Assessment of the accuracy and consistency in the application of standardized surveillance definitions: A summary of the American Journal of Infection Control and National Healthcare Safety Network case studies, 2010-2016

Hospital-acquired bloodstream infections in patients with cancer: current knowledge and future directions

Patients with cancer experience higher rates of preventable harm from hospital-acquired bloodstream infections (haBSIs) and central-line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) compared with the general hospital population. The prevention of haBSIs and CLABSIs in patients with cancer is an urgent priority, and requires standardized surveillance and reporting efforts. The application of haBSI and CLABSI definitions, classification systems and surveillance strategies for patients with cancer is complex, and there is wide variation in clinical practice. Existing systems were not designed explicitly for patients with cancer, and have different strengths and weaknesses in the cancer setting. For these reasons, epidemiological estimates of haBSIs and CLABSIs in patients with cancer also require careful interpretation. This complexity can be a barrier to identifying appropriate targets for intervention and reducing preventable harm. This review provides an overview of key concepts and challenges in haBSI surveillance and prevention specific to patients with cancer. In addition, this review summarizes the strengths and weaknesses of commonly used surveillance definitions and denominators in the setting of cancer care; existing surveillance practice; epidemiology of haBSIs and CLABSIs; prevention strategies; and current knowledge gaps. A global collaborative effort to harmonize the surveillance of hospital-acquired infections in patients with cancer would be invaluable to improve the accuracy and utility of existing data, advance efforts to prevent hospital-acquired infections, and improve patient safety.

Leaving no culture undrawn: Time to revisit the CLABSI and CAUTI metrics

Central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) and catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) are quality metrics for many ICUs, and financial ramifications can be applied to hospitals and providers who perform poorly on these measures. Despite some perceived benefits to tracking these metrics, there are a range of issues associated with this practice: lack of a solid evidence base that documenting them has led to decreased infection rates, moral distress associated with identifying these infections, problems with their definitions, and others. We discuss each of these concerns while also including international perspectives then recommend practical steps to attempt to remediate use of the CLABSI and CAUTI metrics. Specifically, we suggest forming a task force consisting of key stakeholders (e.g., providers, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), patients/families) to review CLABSI and CAUTI-related issues and then to create a summary statement containing recommendations to improve the use of these metrics.

Prolonged cardiopulmonary bypass time as predictive factor for bloodstream infection

Objectives

To evaluate the correlation between patient characteristics, operative variables and the risk of blood stream infection as well as the association of primary blood stream infection and adverse outcomes.

Methods

Clinical records of 6500 adult patients who underwent open heart surgery between February 2008 and October 2020 were analyzed. The microbiological pattern of the primary BSI and its association with adverse events, such as mortality and major cardiovascular events, were evaluated.

Results

Primary bloodstream infection was diagnosed in 1.7% (n = 108) of patients following cardiac surgery with the application of cardiopulmonary bypass. Most isolated bacteria were gram-negative bacillus groups, such as the Enterobacteriaceae family with Serrata marcescens in 26.26%, followed by the Enterococcaceae family with the Enterococcus faecalis in 7.39% and Enterococcus faecium in 9.14% as the most frequently identified bacteria. The postprocedural mortality, stroke rate p < 0.001, the incidence of postoperative new renal failure p < 0.001, and the renal replacement therapy p < 0.001 were significantly higher in the primary BSI group. Aortic cross-clamp time >120 min, OR 2.31 95%CI 1.34 to 3.98, perfusion time >120 min, OR 2.45 95%CI 1.63 to 3.67, and duration of the intervention >300min, OR 2.78 95%CI 1.47 to 5.28, were significantly related to the primary BSI.

Conclusion

The gram-negative bacillus was the most common microorganism identified in BSI after cardiovascular operations using cardiopulmonary bypass. Patients on dialysis prior to cardiac surgery are at higher risk for having BSI. Enteric bacterial translocation after prolonged cardiopulmonary bypass is a possible mechanism of early primary bloodstream infection in these patients. In patients at high risk, prophylactic use of an antibiotic regimen with broader gram-negative bacteria coverage should be considered, especially in those with prolonged cardiopulmonary bypass and intervention time.

