Novel scores relevant to antimicrobial resistance and hospital-acquired infections developed with data from a multi-hospital consortium in the Parisian region of France

Purpose: Indicators for comparing and understanding differences in antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) for benchmarking are essential to identify priorities for hospitals.

Methods: This study measured the incidence of hospital-acquired or resistant Gram-negative bacilli bloodstream infections (GNB-BSIs) in a large public healthcare consortium in the Parisian region of France.

Results: Within each hospital, there was a strong positive correlation between the incidence of GNB-BSIs due to resistant GNB and the incidence of hospital-acquired GNB-BSIs. Two scores measuring AMR and HAI rates by combining different GNB-BSI incidence rates were developed as indicators. These scores were highly variable within the hospital consortium. On multi-variate analysis, AMR and HAI scores were significantly associated with the proportion of surgical beds, staff absenteeism and the consumption of alcohol-based hand rub, with the latter two characteristics being amenable to interventions. Carbapenem use was also linked to AMR, but this may be because carbapenems are the preferred drug for treating resistant infections.

Conclusion: These results shed light on the incidence of HAIs and AMR in the study hospitals, and suggest possibilities for targeted interventions at healthcare facility level.