Identify changes in HAI and antimicrobial use prevalence, burden and epidemiology over time
5. Describe the quality of antimicrobial drug prescribing in selected clinical circumstance

Hospital Survey

The EIP Hospital Survey gathers data on all types of HAIs across all acute care inpatients in hospitals, including those HAIs not routinely tracked by the National Healthcare Safety Network (such as infections that are not associated with a medical device or procedure). The most recent hospital survey was conducted in 2023. To maintain continuity, hospitals that had participated in the 2011 and 2015 surveys were targeted for enrollment, followed by recruitment of additional hospitals, up to 25 per site, using a stratified random sample based on hospital bed size. Each hospital selected a single survey day between May and September 2023. The number of patients in each hospital that were included in the survey was determined based on the size of the hospital, and the patient sample was randomly selected from the inpatient census on the survey day. Trained EIP staff members reviewed medical records to collect demographic and clinical data and detailed information on HAIs and AU.

Nursing Home Survey

The EIP Nursing Home Survey gathers data on all types of HAIs in nursing homes. For this survey, infections were defined using the revised McGeer definitions for infections in Long-Term Care Facilities. The most recent nursing home survey was conducted in 2017. Nursing homes were randomly selected for recruitment in each EIP site, participation was voluntary. Each participating nursing home selected a single survey day between April and October 2017. Medical record reviews were performed by EIP staff members and in some cases with assistance from nursing home staff members to collect demographic data, evidence of HAIs, and AU.

Magill SS, O’Leary E, Janelle SJ, Thompson DL, Dumyati G, Nadle J, Wilson LE, Kainer MA, Lynfield R, Greissman S, Ray SM, Beldavs Z, Gross C, Bamberg W, Sievers M, Concannon C, Buhr N, Warnke L, Maloney M, Ocampo V, Brooks J, Oyewumi T, Sharmin S, Richards K, Rainbow J, Samper M, Hancock EB, Leaptrot D, Scalise E, Badrun F, Phelps R, Edwards JR; Emerging Infections Program Hospital Prevalence Survey Team. Changes in Prevalence of Health Care-Associated Infections in U.S. Hospitals. N Eng J Med. 2018 Nov 1;379(18):1732-1744. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1801550.

Magill SS, Edwards JR, Beldavs ZG, Dumyati G, Janelle SJ, Kainer MA, Lynfield R, Nadle J, Neuhauser MM, Ray SM, Richards K, Rodriguez R, Thompson DL, Fridkin SK; Emerging Infections Program Healthcare-Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Use Prevalence Survey Team. Prevalence of antimicrobial use in US acute care hospitals, May-September, 2011. JAMA. 2014 Oct 8;312(14):1438-46. doi: 10.1001/jama.2014.12923.

Magill SS, Edwards JR, Bamberg W, Beldavs ZG, Dumyati G, Kainer MA, Lynfield R, Maloney M, McAllister-Hollod L, Nadle J, Ray SM, Thompson DL, Wilson LE, Fridkin SK; Emerging Infections Program Healthcare-Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Use Prevalence Survey Team. Multistate point-prevalence survey of health care-associated infections. N Engl J Med. 2014 Mar 27;370(13):1198-208. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1306801.

Magill SS, Hellinger W, Cohen J, Kay R, Bailey C, Boland B, Carey D, de Guzman J, Dominguez K, Edwards J, Goraczewski L, Horan T, Miller M, Phelps M, Saltford R, Seibert J, Smith B, Starling P, Viergutz B, Walsh K, Rathore M, Guzman N, Fridkin S. Prevalence of healthcare-associated infections in acute care hospitals in Jacksonville, Florida. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2012 Mar;33(3):283-91. doi: 10.1086/664048. Epub 2012 Jan 12.

Healthcare-Associated Infections-Community Interface Data Visualization Tool (HAICViz)

Maria A. Correa, MPH
Epidemiologist Manager
maria.correa@yale.edu
203-737-6978

Healthcare Associated Infection and Antibiotic Use Prevalence Surveys Staff:

• Maria Correa
• Yalda Jabarkhyl
• Anisa Linton
• Cameron Davis

References
¹ HAI and Antibiotic Use Prevalence Survey