The data in the report were submitted by hospitals to CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network, the agency’s infection tracking system used by more than 7,800 healthcare facilities nationwide as a tool for preventing healthcare-associated infections. This is the first time that CDC is releasing a standardized infection ratio for central line-associated bloodstream infections for each of the 50 states.
Key findings from the report include the following:
• Twenty-one states had significant decreases in central line-associated bloodstream infections between 2009 and 2010
• Although nationally there was a decrease in surgical site infections in 2010, only coronary artery bypass grafting showed a substantial decrease in infections between 2009 and 2010, which impacted the observed decrease nationally.
• A total of 13,812 healthcare-associated infections (including central line-associated bloodstream infections, catheter-associated urinary tract infections and surgical site infections) were observed in 2010.
• Of these, more than half (7,206 infection) were observed in reporting facilities’ intensive care units.
• A total of 4,737 surgical site infections were observed among 529,038 procedures (including hip and knee arthroplasties, colon and rectal surgery and coronary artery bypass graft) in 2010.
• Of these, nearly half of surgical site infections occurred during hip arthroplasty (1,091 infections) and knee arthroplasty (1,090 infections).
For more information on the state of healthcare-associated infections and states’ prevention measures, click here.
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