DHSS Press Release

HOSPITAL ACQUIRED INFECTIONS REPORT RELEASED

Delaware’s Division of Public Health (DPH) has published a report of central line associated blood stream infections for Delaware's eight critical care hospitals for the first and second quarters of 2009. Central line is a tube in the chest that returns blood to the heart, and a large proportion of the estimated 248,000 bloodstream infections are attributed to this procedure each year. Bloodstream infections are usually serious infections typically causing a prolonged hospital stay, increased cost and risk of death.

Delaware's Hospital Infections Disclosure Act of 2007 (Title 16 Chapter 10A) requires hospitals to report healthcare-acquired infections to DPH by using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN). NHSN is an internet-based surveillance system that collects data from U.S. healthcare facilities. It provides facilities with risk-adjusted data that can be used for inter-facility comparisons and local quality improvement activities.

As required by law, the following eight Delaware hospitals were enrolled in the NHSN system in 2008 (Veterans Administration Hospitals are not subject to state law).

• AI duPont Hospital for Children
• BayHealth Medical Center - Kent General Hospital
• BayHealth Medical Center - Milford Memorial Hospital
• Beebe Medical Center
• Christiana Care Health System - Christiana Hospital
• Christiana Care Health System - Wilmington Hospital
• Nanticoke Memorial Hospital
• Saint Francis Hospital

The eight hospitals collectively reported 19 central line associated blood stream infections (CLABSI) during the first two quarters of 2009. The rate of CLABSIs in each of the eight hospitals was compared to the rate in all NHSN hospitals reporting CLABSIs for in-patient locations of the same type. A patient location is where in the facility the patient was cared for when the infection was detected.

The report is available at www.dhss.delaware.gov/dhss/dph/epi/dehospinfrpts.html

Delaware Health and Social Services is committed to improving the quality of the lives of Delaware's citizens by promoting health and well-being, fostering self-sufficiency, and protecting vulnerable populations.