"Beyond the guidelines" - Deviations in adherence to infection control measures in Tyrolean hospitals, Austria

Hospital-acquired infections represent increasing problems in health-care facilities worldwide. Adequate infection control measures are key elements in preventing those infections. Expert societies have published recommendations that help to reduce Hospital-acquired infections.

In November 2019, a questionnaire-based point-prevalence survey, eliciting the adherence of 14 Tyrolean hospitals to the recommendations of the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was performed. Additionally, standard infection control measures performed by different medical (clinical and infection control specialists) disciplines as well as the performed infection control measures of nurses and physicians were compared.

The survey revealed varying adherence to CDC-recommendations of different medical disciplines, with highest congruence by the infection control specialists and lower congruencies by all surveyed clinical disciplines. Concordance rate between nurses and physicians was high.

Explanations for the varying congruencies of clinical disciplines on the one hand and the infection control specialists on the other hand may be versatile. Possible lacks of knowledge about the required hygiene measures should be taken into account.

The present survey showed moderate adherence of Tyrolean hospitals to the recommendations provided by CDC, however with noticeable differences between different medical disciplines. Nurses and doctors in most cases reported identically.