- Title
- The use of clinical coding data for the surveillance of healthcare-associated urinary tract infections in Australia
- Creator
- Mitchell, Brett G.; Ferguson, John K.
- Relation
- Infection, Disease and Health Vol. 21, Issue 1, p. 32-35
- Publisher Link
- http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.idh.2016.03.002
- Publisher
- Elsevier
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2016
- Description
- Introduction: Given the trends in antimicrobial resistance, particularly for Gram-negative organisms, the surveillance of urinary tract infections (UTIs) has the potential to become increasingly important in the future. Whilst considering accuracy and efficiency, we undertook a cohort study in a large Australian health district to inform future discussions around surveillance approaches to healthcare-associated UTIs (HAUTI). Methods: A retrospective cohort study in eight hospitals was conducted to examine the clinical coding data of all patients hospitalised for more than two days over a four-and-half-year period. These data were compared to a conservative laboratory-based HAUTI definition. Results: The data from 162,503 patient admissions were examined. During the study period, 2821 of the admitted patients acquired a HAUTI. Of those patients identified as having a laboratory-diagnosed HAUTI, 29.3% had a clinical code relating to a UTI. Conclusion: The clinical coding data used to identify cases of HAUTI is very unreliable as a significant proportion of cases were not identified. To ensure the efficient and effective use of resources, a range of approaches should be considered in the event of HAUTI surveillance being required.
- Subject
- urinary tract infections; cross infection; Australia; clinical coding; epidemiology
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1343700
- Identifier
- uon:29250
- Identifier
- ISSN:2468-0451
- Language
- eng
- Reviewed
- Hits: 915
- Visitors: 857
- Downloads: 0
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format |
|---|