PGI study: ICU infection rate doubles in 3 years

The premier tertiary care institute PGIMER,providing the best of health care to patients from across the region from past five decades,still needs to learn lessons when it comes to prevalence of hospital acquired infections (HAIs).

The premier tertiary care institute PGIMER,providing the best of health care to patients from across the region from past five decades,still needs to learn lessons when it comes to prevalence of hospital acquired infections (HAIs). As per a recent study done by doctors from the Department of Microbiology and Department of Hospital Administration titled Point prevalence surveys of hospital acquired infections,device and antimicrobial use over three years in a tertiary care hospital in India,it was revealed that prevalence of HAIs in ICU patients was 26.4 per cent and higher than overall prevalence of 7.03 per cent. The HAI rate in ICUs has doubled from 17 per cent to 32.1 per cent in 3 years.

The study conducted by Dr Ashok Kumar and Dr Navneet Dhaliwal,both from the Department of Hospital Administration,besides Dr Manisha,Dr Pallab Ray and others from the Department of Medical Microbiology,has concluded that surgical site infections(SSIs) are the most common hospital acquired infections in PGIMER. A surgical site infection is an infection that occurs after surgery in the part of the body where the surgery took place.

The study further states that around 75 per cent of central lines were used in emergency wards and ICUs and,thus,these areas of the hospital should be targeted for better compliance with best practices for device insertion and care in order to prevent device associated infections. Nearly half (49.9 per cent) of total patients surveyed were receiving antimicrobials.

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The researchers concluded that this study provides robust baseline data for formulation of targeted infection control programmes and better antimicrobial prescribing strategies for our hospital (PGIMER).

Speaking to Newsline,Dr Navneet said,The aim of the study was to monitor baseline hospital acquired infection (HAI) prevalence and device and antibiotic utilisation rates,which are important factors in reducing hospital acquired infection rates. Also,there is insufficient data on the burden of HAIs in hospitals in our country because of the lack of regular and reliable surveillance systems,she added.

The study was conducted through one-day point surveys in 2008 and again in 2011 to assess the trends in prevalence of nosocomial infections,determine rates of device utilisation and estimate the use of antimicrobials in patients admitted in the hospital. The study,which was approved by the Ethics Committee of the institute,was carried out on two one-day point prevalence surveys in May 2008 and September 2011.

On those specific two days,all the intensive care units (ICUs),emergency and inpatient wards were included in the study. All adult patients who were hospitalised for more than 48 hours at 8 am on the days of survey (9/5/2008 and 23/09/2011) were included. Patients admitted to paediatric and ophthalmology wards were excluded from the study.

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The surveys were conducted by four teams of an infection control nurse,a senior doctor from hospital administration and a microbiologist each. The categories of HAIs included in the study were surgical site infection (SSI),hospital acquired pneumonia (HAP),urinary tract infection (UTI),and blood stream infections (BSI).

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