CDC survey finds continued decline in HAIs

The prevalence of healthcare-associated infections (HAI) in U.S. hospitals declined between 2015 and 2023, according to a CDC survey recently published in The New England Journal of Medicine. The findings show continued progress in reducing infections acquired during hospital care, although researchers noted that the overall burden of HAIs persist.

Researchers reviewed medical records of 12,299 hospitalized patients in 199 hospitals during the 2015 survey period and found a total of 394, or 3.2%, had an HAI. In comparison, 355 of 13,653 hospitalized patients in 218 hospitals, or 2.6%, had an HAI in 2023. Among the 151 hospitals that participated in both the 2015 and 2023 surveys, patients were 27% less likely to have an HAI in 2023 than in 2015.

Pneumonia, surgical-site infections, and gastrointestinal infections were among the most common HAIs identified in 2023. Additionally, the survey showed significant reductions in several specific infections, including central line-associated bloodstream infections, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, and Clostridioides difficile infections, reflecting progress in hospital infection prevention efforts. However, the national burden remains high, as researchers estimated that approximately 518,000 HAIs occurred in U.S. hospitals in 2023.

It is also noted that approximately 60% of the HAIs were not associated with a medical device or procedure. This statistic highlights that although device-associated infections remain an important focus of hospital infection prevention programs, a majority of HAIs identified in the survey occurred outside the categories traditionally associated with devices or procedures.

These latest findings continue a trend observed in previous CDC prevalence surveys. In 2011, approximately one in 25 hospitalized patients had an HAI on a given day. That figure declined to one in 31 in 2015 and one in 38 in 2023.

The researchers concluded that the lower prevalence of HAIs in 2023 represents meaningful progress, but the number of infections occurring in U.S. hospitals remains high. The fact that most identified HAIs were not associated with a device or procedure also suggests that continued prevention efforts will need to address a broad range of infections beyond traditional device-associated categories.

Editor’s note: A version of this article originally appeared on JustCoding.