Infection control and hospital epidemiology : the official journal of the Society of Hospital Epidemiologists of America
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Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol · Mar 2008
Assessment of Clostridium difficile-associated disease surveillance definitions, North Carolina, 2005.
To determine the timing of community-onset Clostridium difficile-associated disease (CDAD) relative to the patient's last healthcare facility discharge, the association of postdischarge cases with healthcare facility-onset cases, and the influence of postdischarge cases on overall rates and interhospital comparison of rates of CDAD. ⋯ A substantial proportion of community-onset cases of CDAD occur less than 4 weeks after discharge from a healthcare facility, and inclusion of CO-HCFA cases influences interhospital comparisons. Our findings support the use of a proposed definition of healthcare facility-associated CDAD that includes cases that occur within 4 weeks after discharge.
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Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol · Mar 2008
Comparative StudyVariability in rates of use of antibacterials among 130 US hospitals and risk-adjustment models for interhospital comparison.
To describe variability in rates of antibacterial use in a large sample of US hospitals and to create risk-adjusted models for interhospital comparison. ⋯ Most adult inpatients receive antimicrobial agents during their hospitalization, but there is substantial variability between hospitals in the volume of antibacterials used. Risk-adjusted models can explain a significant proportion of this variation and allow for comparisons between hospitals for benchmarking purposes.
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Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol · Mar 2008
Appropriateness of use of indwelling urinary tract catheters in hospitalized patients in Italy.
By reviewing medical records, we evaluated the appropriateness of use of indwelling urinary tract catheters in hospitalized patients in Italy. The inappropriate use of an indwelling urinary tract catheter (in 138 [30%] of 461 patients) was significantly associated with greater age, not having undergone a surgical intervention, a good state of consciousness, presence of chronic comorbidities, duration of catheterization, and ward of admission.
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Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol · Mar 2008
Epidemiology of hospital-acquired infections in veterans with spinal cord injury and disorder.
To describe the epidemiology of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) in veterans with spinal cord injury and disorder (SCI&D). ⋯ The overall incidence of HAIs in persons with SCI&D was higher than that reported for other populations, confirming the increased risk of HAI in persons with spinal cord injury. The increased risk associated with longer length of stay and with community-acquired infection suggests that strategies are needed to reduce the duration of hospitalization and to effectively treat community-acquired infection, to decrease infection rates. There is significant room for improvement in reducing the incidence of HAIs in this population.