Abstract
Prevention of hospital infections requires efforts at individual centers and at the regional level. An observational prospective study was performed using an electronic questionnaire sent to the infection control team (ICT) representative of 54 hospitals in Gifu Prefecture, Japan. Each hospital provided data regarding the number of beds, number of patient-days, frequencies of ICT meetings and rounds per month, number of cases of drug-resistant organisms detected, number of blood cultures and the results, amount of alcohol-based hand rub (ABHR) consumption, and antimicrobial usage. To evaluate the effect of the surveillance, the data during the period April 2012–February 2014 was analyzed. The frequencies of ICT meetings increased from 2.0 in April 2012 to 2.9 in February 2014, and rounds per month increased from 2.5 in April 2012 to 3.3 in February 2014. The detection rates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), extended spectrum beta lactamase (ESBL)-producing organisms, and Clostridium difficile (CD) toxin did not decrease. The average amount of ABHR consumption significantly increased. However, the number of blood cultures and the antimicrobial use density remained stable. Apparently this study activated ICT activities and increased ABHR consumption. Although the detection rates of MRSA, ESBL-producing organisms, and CD toxin were not decreased, further research is needed to determine whether increasing consumption of ABHR and antimicrobial stewardship reduces the prevalence of MRSA and ESBL-producing organisms.
