Computer-assisted, high-frequency, hospital-wide point prevalence surveys of hospital-acquired infections in a tertiary care hospital, the Netherlands, 2013 to 2014

Background Surveillance of hospital-acquired infections (HAI) often relies on point prevalence surveys (PPS) to detect major deviations in the occurrence of HAI, supplemented with incidence measurements when more detailed information is needed. In a 1,320-bed university medical centre in the Netherlands, we evaluated an electronically assisted surveillance system based on frequently performed computer-assisted PPS (CAPPS).

Aim The primary goals were to evaluate the performance of this method to detect trends and to determine how adjustments in the frequency with which the CAPPS are performed would affect this performance. A secondary goal was to evaluate the performance of the algorithm (nosocomial infection index (Nii)) used.

Methods We analysed the data of 77 hospital-wide PPS, performed over a 2-year period (2013 and 2014) and including 25,056 patients.

Results Six trends with statistical significance were detected. The probability to detect such trends rapidly decreased when PPS are performed at a lower frequency. The Nii and its dynamics strongly correlated with the presence of HAI.

Conclusion Performing computer-assisted, high frequency hospital-wide PPS, is a feasible method that will detect even subtle changes in HAI prevalence over time.