A Six-Year Point Prevalence Survey of Healthcare-Associated Infections in an Italian Teaching Acute Care Hospital

Healthcare-associated infections (HAI) represent one of the most common cause of infection and an important burden of disease. The aim of this study was to analyze the results of a six-year HAI point prevalence survey carried out yearly in a teaching acute care hospital from 2013 to 2018, following the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) guidelines. Surgical site infections, urinary tract infections, bloodstream infections, pneumonia, meningitis, and Clostridium difficile infections were considered as risk factors. A total of 328 patients with HAI were detected during the 6-year survey, with an average point prevalence of 5.24% (95% CI: 4.70-5.83%). Respiratory tract infections were the most common, followed by surgical site infections, urinary tract infections, primary bloodstream infections, Clostridium difficile infections, and central nervous system infections. A regression model showed length of stay at the moment of HAI detection, urinary catheter, central venous catheter, and antibiotic therapy to be the most important predictors of HAI prevalence, yielding a significant adjusted coefficient of determination (adjusted R²) of 0.2780. This will provide future infection control programs with specific HAI to focus on in order to introduce a proper prophylaxis and to limit exposure whenever possible.