20 Jul NEJM: CDC Survey Finds Hospital-Acquired Infections Decline Since 2015, But More Than Half a Million Remain
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Nora Chea, M.D.
Medical Epidemiologist
Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion CDC's National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases
Dr. Nora Chea[/caption]
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Dr. Chea: Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) remain a significant threat to the safety of patients in U.S. hospitals and cost billions of dollars annually. Preventing HAIs continues to be a top priority of CDC and other federal agencies. In 2023, CDC, in collaboration with 10 Emerging Infections Program (EIP) sites, conducted a point prevalence survey to assess changes in HAI prevalence compared with a similar survey conducted in 2015.
The 2023 survey included 13,653 patients across 218 hospitals in 10 states. Trained staff reviewed medical records using National Healthcare Safety Network definitions to identify HAIs.