Recommendations for change in infection prevention programs and practice

Fifty years of evolution in infection prevention and control programs have involved significant accomplishments related to clinical practices, methodologies, and technology. However, regulatory mandates, and resource and research limitations, coupled with emerging infection threats such as the COVID-19 pandemic, present considerable challenges for infection preventionists. This article provides guidance and recommendations in 14 key areas. These interventions should be considered for implementation by United States health care facilities in the near future.

Developing valid test bank of surveillance case study scenarios for inter-rater reliability

Case studies are utilized for training on National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) healthcare associated infection surveillance definitions. Item discrimination and item analysis were applied to case studies to identify questions that most accurately assess infection preventionists (IPs) application of surveillance definitions.

Factors related to the accurate application of NHSN surveillance definitions for CAUTI and CLABSI in Texas hospitals: A cross-sectional survey

Previous studies indicate variability in the accurate application of National Healthcare Safety Network surveillance criteria with limited data on possible contributing factors. In this cross-sectional, convenience sampled web-based survey sent to members of Texas infection prevention and control organizations, training, experience, and time spent on surveillance was collected and assessed including 2 case studies. Our results indicate correct identification of catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) and central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) criteria may be associated with 2019 National Healthcare Safety Network training (CAUTI: aOR = 0.17, 95% CI: 0.04, 0.80; CLABSI: aOR = 0.45, 95% CI: 0.045, 4.56) and increased years of infection prevention experience (CAUTI: aOR = 1.35, 95% CI: 0.42, 4.33; CLABSI: aOR = 1.23, 95% CI: 0.24, 6.38). Routinely performing more hours of surveillance may increase accuracy of CLABSI identification, but not CAUTI.

International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium (INICC) report, data summary of 45 countries for 2013-2018, Adult and Pediatric Units, Device-associated Module

BACKGROUND

We report the results of INICC surveillance study from 2013 to 2018, in 664 intensive care units (ICUs) in 133 cities, of 45 countries, from Latin-America, Europe, Africa, Eastern-Mediterranean, Southeast-Asia, and Western-Pacific.

METHODS

Prospective data from patients hospitalized in ICUs were collected through INICC Surveillance Online System. CDC-NHSN definitions for device-associated healthcare-associated infection (DA-HAI) were applied.

RESULTS

We collected data from 428,847 patients, for an aggregate of 2,815,402 bed-days, 1,468,216 central line (CL)-days, 1,053,330 mechanical ventilator (MV)-days, 1,740,776 urinary catheter (UC)-days. We found 7,785 CL-associated bloodstream infections (CLAB), 12,085 ventilator-associated events (VAE), and 5,509 UC-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI). Pooled DA-HAI rates were 5.91% and 9.01 DA-HAIs/1,000 bed-days. Pooled CLAB rate was 5.30/1,000 CL-days; VAE rate was 11.47/1,000 MV-days, and CAUTI rate was 3.16/1,000 UC-days. P aeruginosa was non-susceptible (NS) to imipenem in 52.72% of cases; to colistin in 10.38%; to ceftazidime in 50%; to ciprofloxacin in 40.28%; and to amikacin in 34.05%. Klebsiella spp was NS to imipenem in 49.16%; to ceftazidime in 78.01%; to ciprofloxacin in 66.26%; and to amikacin in 42.45%. coagulase-negative Staphylococci and S aureus were NS to oxacillin in 91.44% and 56.03%, respectively. Enterococcus spp was NS to vancomycin in 42.31% of the cases.

CONCLUSIONS

DA-HAI rates and bacterial resistance are high and continuous efforts are needed to reduce them.

Surveillance for Healthcare-Associated Infections: Hospital-Onset Adult Sepsis Events versus Current Reportable Conditions

BACKGROUND

U.S. hospitals are required by CMS to publicly report CLABSI, CAUTI, C.diffficile, MRSA bacteremia, and selected SSIs for benchmarking and pay-for-performance programs. It is unclear, however, to what extent these conditions capture the full breadth of serious healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). CDC's hospital-onset Adult Sepsis Event (HO-ASE) definition could facilitate more comprehensive and efficient surveillance for serious HAIs, but the overlap between HO-ASE and currently reportable HAIs is unknown.

METHODS

We retrospectively assessed the overlap between HO-ASEs and reportable HAIs among adults hospitalized between June 2015-June 2018 in 3 hospitals. Medical record reviews were conducted for 110 randomly selected HO-ASE cases to determine clinical correlates.

