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Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infection in Australian hospitals: findings from a Victorian surveillance system
Author(s) -
Worth Leon J,
Spelman Tim,
Bull Ann L,
Richards Michael J
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/mja13.10599
Subject(s) - bloodstream infection , medicine , staphylococcus aureus , methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus , emergency medicine , bacteria , biology , genetics
Objectives: To determine the burden of disease and trend over time for rates of Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream (SAB) infections in Victorian health care services. Design and setting : Uniform data on all SAB infection events (methicillin‐sensitive and methicillin‐resistant isolates) were collected from all public and some private hospitals in Victoria using a standardised electronic data collection tool. Data were analysed for the period 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2012. Main outcome measures: Overall and quarterly aggregate SAB and methicillin‐resistant S. aureus (MRSA) bloodstream infection rates per 10 000 occupied bed‐days (OBDs); rates of health care‐associated (HA) infections compared with a benchmark of no more than 2/10 000 OBDs. Results: Data from 119 public and four private hospitals were analysed. The cumulative aggregate SAB infection rate was 1.0/10 000 OBDs (95% CI, 0.9–1.0/10 000 OBDs). Overall, 1335/3205 SAB infection events (41.7%) were health care‐associated. Of these, 26.2% occurred within 48 hours of hospitalisation and were most frequently associated with an indwelling medical device. Quarterly HA‐SAB infection rates diminished from 1.4 to 0.7/10 000 OBDs ( P < 0.001). A median of four health care services each quarter exceeded the benchmark of 2.0/10 000 OBDs. HA‐MRSA bloodstream infection rates diminished from 0.4 to 0.1/10 000 OBDs ( P < 0.001), with a cumulative aggregate rate of 0.2/10 000 OBDs. Conclusions: Continuous surveillance for SAB infection showed a significant reduction in rates across Victoria during the first 3 years of a coordinated program. Early onset, device‐related SAB infections are an important target for prevention strategies.