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Hospitals meeting most CDC infection-prevention goals
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Oct. 31, 2011
Hospitals nationwide are hitting the infection-prevention targets set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the agency announced in October. The rate of central line-associated bloodstream infections has declined 33% since 2008, well on the way to meeting the goal of a 50% reduction by 2013.
Cather-associated urinary tract infections, meanwhile, have fallen by 7%. There are 10% fewer surgical-site infections, and there has been an 18% decline in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections, the CDC said (link).
Adherence to recommended central-line insertion practices also is improving, but the rate of Clostridium difficile hospitalizations is going in the wrong direction. C. diff admissions rose 1.1% from the 2008 baseline of 8.8 per 1,000 hospitalizations. The 2013 goal is to slash that rate by 30%, which the CDC says is unlikely to happen.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2011/10/31/prbf1031.htm.
