[Improvement in urinary tract infections rates in a department of internal medicine]

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the impact on the urinary tract infections (UTI) rates of an intervention implemented in the Department of Internal Medicine of the Hospital Universitario Insular de Gran Canaria.

Material and methods: Infection control practitioners implemented a three phase project, each lasting two months, focusing on surveillance and feed-back, between 2009 and 2011. During phases 1 and 2, the 2004 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-diagnostic criteria for nosocomial infections were followed, and only rates of infections were calculated. For phase 3, the criteria published in 2009 were used, and rates of infections plus processes rates were obtained. The cumulative incidence of UTI in the three periods was compared using a chi-square for trends test.

Results: The total number of catheter days, as well as the cumulative incidence of UTI dropped from phase 1 to 3. Nevertheless, in phase 2 the mean urinary catheter days increased. We detected a decrease in the UTI rates and urinary catheter days mean after introducing an electronic reminder in the patient electronic charts.

Conclusions: A multidisciplinary approach, including surveillance, reminders, and feed-back, has proved useful in controlling UTI rates in our hospital.