Artist and designer Matthew Caliman shares how personal loss inspired the Cleanup Crew, a handwashing education project using cartoon faucets, songs, and games to help families revisit an essential health message.
News|Articles|September 23, 2015
Do Reductions in MRSA Bloodstream Infections Make Hand Hygiene Interventions Cost-Effective in ICUs?
Advertisement
Multimodal interventions are effective in increasing hand hygiene compliance among healthcare workers, but it is not known whether such interventions are cost-effective outside high-income countries. Luangasanati, et al. (2015) sought to determine whether reductions in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infections (MRSA-BSI) alone would make hand hygiene interventions cost-effective in intensive care units (ICUs) in a middle-income country using a model-based framework.
Transmission dynamic and decision analytic models were combined to determine the expected impact of hand hygiene interventions on MRSA-BSI incidence and evaluate their cost-effectiveness. Epidemiological and economic parameters were derived using data from a tertiary hospital in northeast Thailand. Sensitivity analyses were performed with different values for MRSA transmissibility and colonization prevalence on admission.
Interventions increasing hand hygiene compliance from a 10 percent baseline to ≥20 percent are likely to be cost-effective solely through reduced MRSA-BSI. Increasing compliance from 10 percent to 40 percent was estimated to cost $89 per bed-year with 4·07 QALYs gained per 10,000 bed-days in the pediatric ICU (PICU) and $63 per bed-year with 4·03 QALYs gained per 10,000 bed-days in the adult ICU. If baseline compliance is not greater than 20 percent, the intervention is always cost-effective even with only a 10 percent compliance improvement.
The researchers conclude that effective multimodal hand hygiene interventions are likely to be cost-effective in ICU settings in typical middle-income countries where baseline compliance is low due to preventing MRSA-BSI alone. Where compliance is higher, the cost-effectiveness of interventions to improve it further will depend on the impact on HAIs other than MRSA-BSI.
This paper is part of the supplement Abstracts from the 3rd International Conference on Prevention and Infection Control (ICPIC 2015).
Reference: Luangasanatip N, Hongsuwan M, Lubell Y, Limmathurotsakul D, Srisamang P, Day NPJ, Graves N and Cooper BS. Cost-effectiveness of hand hygiene promotion for MRSA bloodstream infection in ICU settings. Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control
Volume 4 Suppl 1.
Advertisement
Related to this article
This week on Infection Control Today, the stories ranged from emerging drug-resistant pathogens circling the globe to a landmark decade of surface science—all against a backdrop of ongoing outbreaks and a hard look at what the profession owes its own workforce.
How do you celebrate an infection that never happened?
That's one of the unusual challenges infection preventionists share with teachers.
Both can spend their careers changing outcomes they may never see. Both educate people who don't always want to listen. Both are second-guessed. Both face burnout. And both must somehow keep remembering why they started.
A proposed $27.7 million reduction in AHRQ funding raises questions about support for infection prevention research and implementation. Here is what the September 25 announcement identifies, as well as what remains unknown about specific IPC programs.
Two posters presented by Karen Jones, MPH, RN, CIC, FAPIC, at the APIC Annual Conference and Exposition examine surveillance responsibilities and staffing in small hospitals, as well as IPs’ reported experiences after implementing electronic surveillance. Findings highlight opportunities for more investigation, rounding, and communication.
A followed procedure can still leave patients at risk if it no longer matches validated requirements. Annetta L. McKnight, MHA, BSN, CRCST, CER, examines how infection prevention and sterile processing can identify process drift, assess disruptions, and strengthen shared oversight of medical device reprocessing.
In 1926, Karen Jones’s grandmother lost 5 children to measles in 8 days. A century later, Jones connects that devastating family history to vaccination, outbreak preparedness, and the role of infection preventionists in building trust.
What Were the Biggest Infection Prevention Stories This Week? Ebola's Outpaced Response, Lyme Coinfection Data, and Sterile Processing Burnout Explained, and more
Advertisement
Advertisement
Trending on Infection Control Today
1
Measles Took 5 Children in 8 Days. A Century Later, Their Story Still Matters
2
Making Handwashing Memorable: What Cartoon Faucets Can Teach Children
3
When Reprocessing Processes Drift: Why IPC and Sterile Processing Must Act Together
4
Proposed AHRQ Cut Raises Questions About Infection Prevention Research and Support
5