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Epidemiology of Hospital-Acquired Infections in Veterans With Spinal Cord Injury and Disorder

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Charlesnika T. Evans ,
Sherri L. LaVela ,
Frances M. Weaver ,
Michael Priebe ,
Paul Sandford ,
Pamela Niemiec ,
Scott Miskevics  and
Jorge P. Parada
Charlesnika T. Evans*
Affiliation:
Department of Veterans Affairs, Spinal Cord Injury Quality Enhancement Research Initiative, Center for Management of Complex Chronic Care, Edward Hines Jr. Veterans Affairs Hospital, Hines, Chicago
Sherri L. LaVela
Affiliation:
Department of Veterans Affairs, Spinal Cord Injury Quality Enhancement Research Initiative, Center for Management of Complex Chronic Care, Edward Hines Jr. Veterans Affairs Hospital, Hines, Chicago Center for Research on Health and Aging, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago
Frances M. Weaver
Affiliation:
Department of Veterans Affairs, Spinal Cord Injury Quality Enhancement Research Initiative, Center for Management of Complex Chronic Care, Edward Hines Jr. Veterans Affairs Hospital, Hines, Chicago Department of Neurology and Institute for Health Services and Policy Research, Northwestern University, Chicago
Michael Priebe
Affiliation:
Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
Paul Sandford
Affiliation:
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Clement J. Zablocki Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
Pamela Niemiec
Affiliation:
Infection Control Section, Edward Hines Jr. Veterans Affairs Hospital, Hines, Chicago
Scott Miskevics
Affiliation:
Department of Veterans Affairs, Spinal Cord Injury Quality Enhancement Research Initiative, Center for Management of Complex Chronic Care, Edward Hines Jr. Veterans Affairs Hospital, Hines, Chicago
Jorge P. Parada
Affiliation:
Department of Veterans Affairs, Spinal Cord Injury Quality Enhancement Research Initiative, Center for Management of Complex Chronic Care, Edward Hines Jr. Veterans Affairs Hospital, Hines, Chicago Loyola University Chicago, Stritch School of Medicine, Maywood, Illinois
*
Edward J. Hines Jr. Veterans Affairs Hospital, (151H), Fifth Avenue and Roosevelt Road, P.O. Box 5000, Room D302, Hines, IL 60141 (Charlesnika.Evans@va.gov)
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Abstract

Objective.

To describe the epidemiology of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) in veterans with spinal cord injury and disorder (SCI&D).

Design.

Retrospective medical record review.

Setting.

Midwestern Department of Veterans Affairs spinal cord injury center.

Participants.

A total of 226 patients with SCI&D hospitalized at least once during a 2-year period (October 1, 2001, through September 30, 2003).

Results.

A total of 549 hospitalizations were included in the analysis (mean duration of hospitalization, 33.7 days); an HAI occurred during 182 (33.2%) of these hospitalizations. A total of 657 HAIs occurred during 18,517 patient-days in the hospital (incidence rate, 35.5 HAIs per 1,000 patient-days). Almost half of the 226 patients had at least 1 HAI; the mean number of HAIs among these patients was 6.0 HAIs per patient. The most common HAIs were urinary tract infection (164 [25.0%] of the 657 HAIs; incidence rate, 8.9 cases per 1,000 patient-days), bloodstream infection (111 [16.9%]; incidence rate, 6.0 cases per 1,000 patient-days), and bone and joint infection (103 [15.7%]; incidence rate, 5.6 cases per 1,000 patient-days). The most common culture isolates were gram-positive bacteria (1,082 [45.6%] of 2,307 isolates), including Staphylococcus aureus, and gram-negative bacteria (1,033 [43.6%] of isolates), including Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Multivariate regression demonstrated that predictors of HAI were longer length of hospital stay (P = .002), community-acquired infection (P = .007), and use of a urinary invasive device (P = .01) or respiratory invasive device (P = .04).

Conclusions.

The overall incidence of HAIs in persons with SCI&D was higher than that reported for other populations, confirming the increased risk of HAI in persons with spinal cord injury. The increased risk associated with longer length of stay and with community-acquired infection suggests that strategies are needed to reduce the duration of hospitalization and to effectively treat community-acquired infection, to decrease infection rates. There is significant room for improvement in reducing the incidence of HAIs in this population.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 29 , Issue 3 , March 2008 , pp. 234 - 242
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 2008

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