2023-10-09 12:06:29
The point prevalence study of hospital infections in Spain (EPINE) reveals that healthcare-related infections cause 7,747 deaths per year in Spain. Ángel Asensio, director of the Epine study, explained during the XXII National and XI International Congress that “taking into account that Spanish hospitals care for around 5 million patients annually, healthcare-related infections (HAIs) cause 7,414 deaths and cause direct costs of 2,025 million euros.
The study has followed up for 30 days all patients recruited during the years 2022 and 2023 and in which a total of 109,354 patients from 310 hospitals have participated. The results indicate that crude mortality was significantly higher for infected patients than for non-infected patients (11.04% vs 5.87%; RR 1.88; p0.001). When adjusting for age, sex and severity index at admission, infected patients showed a higher risk of dying within 30 days than non-infected patients (OR 1.53; 95%CI 1.41-1.66).
The attributable mortality of infected patients was 34.6% and the population attributable mortality, that of all hospitalized patients, was 2.7%. The excess length of stay attributable to HAIs was 6.9 days per infected patient.
How to prevent infections
To prevent infections and strengthen the structures involved in their prevention and control, the World Health Organization (WHO) has developed a series of tools and guides, such as the Infection Prevention and Control Assessment Framework Framework –IPCAF in English), presented in 2018.
Mireia Cantero, specialist in Preventive Medicine at the Puerta de Hierro-Majadahonda Hospital, insisted that “infections related to healthcare have an impact on all healthcare systems, so their prevention and control are crucial for patient safety. “.
Dr. Cantero explained that “in our country there are hardly any studies that evaluate the structures and practices of infection prevention and control. To offer information on this topic in 2023, and in accordance with the European protocol Prevalences of HAIs and use of antimicrobials, its completion was included in the Epine study.”
In the absence of completing data collection, a total of 210 hospitals of the 310 participating in the study have sent the completed IPCAF survey to the Epine coordinating center. Preliminary results of the survey show an overall IPCAF score of all hospitals was 645, out of a maximum possible score of 800), which corresponded to an advanced level of infection prevention and control. These results are similar to those described by other developed countries such as Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
6% of the hospitals had a basic level of infection prevention and control, 32% intermediate and 62% advanced. Hospitals with 650 or more beds, tertiary and private, evaluated themselves with a better score.
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