Prevalence of Nosocomial Infections in Swiss Children's Hospitals
Mühlemann, Kathrin ; Franzini, Christine ; Aebi, Christoph ; Berger, Christoph ; Nadal, David ; Stähelin, Jody ; Gnehm, Hanspeter ; Posfay-Barbe, Klara ; Gervaix, Alain ; Sax, Hugo ; Heininger, Ulrich ; Bonhoeffer, Jan ; Eich, Gerhard ; Kind, Christian ; Petignat, Christiane ; Scalfaro, Pietro
In: Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 2004, vol. 25, no. 9, p. 765-771
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- Abstract Objective: To acquire data on pediatric nosocomial infections (NIs), which are associated with substantial morbidity and mortality and for which data are scarce. Design: Prevalence survey and evaluation of a new comorbidity index. Setting: Seven Swiss pediatric hospitals. Patients: Those hospitalized for at least 24 hours in a medical, surgical, intensive care, or intermediate care ward. Results: Thirty-five NIs were observed among 520 patients (6.7%; range per hospital, 1.4% to 11.8%). Bacteremia was most frequent (2.5 per 100 patients), followed by urinary tract infection (1.3 per 100 patients) and surgical-site infection (1.1 per 100 patients; 3.2 per 100 patients undergoing surgery). The median duration until the onset of infection was 19 days. Independent risk factors for NI were age between 1 and 12 months, a comorbidity score of 2 or greater, and a urinary catheter. Among surgical patients, an American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score of 2 or greater was associated with any type of NI (P = .03). Enterobacteriaceae were the most frequent cause of NI, followed by coagulase-negative staphylococci; viruses were rarely the cause. Conclusions: This national prevalence survey yielded valuable information about the rate and risk factors of pediatric NI. A new comorbidity score showed promising performance. ASA score may be a predictor of NI. The season in which a prevalence survey is conducted must be considered, as this determines whether seasonal viral infections are observed. Periodic prevalence surveys are a simple and cost-effective method for assessing NI and comparing rates among pediatric hospitals