RESULTS

Amongst 282,441 hospitalized patients, 2,301 (0.8%) met HO-ASE criteria and 1,260 (0.4%) had reportable HAIs. In-hospital mortality rates were higher with HO-ASEs than reportable HAIs (28.6% vs 12.9%). Mortality rates for HO-ASE missed by reportable HAIs were substantially higher than mortality rates for reportable HAIs missed by HO-ASE (28.1% vs 6.3%). Reportable HAIs were only present in 334/2,301 (14.5%) HO-ASEs, most commonly CLABSIs (6.0% of HO-ASEs), C.difficile (5.0%), and CAUTI (3.0%). On medical record review, most HO-ASEs were caused by pneumonia (39.1%, of which only 34.9% were ventilator-associated), bloodstream infections (17.4%, of which only 10.5% were central line-associated), non-C.difficile intra-abdominal infections (14.5%), urinary infections (7.3%, of which 87.5% were catheter-associated), and skin/soft tissue infections (6.4%).

CONCLUSIONS

CDC's HO-ASE definition detects many serious nosocomial infections missed by currently reportable HAIs. HO-ASE surveillance could increase the efficiency and clinical significance of surveillance while identifying new targets for prevention.

Culture of Safety: Impact on Improvement in Infection Prevention Process and Outcomes

Purpose

Safety culture is known to be related to a wide range of outcomes, and measurement of safety culture is now required for many hospitals in the U.S.A. In previous reviews, the association with outcomes has been limited by the research design and strength of the evidence. The goal of this review was to examine recent literature on the relationship between safety culture and infection prevention and control-related (IPC) processes and healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in U.S. healthcare organizations. We also sought to quantitatively characterize the challenges to empirically establishing these relationships and limitations of current research.

Recent Findings

A PubMed search for U.S. articles published 2009–2019 on the topics of infection prevention, HAIs, and safety culture yielded 448 abstracts. After screening, 55 articles were abstracted for information on purpose, measurement, analysis, and conclusions drawn about the role of safety culture in the outcome. Approximately ½ were quality improvement (QI) initiatives and ½ were research studies. Overall, 51 (92.7%) concluded there was an association between safety culture and IPC processes or HAIs. However, only 39 studies measured safety culture and 26 statistically analyzed safety culture data for associations. Though fewer QI initiatives analyzed associations, a higher proportion concluded an association exists than among research studies.

Summary

Despite limited empirical evidence and methodologic challenges to establishing associations, most articles supported a positive relationship between safety culture, improvement in IPC processes, and decreases in HAIs. Authors frequently reported experiencing improvements in safety culture when not directly measured. The findings suggest that associations between improvement and safety culture may be bi-directional such that positive safety culture contributes to successful interventions and implementing effective interventions drives improvements in culture. Greater attention to article purpose, design, and analysis is needed to confirm these presumptive relationships.

A systematic review of central-line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) diagnostic reliability and error

OBJECTIVE

To establish the reliability of the application of National Health and Safety Network (NHSN) central-line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) criteria within established reporting systems internationally.

DESIGN

Diagnostic-test accuracy systematic review.

METHODS

We conducted a search of Medline, SCOPUS, the Cochrane Library, CINAHL (EbscoHost), and PubMed (NCBI). Cohort studies were eligible for inclusion if they compared publicly reported CLABSI rates and were conducted by independent and expertly trained reviewers using NHSN/Centers for Disease Control (or equivalent) criteria. Two independent reviewers screened, extracted data, and assessed risk of bias using the QUADAS 2 tool. Sensitivity, specificity, negative and positive predictive values were analyzed.

RESULTS

A systematic search identified 1,259 publications; 9 studies were eligible for inclusion (n = 7,160 central lines). Publicly reported CLABSI rates were more likely to be underestimated (7 studies) than overestimated (2 studies). Specificity ranged from 0.70 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.58-0.81) to 0.99 (95% CI, 0.99-1.00) and sensitivity ranged from 0.42 (95% CI, 0.15-0.72) to 0.88 (95% CI, 0.77-0.95). Four studies, which included a consecutive series of patients (whole cohort), reported CLABSI incidence between 9.8% and 20.9%, and absolute CLABSI rates were underestimated by 3.3%-4.4%. The risk of bias was low to moderate in most included studies.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest consistent underestimation of true CLABSI incidence within publicly reported rates, weakening the validity and reliability of surveillance measures. Auditing, education, and adequate resource allocation is necessary to ensure that surveillance data are accurate and suitable for benchmarking and quality improvement measures over time.

