Prevalence of nosocomial infection in Thailand 2006.

OBJECTIVE: To study the prevalence of nosocomial infection (NI). MATERIAL AND METHOD: A point prevalence study was done in 20 hospitals across the country in August 2006. RESULTS: The present study was done in 20 hospitals: three university, five regional, five provincial, and seven other hospitals. 9,865 patients were included Male and female patients were almost equal in number with an average age of 42.7 years. The NI proportion was 6.5%, 7.0% in male and 5.9% in female patients. The prevalence rate of NI was highest in university and other hospitals (7.6%), followed by provincial (6.0%), and regional hospital (4.9%). There were two hospitals, one regional and one other hospital with NI prevalence rates over 10%. All three university hospitals had NI exceeding 7%. The infection rate was highest in ICU (22.6%), followed by surgical (6.8%), medical and orthopedic (6.7% each) departments. The commonest site of NI was lower respiratory tract (36.1%) followed by urinary tract (25.5%). Causative organisms were identified in 70.8% of all sites of infection and over 63% were by bacteria. Gram-negative bacteria were responsible for 70.2% and gram-positive bacteria for 19.9% of all pathogens. Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella spp., Acinetobacter baumannii, MRSA, and enterococci were the leading bacterial isolates. At the time of the present study, 47.0% of patients were receiving antimicrobials. Cephalosporins, penicillins, and aminoglycosides were most commonly used CONCLUSION: The prevalence rate of NI in Thailand in 2006 was 6.5%, similar to previous studies. Changes in NI rates in certain hospitals, even though subtle, need additional studies to improve the efficacy of NI control.

Problems in the management of medical waste in Thailand.

OBJECTIVES: To identify problems in the management of medical waste in Thailand for future development. MATERIAL AND METHOD: The study was done in 39 hospitals during June and July 2002 by interviewing medical personnel on knowledge and attitude in management of medical waste, observation of practice and checking the amount of medical waste in waste bags. Certain laboratory investigations were done in dustmen. RESULTS: The amount of medical waste was 0.41 kilogram per bed per day. Problems identified were inadequate knowledge in management, improper practices, high incidence of sharp injury at work. Laboratory tests in dustmen showed evidence of pulmonary tuberculosis in 3.4%, parasites and intestinal pathogens in stools 5.1% and positive for HBsAg in 8.5%. CONCLUSION: Improper management of medical waste was present in all hospitals. Risks of exposure and incidence of infection related to the management were at concerned levels. Education and practice guidelines are needed.

Development of quality indicators of nosocomial infection control.

OBJECTIVES: To study the rates of catheter associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI), Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), Central venous catheter blood stream infection (CVCBSI) and surgical site infection (SSI) in Thai hospitals. The rates of the infections will be used as quality indicators. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Active surveillance in 38 hospitals in Thailand during 2003-2004. Risk stratification of NI rates and utilization of devices were calculated. RESULTS: The rates of CAUTI, VAP, CVCBSI and SSI were obtained. Pooled means, and rates of NI at 10, 25, 50, 75 and 90 percentiles were calculated for CAUTI, VAP, CVCBSI. The infection rates were also presented for each type of hospital. The above NI rates were comparable to those reported by the National Nosocomial Infection Surveillance System (NNIS) in the United States. Surgical site infection was studied in 21 procedures with risk index categories 0-2. The rates of SSI in the present study was lower than those in the U.S. study due to different methods of study. CONCLUSION: The risk stratified rates of CAUTI, VAP, CVCBSI and SSI were obtained. They were similar to a larger scale of study in the United States. The NI rates could be used for evaluating the efficacy of NI control in Thai hospitals.