InfectionControlSource

From the Clinical Editor

Barbara A. Goldrick, RN, MPH, PhD, CIC

HAIs are infections that patients acquire during the course of receiving treatment for other conditions or that health care providers sustain while performing their duties within a health care setting. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), HAIs are one of the 10 leading causes of death in the United States, creating a serious public health problem.

In U.S. hospitals alone, HAIs account for an estimated 1.7 million infections and 99,000 associated deaths each year, adding $4.5 billion to $5.7 billion in health care costs. The CDC estimates that 32% of all HAIs are urinary tract infections, 22% are surgical site infections, 15% are pneumonias, and 14% are bloodstream infections.

As the nation’s health protection agency, the CDC publishes guidelines and recommendations for the prevention of HAIs, with regular updates based on the current state of the science in infection prevention and control. These guidelines are the standard of care in health care facilities and guide the clinical practices of health care providers in the United States.

Given the vast and ever-changing number of products that are available for infection control and prevention, this first edition of the Kestrel InfectionControlSource will be a welcome resource. We developed it using CDC guidelines and recommendations to assist infection control professionals, physicians, nurses and other health care personnel in making intelligent, informed patient care decisions as they seek out products to prevent and control infections in health care settings. Although it may not be all-inclusive, it is my hope that this first edition of InfectionControlSource will provide a resource and reference guide for those who are working to reduce the risk of HAIs.

References:

1. American Hospital Association. Hospital statistics, 2007 ed. [Table 3.] Chicago, IL: Health Forum LLC, 2007.
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs).

Barbara A. Goldrick, RN, MPH, PhD, CIC is certified by the Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology (CBIC), and is a Fellow in the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA). She has practiced in the field of infection prevention and control for more than 30 years, and has published extensively. She is currently an epidemiology consultant in private practice.