DEVICE-DAY INFECTION-RATES - A SURVEILLANCE COMPONENT SYSTEM FOR INTENSIVE-CARE UNITS AT SECURITY-FORCES-HOSPITAL, RIYADH, SAUDI-ARABIA

A surveillance component system for Intensive Care Units (ICUs) design ed to account for major extrinsic risk factors for nosocomial infectio ns using device days as the denominator has been advocated. A study of the surveillance component system in ICUs was conducted in Security F orces Hospital (SFH), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from February 1993 to Janu ary 1994 to verify the validity and compare the device-related infecti on rates with;he infection rates based on patient admission and patien t days. The standard recommended method was used in data collection. D evice-associated infection rates vary by ICU types and device exposure . The surgical ICU (SICU) had the highest pneumonia rate while the ped iatric ICU (PICU) had the lowest, being 22.0 and 6.4 per 1000 ventilat or days respectively. Bacteremia was highest in the PICU with 20.7/100 0 intravascular catheter days The urinary tract infection rate of 11.4 /1000 urinary catheter days was the highest in the medical ICU (MICU). These were statistically significant (P<0.001). The conclusion from t he demonstration of these variables is that the use of the surveillanc e component system gives specific information on the effect of invasiv e devices in the occurrence of infection related to their use in the v arious ICUs. It permits the calculation of risk-specific infection rat es, bring a marker for the unit's invasive practices. Improved handwas hing and the wearing of sterile gloves reduced the central intravascul ar catheter bacteremia rate in PICU from 20.7 to 10.0/1000 catheter da ys.