A study published this week in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) shows that after years of steady reductions in health care-associated infections (HAIs), significantly higher rates of four out of six routinely tracked infections were observed in U.S. hospitals in 2020. The study outlines a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) analysis of data from the National Healthcare Safety Network. The HAI increases were attributed to factors related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including more and sicker patients requiring more frequent and longer use of catheters and ventilators, as well as staffing and supply challenges. “COVID-19 created a perfect storm for antibiotic resistance and health care-associated infections in health care settings. Prior to the pandemic, public health—in partnership with hospitals—successfully drove down these infections for several years across U.S. hospitals,” said Arjun Srinivasan, MD, CDC associate director of health care-associated infection prevention programs. He noted this data emphasizes the importance of building stronger infection control resources throughout health care to improve protection for patients. (SHEA news release, 9/2/21)
