Summary
Background
Traditional methodologies for healthcare-associated infection (HCAI) surveillance
can be resource intensive and time consuming. As a consequence, surveillance is often
limited to specific organisms or conditions. Various electronic databases exist within
the healthcare setting and may be utilized to perform HCAI surveillance.
Aim
To assess the utility of electronic surveillance systems for monitoring and detecting
HCAI.
Methods
A systematic review of published literature on surveillance of HCAI was performed.
Databases were searched for studies published between January 2000 and December 2011.
Search terms were divided into infection, surveillance and data management terms,
and combined using Boolean operators. Studies were included for review if they demonstrated
or proposed the use of electronic systems for HCAI surveillance.
Findings
In total, 44 studies met the inclusion criteria. For the majority of studies, emphasis
was on the linkage of electronic databases to provide automated methods for monitoring
infections in specific clinical settings. Twenty-one studies assessed the performance
of their method with traditional surveillance methodologies or a manual reference
method. Where sensitivity and specificity were calculated, these varied depending
on the organism or condition being surveyed and the data sources employed.
Conclusions
The implementation of electronic surveillance was found to be feasible in many settings,
with several systems fully integrated into hospital information systems and routine
surveillance practices. The results of this review suggest that electronic surveillance
systems should be developed to maximize the efficacy of abundant electronic data sources
existing within hospitals.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: May 06, 2013
Accepted:
November 30,
2012
Received:
August 29,
2012
Identification
Copyright
© 2013 The Healthcare Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
