• François L'Hériteau, Corinne Alberti, Yves Cohen, Gilles Troché, Pierre Moine, and Jean-François Timsit.
• C-CLIN Paris Nord, Paris VI University.
• Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2005 Jan 1;26(1):13-20.

ObjectivesTo evaluate nosocomial infection (NI) surveillance strategies in French ICUs and to identify similar patterns defining subsets within which comparisons can be made.DesignA questionnaire was sent to all French ICUs, and a random sample of nonresponders was interviewed.ParticipantsThree hundred ninety-five responder ICUs (69%) in France.ResultsIn 282 ICUs (71%), a dedicated ICU staff member was responsible for infection control activities. The microbiology laboratory was usually in the hospital (90%) and computerized (94%) but issued regular hospital microbiology records in only 48% of cases. Patients receiving mechanical ventilation, central venous catheterization, and urinary catheterization were 90%, 79%, and 60%, respectively. Patients were screened for carriage of multidrug-resistant bacteria on admission and during the stay in 70% and 60% of ICUs, respectively, most often targeting MRSA. Quantitative cultures were used to diagnose ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) in 90% of ICUs, including distal specimens in 80% and bronchoscopy specimens in 60%. Quantitative central venous catheter (CVC)-segment cultures were used in 70% of ICUs. All CVCs were cultured routinely in 53% of the ICUs. Despite wide variations in infection control and surveillance strategies, multiple correspondence analysis identified 13 key points (4 structural variables and 9 variables concerning the diagnosis of VAP, the surveillance and diagnosis of catheter-related and urinary tract infections, and the mode of screening of MRSA carriers) that categorize the variability of French ICUs' approaches to NIs.ConclusionThis study revealed profound differences in NI surveillance strategies across ICUs, indicating a need for caution when using NI surveillance data for comparisons and benchmarking.

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