Hospital Acquired Infections: Advantages of a Computerized Surveillance

Objective: To assess the advantages of a computerized surveillance system to detect Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAI).Methods: All HAI reported to the Timis County branch of the Romanian National Health Insurance and the Public Health Authority during the year 2007 were collected and assessed for validity.Data sources: International data were used to estimate the true HAI rate. Electronic records from the microbiology lab were used to predict the rate of HAI. Advanced models using DRG data and pharmacy order forms were not possible due to lack of this data.Results: Only 10 out off 17 hospitals in Timis County reported the number of HAI. There were 529 cases during 2007, corresponding to <0.4 cases / 100 hospital admissions compared to 4.5 – 9.1 cases / 100 admissions in the medical literature. We estimated a true number of 6,000 HAI in Timis County during 2007. 29 MRSA and another 88 ceftazidime resistant strains were isolated during July 2007 in one of the hospitals. The total of 117 potential HAI comes close to the 150 HAI predicted for that hospital. Conclusions: Romanian hospitals report less than 10% of the HAI. Available electronic data can be used to estimate the true rate of HAI.