National Infection Control Program in Turkey: The healthcare associated infection rate experiences over 10 years

Background: The prevalence of healthcare associated infection (HAI) is generally higher in countries with limited resources than developed countries. To address the high prevalence of HAI, Turkish Ministry of Health introduced a national infection control program in 2005. Methods: Device associated (DA)-HAIs routinely surveyed included ventilator associated events, urinary catheter associated urinary tract infection and central line associated blood stream infection. Rates in DAHAI were examined from 2008 to 2017 by type of hospitals, bed capacity, and geographic location of hospitals. Results: All DA-HAIs declined significantly from 2008 to 2017 nationally for ventilator associated events from 16.69 to 4.86 per 1,000 device days (IRR = 0.29, P < .0001), catheter associated urinary tract infection from 4.98 to 1.59 per 1,000 catheter days (IRR = 0.31, P < .0001) and central line associated blood stream infection from 5.65 to 2.82 per 1,000 catheter days (IRR = 0.47, P < .0001). The rates for DA-HAIs declined significantly in hospitals with >= 200 beds and <200 bed capacity and in all 4 type of hospitals. By 2017 all DA-HAI had significantly improved across all regions. Conclusions: The introduction of a new national surveillance system supported by a national infection control program has significantly reduced 3 major DA-HAIs that are associated with risk of treatment failure and death. The next critical step in sustaining this crucial improvement will require timely feedback to hospitals using technology and continued buy-in from clinicians for their commitment to safety associated with DAHAIs using aspirational DA-HAI rates. (c) 2020 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The introduction of a national infection control program in Turkey significantly reduced the prevalence of 3 major device-associated healthcare associated infections from 2008 to 2017. Rates for DA-HAIs declined significantly in hospitals of different bed capacities and geographic locations, with all regions showing improvement by 2017.