Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 1, 2026
Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale
Published on: August 25, 2014
Methodological framework for the surveillance of healthcare-associated infections in high-risk infants: the NeoIPC
Gizem Karadağ1, Adrie Bekker2, Angela Dramowski2
1Institute of Hygiene and Environmental Medicine, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany. gizem.karadag@charite.de.
Insights
Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are a major risk for premature infants. The NeoIPC Surveillance program establishes standardized methods to monitor HAIs and multidrug-resistant organisms in neonatal units, improving infant care.
Area of Science:
- Neonatalogy
- Infectious Diseases
- Public Health Surveillance
Background:
- Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) present a significant threat to vulnerable high-risk infants, especially those with very low birth weight or born very preterm.
- The epidemiology of HAIs, associated risk factors, and prevention strategies in neonates are understudied, with limited international collaborative efforts.
- Existing research lacks comprehensive national and international data on the burden of HAIs in neonatal populations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To establish a standardized international surveillance program for healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs).
- To address the gap in knowledge regarding the burden, risk factors, and prevention of HAIs in high-risk neonates.
- To provide a framework for infection prevention and antibiotic stewardship programs through data collection and benchmarking.
Main Methods:
- An international consortium of experts in neonatology, epidemiology, and infection prevention designed the NeoIPC Surveillance program.
- Data collection focuses on prevalent neonatal HAIs, including bloodstream infections, sepsis, pneumonia, necrotizing enterocolitis, and surgical site infections.
- The program also tracks the presence of multidrug-resistant bacteria and identifies associated risk and protective factors for HAIs.
Main Results:
- The NeoIPC Surveillance program provides standardized methodologies for data collection, management, and analysis.
- It generates reference data crucial for benchmarking infection prevention efforts in neonatal units.
- The program facilitates the identification of prevalent HAIs and MDROs within neonatal settings.
Conclusions:
- The NeoIPC Surveillance program offers standardized methods and reference data to support infection prevention and antibiotic stewardship.
- It aims to improve neonatal care outcomes by enhancing surveillance of healthcare-associated infections.
- The initiative fosters international collaboration and serves as a global reference for neonatal infection surveillance.
Background:
Healthcare-associated infections pose a significant risk to high-risk infants, particularly those with very low birth weight (< 1500 g) and those born very preterm (< 32 weeks gestation). The burden of healthcare-associated infections, contributing risk factors, and efficacy of prevention strategies in the neonatal population remain underinvestigated, with few national and international networks.
Methods:
To address this gap, an international team of experts in neonatology, epidemiology, and infection prevention and control from diverse healthcare settings collaborated as consortium partners within the NeoIPC Project to design a surveillance program focused on healthcare-associated infections and multidrug-resistant organisms in neonatal units. Data collection includes the most prevalent neonatal healthcare-associated infections (primary and secondary bloodstream infections, clinical sepsis, pneumonia, necrotizing enterocolitis, and surgical site infections), the presence of multidrug-resistant bacteria and associated risk and protective factors for healthcare-associated infections.
Discussion:
By providing standardized methods and reference data for benchmarking, the NeoIPC Surveillance aims to support infection prevention and antibiotic stewardship programs, improve neonatal care outcomes and foster international collaboration. This article outlines the methods of the NeoIPC Surveillance Core Module (Version 1.2), details data collection, management, and analysis, and serves as a comprehensive reference for healthcare professionals and researchers worldwide aiming to implement effective surveillance for healthcare-associated infections in neonatal units.
Related Concept Videos
01:26Healthcare Associated Infections I: Iatrogenic, Exogenic and Endogenic
HAIs significantly increase the cost of health care. Extended stays in healthcare institutions, increased disability, increased costs of medications, including specialized antibiotics, and prolonged recovery times add to the patient's expenses and the healthcare institution and funding bodies.
01:22Healthcare Associated Infections II: Preventive Measures
The best practices for preventing healthcare-associated infections include hand hygiene, patient risk...
01:15Nursing Implementation
The five steps to implementing effective nursing care include reassessing the patient, reviewing and revising the existing nursing care plan, organizing the resources and care delivery, anticipating and preventing complications, and implementing nursing interventions.
01:27Nursing Clinical Information System
A Nursing Clinical Information System (NCIS) is a specialized type of healthcare information system tailored to meet the unique needs of nursing practice. It incorporates the principles of nursing informatics to streamline information management and improve the quality of care delivery.
Critical attributes of NCIS include:
01:19Standards of Care II
01:26Principles of Disease Surveillance