Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-dfsvx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-26T01:47:17.996Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Nosocomial Infection Surveillance in the United States: Historical Perspective

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

James M. Hughes
James M. Hughes*
Affiliation:
Hospital Infections Program, Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control, Public Health Service, US Department of Health and Human Services, Atlanta, Georgia
*
Hospital Infection Program, Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, GA 30333
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

During the past 30 years, many important strides have been made in the prevention of nosocomial infections in the United States. Infection control programs have been established in hospitals throughout the country. Techniques for surveillance of nosocomial infections have been developed and utilized extensively. Results of the Study on the Efficacy of Nosocomial Infection Control (SENIC Project) and the experience with surveillance of surgical wound infections have documented the fact that surveillance is an integral component of an effective nosocomial infection control program. In recent years, a number of approaches to nosocomial infection surveillance have been proposed as alternatives to comprehensive or hospital-wide surveillance. In 1986, four surveillance components were introduced in the National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance (NNIS) system to provide participating institutions the option to tailor their surveillance program to their local needs and priorities while continuing to provide information to the national database on nosocomial infections. Infection control practitioners currently face a challenge to develop more meaningful nosocomial infection rates to permit identification of new infection control priorities for their institution and to assess progress toward specific prevention objectives.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 8 , Issue 11 , November 1987 , pp. 450 - 453
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 1987

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1. Haley, RW, Aber, RC, Bennett, JV: Surveillance of nosocomial infections, in Bennett, JV, Brachman, PS (eds): Hospital Infections, ed 2. Boston, Little Brown & Co, 1986, pp 51–71.Google Scholar
2. American Hospital Association: Prevention and control of Staphylococcus infections in hospitals, in US Public Health Service—Communicable Disease Center and National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council: Proceedings of the National Conference on Hospital-Acquired Staphylococcal Disease. Atlanta, Communicable Disease Center, September 1958, p XXIII–XXVI.Google Scholar
3. Gardner, AMN, Stamp, M, Bowgen, JA, et al: The infection control sister: A new member of the control of infection team in general hospitals. Lancet 1962;2:710–711.Google Scholar
4. Kislak, JW, Eickhoff, TC, Finland, M: Hospital-acquired infections and antibiotic usage in the Boston City Hospital—January, 1964. N Engl J Med 1964;271:834–835.Google Scholar
5. Barrett, FF, Casey, JI, Finland, M: Infections and antibiotic use among patients at Boston City Hospital, February, 1967. N Engl J Med 1968;278:5–9.Google Scholar
6. Eickhoff, TC, Brachman, PS, Bennett, JV, et al: Surveillance of nosocomial infections in community hospitals. I. Surveillance methods, effectiveness, and initial results. J Infect Dis 1969;120:305–317.Google Scholar
7. Bennett, JV, Scheckler, WE, Maki, DG, et al: Current national patterns—United States, in Centers for Disease Control: Proceedings of the International Conference on Nosocomial Infections. Atlanta, Centers for Disease Control, August 1970, pp 42–49.Google Scholar
8. Scheckler, WE, Garner, JS, Kaiser, AB, et al: Prevalence of infections and antibiotic usage in eight community hospitals, in Centers for Disease Control: Proceedings of the International Conference on Nosocomial Infections. Atlanta, Centers for Disease Control, August 1970, pp 299–305.Google Scholar
9. Stamm, WE, Martin, SM, Bennett, JV: Epidemiology of nosocomial infections due to gram-negative bacilli: Aspects relevant to development and use of vaccines. J Infect Dis 1977;136:S151–S160.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
10. Garner, JS, Bennett, JV, Scheckler, WE, et al: Surveillance of nosocomial infections, in Centers for Disease Control: Proceedings of the International Conference on Nosocomial Infections. Atlanta, Centers for Disease Control, August 1970, pp 277–281.Google Scholar
11. Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals: Accreditation Manual for Hospitals, 1976 ed. Chicago, Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals, 1976.Google Scholar
12. Haley, RW, Quade, D, Freeman, HE, et al: The SENIC project: Study on the efficacy of nosocomial infection control (SENIC project). Am J Epidemiol 1980;111:472–485.Google Scholar
13. Haley, RW, Culver, DH, White, JW, et al: The efficacy of infection surveillance and control programs in preventing nosocomial infections in US hospitals. Am J Epidemiol 1985;121:182–205.Google Scholar
14. Centers for Disease Control: Nosocomial infection surveillance, 1984, in Centers for Disease Control Surveillance Summaries. Atlanta, Centers for Disease Control, 1986: 35(No. ISS):17SS–29SS.Google Scholar
15. Wenzel, RP, Osterman, CA, Townsend, TR, et al: Development of a statewide program for surveillance and reportingof hospital-acquired infections. J Infect Dis 1979;140:741–746.Google Scholar
16. Olson, M, Schwartz, ML: Surgical wound infections at the Minneapolis Veterans Adminstration Medical Center. Minn Med 1982;65:255–258.Google Scholar
17. McGuckin, MB, Abrutyn, E: A surveillance method for early detection of nosocomial outbreaks. Am J Infect Control 1979;7:18–21.Google Scholar
18. Laxson, LB, Blaser, MJ, Parkhurst, SM: Surveillance for the detection of nosocomial infections and the potential for nosocomial outbreaks: I. Microbiology culture surveillance is an effective method of detecting nosocomial infection. Am J Infect Control 1984;12:318–324.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
19. Costel, EE, Mitchell, S, Kaiser, AB: Abbreviated surveillance of nosocomial urinary tract infections: A new approach. Infect Control 1985;6:11–13.Google Scholar
20. Evans, RS, Larsen, RA, Burke, JP, et al: Computer surveillance of hospital-acquired infections and antibiotic use. JAMA 1986;256:1007–1011.Google Scholar
21. Beyt, EE: Computer monitoring—The next step in surveillance. JAMA 1986;256:1042.Google Scholar
22. Haley, RW: Surveillance by objective: A new priority-directed approach to the control of nosocomial infections. Am J Infect Control 1985;13:78–89.Google Scholar
23. Haley, RW, White, JW, Culver, DH, et al: The financial incentive for hospitals to prevent nosocomial infections under the prospective payment system: An empirical determination from a nationally representative sample. JAMA 1987;257:1611–1614.Google Scholar
24. Cruse, PJ, Foord, R: A five-year prospective study of 23,649 surgical wounds. Arch Surg 1973;107:206–210.Google Scholar
25. National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council: Postoperative wound infections: The influence of ultraviolet irradiation of the operating room and of various other factors. Ann Surg 1964;160(suppl).Google Scholar
26. Haley, RW, Culver, DH, Morgan, WM, et al: Identifying patients at high risk of surgical wound infection: A simple multivariate index of patient susceptibility and wound contamination. Am J Epidemiol 1985;121:206–215.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
27. Condon, RE, Schulte, WJ, Malangoni, MA, et al: Effectiveness of a surgical wound surveillance program. Arch Surg 1983;118:303–307.Google Scholar
28. Olson, M, O'Connor, M, Schwartz, ML: Surgical wound infections: A 5-year prospective study of 20,193 wounds at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center. Ann Surg 1984;199:253–259.Google Scholar