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Health care facilities around the country have added new infection prevention measures aimed at stopping the spread of Clostridium difficile infections, but few have been able to add staff to help cope with the problem, according to an online survey conducted by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology.
Overall, 53% of the health care facilities surveyed by APIC had adopted new interventions to address C. difficile in the last 18 months; of those that had not, 21% were planning to do so in the next year. But only 23% of the facilities reported that they had added more infection prevention staff or increased the hours dedicated to infection prevention. And about 34% of the respondents said that their facility could be doing more to control the spread of C. difficile.
APIC conducted the survey in February and March of this year to gauge progress following a November 2008 APIC report showing that the prevalence of C. difficile was 6–20 times greater than previously estimated. The survey yielded responses from nearly 1,800 APIC members, most of whom are nursing directors or patient safety officers working in acute care facilities.
The survey findings suggest that some hospitals are heeding the data on increased prevalence as a call to action. For example, over the past 18 months, about 60% of the facilities surveyed have implemented additional or more aggressive hand hygiene interventions, 77% have started staff education programs about C. difficile, and 50% have added patient education programs about the infection.
But the survey also showed that hospitals could be doing a better job when it comes to tracking colectomies, which can indicate the presence of a more severe strain of C. difficile. Fewer than 30% of facilities reported that they monitor the number of colectomies performed, and 46% said they didn't know if the colectomy rate had increased during the past 18 months.
The full survey report is available at www.apic.org
Health care facilities around the country have added new infection prevention measures aimed at stopping the spread of Clostridium difficile infections, but few have been able to add staff to help cope with the problem, according to an online survey conducted by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology.
Overall, 53% of the health care facilities surveyed by APIC had adopted new interventions to address C. difficile in the last 18 months; of those that had not, 21% were planning to do so in the next year. But only 23% of the facilities reported that they had added more infection prevention staff or increased the hours dedicated to infection prevention. And about 34% of the respondents said that their facility could be doing more to control the spread of C. difficile.
APIC conducted the survey in February and March of this year to gauge progress following a November 2008 APIC report showing that the prevalence of C. difficile was 6–20 times greater than previously estimated. The survey yielded responses from nearly 1,800 APIC members, most of whom are nursing directors or patient safety officers working in acute care facilities.
The survey findings suggest that some hospitals are heeding the data on increased prevalence as a call to action. For example, over the past 18 months, about 60% of the facilities surveyed have implemented additional or more aggressive hand hygiene interventions, 77% have started staff education programs about C. difficile, and 50% have added patient education programs about the infection.
But the survey also showed that hospitals could be doing a better job when it comes to tracking colectomies, which can indicate the presence of a more severe strain of C. difficile. Fewer than 30% of facilities reported that they monitor the number of colectomies performed, and 46% said they didn't know if the colectomy rate had increased during the past 18 months.
The full survey report is available at www.apic.org
Health care facilities around the country have added new infection prevention measures aimed at stopping the spread of Clostridium difficile infections, but few have been able to add staff to help cope with the problem, according to an online survey conducted by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology.
Overall, 53% of the health care facilities surveyed by APIC had adopted new interventions to address C. difficile in the last 18 months; of those that had not, 21% were planning to do so in the next year. But only 23% of the facilities reported that they had added more infection prevention staff or increased the hours dedicated to infection prevention. And about 34% of the respondents said that their facility could be doing more to control the spread of C. difficile.
APIC conducted the survey in February and March of this year to gauge progress following a November 2008 APIC report showing that the prevalence of C. difficile was 6–20 times greater than previously estimated. The survey yielded responses from nearly 1,800 APIC members, most of whom are nursing directors or patient safety officers working in acute care facilities.
The survey findings suggest that some hospitals are heeding the data on increased prevalence as a call to action. For example, over the past 18 months, about 60% of the facilities surveyed have implemented additional or more aggressive hand hygiene interventions, 77% have started staff education programs about C. difficile, and 50% have added patient education programs about the infection.
But the survey also showed that hospitals could be doing a better job when it comes to tracking colectomies, which can indicate the presence of a more severe strain of C. difficile. Fewer than 30% of facilities reported that they monitor the number of colectomies performed, and 46% said they didn't know if the colectomy rate had increased during the past 18 months.
The full survey report is available at www.apic.org