Health Care-Associated Infections: Best Practices for Prevention

Health care-associated infections (HAIs) are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. Common examples include catheter-associated urinary tract infections, central line-associated bloodstream infections, ventilator-associated pneumonia, surgical site infections, and Clostridioides difficile infections. Standardized infection control processes and precautions have been shown to reduce the rate of HAIs, and targeted practices for HAIs have shown further reductions. Patient safety tools have been developed for various HAIs to help guide administrators and are free for public use through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention STRIVE (States Targeting Reduction in Infections via Engagement) initiative. The Choosing Wisely initiative makes best practice recommendations for physicians to improve quality of care and reduce costs; targeted recommendations were developed to reduce the risk of HAIs. For example, using invasive devices only when indicated and for the shortest time possible reduces the risk of device-related HAIs. The goal of antibiotic stewardship is to reduce C. difficile infections and further development of multidrug-resistant organisms such as vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus and carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae. Antibiotic stewardship targets physician behaviors such as reviewing antibiotic therapy choices every 48 to 72 hours, reviewing culture results as soon as available, de-escalating antibiotic therapy when appropriate, and documenting the indications for initiating and continuing antibiotic therapy.