The study reviewed the incidence of HAIs among adult patients on ventilators in a neuro intensive care unit at Overlook Medical Center’s Comprehensive Stroke Center in Summit, N.J., over a two-year period to find factors contributing to catheter-associated urinary tract infections, ventilator-associated events and possible ventilator-associated pneumonias.
Based on those findings, the center implemented changes that resulted in a 53 percent reduction in HAIs over 18 months.
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The changes include:
- Using a mobile CT scanner in the neuro ICU to reduce transports for brain imaging
- Re-evaluating urinary catheter use daily to reduce use when possible
- Retraining staff on catheter insertion and maintenance techniques
- Introducing a new Foley kit to simplify and standardize the sterile insertion process
“Better training and limiting the use of catheters was important in this effort. But the real surprise was that transporting patients for brain imaging was a major source of the problem and by introducing a mobile CT scanner we could substantially reduce infections,” said John Halperin, MD, lead study investigator and chair of the department of neurosciences at Overlook.
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