One in 20 patients contract infections in Irish hospitals, study finds

It surveyed 9,030 patients in 50 Irish hospitals, of which 467 had a hospital acquired infection (HAI) at the time of the survey, giving a 5.2% prevalence rate of HAI across all of the hospitals.

“There are three key components to preventing HAI and ensuring appropriate antibiotic use,” said HPSC consultant microbiologist, Dr Robert Cunney. “Good hand hygiene practice, proper use of antibiotics and proper use of intravascular (IV) lines and urinary catheters.

“Not every HAI can be prevented from happening but every effort should be taken to prevent HAI wherever possible.

“This pan European survey counted the number of patients in the hospitals with an infection which occurred as a result of being admitted to a hospital and totalled the number of patients in the hospitals who were prescribed antibiotics.

“The survey defined a HAI as an infection that developed more than two days after a patient was admitted to a hospital or an infection that developed because of a medical device being inserted or within a defined time limit after an operation.

“The survey found that the patients who had a HAI were more likely to have some of the common ‘risk factors’ for developing a HAI, when compared with patients who did not have a HAI.

“Well-known risk factors for developing HAI can include: having had an operation, having a drip or a bladder catheter, being in an intensive care unit, being older or very young in age and receiving antibiotics.

“Antibiotics are an extremely important resource for the treatment of infections caused by bacteria. There is concern around the world that bacteria are becoming more resistant to antibiotics, meaning that they may no longer work to treat common infections and the fact that there have been very few new types of antibiotics developed to overcome this problem of resistance.

“It is very important that antibiotics are only used when they are absolutely necessary and that they are not used in the incorrect circumstances, such as to try and treat infections caused by viruses. It is also very important that antibiotics are not used for too long and that the course of treatment is kept as short as possible.

“This survey found that of the 9,030 patients who were counted, 3,108 were prescribed antibiotics. This means that the prevalence of antibiotic use across all of the Irish hospitals was 34%.

“However, because different hospitals may admit different types of patients and have different medical and surgical specialists working within the hospital, it is not possible to directly compare the results between hospitals.

“About one-in-three patients who were admitted to Irish hospitals in May 2012 were prescribed an antibiotic. This survey showed that antibiotic prescribing is very common in Irish hospitals.

“Many patients are admitted to hospital from home because they need to get antibiotic treatment for an infection and patients who develop infection whilst in hospital for other reasons, a so-called HAI, will often need antibiotic treatment.

“The results of the survey show how it is very important to make sure that antibiotic prescribing in hospitals is done properly and that antibiotics are prescribed appropriately to try and reduce the chances of antibiotic resistant bacteria emerging in our hospitals and preserve the use of antibiotics in the future.”