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Nosocomial Bloodstream Infection at a Veterans Hospital; 1979 to 1987

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 June 2016

Joseph M. Mylotte ,
Donald White ,
Carolyn McDermott  and
Carolyn Hodan
Joseph M. Mylotte*
Affiliation:
Medical Services, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Buffalo, New York Department of Medicine, Infectious Diseases Division and Department of Microbiology, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York
Donald White
Affiliation:
Department of Statistics, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York
Carolyn McDermott
Affiliation:
Nursing Services (Infection Control), Veterans Administration Medical Center, Buffalo, New York
Carolyn Hodan
Affiliation:
Nursing Services (Infection Control), Veterans Administration Medical Center, Buffalo, New York
*
Infectious Diseases (111F), VA Medical Center, 3495 Bailey Ave., Buffalo, NY 14215
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Abstract

Studies of nosocomial bloodstream infection (NBI) have come primarily from university, municipal or community hospitals with little specific information from veterans hospitals. The objective of this study was to define trends in NBI at a tertiary care veterans hospital. Patients with NBI were identified by retrospective review of microbiology records and of infection control surveillance records from 1979 to 1987 at the Buffalo Veterans Administration Medical Center (VAMC). Between 1979 and 1985 there was no significant upward or downward trend. Beginning in early 1986 a significant increase in NBI was noted. This increase was because of changes in incidence of gram-positive NBI (primarily Streptococcus aureus and enterococcus) while there was no change in incidence of gram-negative NBI. The most common sources of NBI were similar to previous studies and included urinary tract infection, pneumonia, surgical wound infections and intravenous catheter related infections. The frequency of various organisms causing NBI was likewise similar to other studies except for pneumonia in which Streptococcus pneumoniae most commonly was isolated. The yearly incidence of gentamicin resistance among gram-negative NBI isolates demonstrated no significant trend. In conclusion, there was a significant increase in incidence of NBI at the Buffalo VAMC between 1979 and 1987 that occurred primarily in the last two years studied. The importance of gram-positive organisms as a cause of NBI at the Buffalo VAMC has been clearly documented as a recent phenomenon.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 10 , Issue 10 , October 1989 , pp. 455 - 464
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 1989

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