REGISTRATION

Prospectively registered with International prospective register of systematic reviews (PROSPERO ID CRD42015021989; June 7, 2015). https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.php?ID%3dCRD42015021989.

Cardiopulmonary Bypass Time Predicts Early Postoperative Enterobacteriaceae Bloodstream Infection

BACKGROUND

A bloodstream infection in patients undergoing cardiovascular operations is crucial because it can result in significantly worse outcomes. However, microbiological patterns have rarely been investigated in these patients.

METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed the data of 1,041 adult patients who underwent cardiovascular operations using cardiopulmonary bypass from January 2013 to December 2017 at the National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan. The microbiological pattern and associated variables were analyzed in patients with early postoperative primary bloodstream infection.

RESULTS

Primary bloodstream infection developed in 28 patients (2.7%) within 7 days after cardiovascular operations using cardiopulmonary bypass. In patients with early primary bloodstream infection, 36 microorganisms were isolated, and a gram-negative bacillus was identified to be the predominant pathogen (28 of 36 [77.8%]). The most common microorganisms comprised the Enterobacter (n = 8) and Acinetobacter (n = 7) species, and 16 of the 28 gram-negative bacilli belonged to the Enterobacteriaceae family. Compared with those without postoperative bloodstream infection, patients with Enterobacteriaceae family-related early postoperative bloodstream infections had a significantly longer cardiopulmonary bypass time and also worse early and late survival rates.

CONCLUSIONS

Most patients with early primary bloodstream infection after cardiovascular operations using cardiopulmonary bypass were infected with gram-negative bacilli, and the Enterobacteriaceae family was the most common microorganism observed. Endogenous bacterial translocation after prolonged cardiopulmonary bypass is a possible mechanism of Enterobacteriaceae family-related early primary bloodstream infection in these patients. Prophylactic use of an antibiotic regimen with broader gram-negative bacteria coverage in cardiovascular surgical patients with prolonged cardiopulmonary bypass should be considered.

State health department validations of central line-associated bloodstream infection events reported via the National Healthcare Safety Network

BACKGROUND

Numerous state health departments (SHDs) have validated central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) data, and results from these studies provide important insights into the accuracy of CLABSI reporting to the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) and remediable shortcomings in adherence to the CLABSI definition and criteria.

METHODS

State CLABSI validation results were obtained from peer-reviewed publications, reports on SHD Web sites, and via personal communications with the SHD health care-associated infections coordinator. Data accuracy measures included pooled mean sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value. Total CLABSI error rate was computed as the proportion of mismatches among total records reviewed. When available, reasons for CLABSI misclassification reported by SHDs were reviewed.

RESULTS

At least 23 SHDs that have completed CLABSI validations indicated sensitivity (pooled mean, 82.9%), specificity (pooled mean, 98.5%), positive predictive value (pooled mean, 94.1%), and negative predictive value (pooled mean, 95.9%) of CLABSI reporting. The pooled error rate of CLABSI reporting was 4.4%. Reasons for CLABSI misclassification included incorrect secondary bloodstream infection attribution, misapplication of CLABSI definition, missed case finding, applying clinical over surveillance definitions, misapplication of laboratory-confirmed bloodstream infection 2 definition, and misapplication of general NHSN definitions.

CONCLUSIONS

CLABSI underreporting remains a major concern; validations conducted by SHDs provide an important impetus for improved reporting. SHDs are uniquely positioned to engage facilities in collaborative validation reviews that allow transparency, education, and relationship building.

Validation of healthcare-associated infection surveillance in smaller Australian hospitals

A validation study was conducted in smaller (<100 acute beds) Victorian hospitals to evaluate case detection for Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream (SAB), meticillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) infections. Overall, 142 infections were identified in 20 hospitals. For routine surveillance of SAB events, sensitivity was 74.4% and specificity was 100.0%. For MRSA infections, sensitivity was 47.5% and specificity was 90.9%. All confirmed VRE infections were reported correctly. Of unreported SAB and MRSA infections, 80% (N = 16) and 83.9% (N = 26) were community-associated infections, respectively. Future programme refinements include targeted education to ensure appropriate application of case definitions, particularly those including community onset.