HEALTHCARE-ASSOCIATED INFECTIONS

Healthcare-associated infections (HAI) are infections that develop while a patient is receiving treatment in a healthcare setting.  HAIs account for the majority of infections in the healthcare setting and their occurrence leads to an increase in morbidity, mortality, hospital length of stay, and overall healthcare costs.1

Although limited data is available for low and middle income countries around the world,2 it is estimated to affect hundreds of millions of patients worldwide each year.3

There are a variety of HAIs, but a few of the most common and costly HAIs are Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections (CAUTI), Surgical Site Infections (SSI), and Central Line-Associated Blood Stream Infections (CLABSI).

These HAIs can be reduced when a proper prevention plan and best practices are implemented in healthcare systems.

Resources

  1. http://www.jiph.org/article/S1876-0341(14)00068-9/fulltext
  2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK401766/
  3. http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/80135/9789241501507_eng.pdf?sequence=1

Europe:

  • Costs exceed 7 billion euros annually1
  • 16 million extra days of hospital stay1
  • Over 4 million affected each year2
  • 110,000 deaths a year2

Canada:

  • Each year in Canada, more than 220,000 healthcare associated infections result in 8,500-12,000 deaths3
  • One in nine hospital patients in Canada get a healthcare associated infection3
  • Costs are estimated at $129 million for 20104

Australia:

  • There are around 200,000 healthcare associated infections (HAIs) in Australian health facilities each year, making them the most common complication affecting patients in hospital5
  • It is estimated that HAIs account for two million hospital bed days in Australia each year5
  • 7000 deaths in Australian hospitals per year5
  • Estimated cost of over $1 billion per year5

US:

  • It is estimated that 2 million patients are diagnosed with an HAI and it is responsible for roughly 99,000 deaths in the US each year.6
  • Treating patients with HAIs is quite costly with an estimated total cost of $33 billion per year.6

Resources

  1. http://www.theglobaljournal.net/photo/view/1780/
  2. https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/health_glance_eur-2016-46-en.pdf?expires=1524420860&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=2AFD2351888AD39B02EE11992715D84E
  3. https://cupe.ca/health-care-associated-infections-backgrounder-and-fact-sheet
  4. http://www.patientsafetyinstitute.ca/en/Topic/Pages/Healthcare-Associated-Infections-(HAI).aspx
  5. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/imj.13642
  6. https://www.healthline.com/health-news/aging-healthcare-acquired-infections-kill-nearly-a-hundred-thousand-a-year-072713#3

GNSH 2018 Summit Resources – Healthcare Associated Infections