Burden of five healthcare associated infections in Australia

Abstract

Healthcare associated infections (HAIs) are associated with increased morbidity and mortality, but there are few data that quantify the burden of infection nationally in Australia. We used data from an Australian national point prevalence survey to estimate the burden of HAIs amongst adults in Australian public hospitals. The incidence based approach, introduced by the ECDC Burden of Communicable Diseases in Europe was used. We estimate that 155,013 HAIs occur in adults admitted to public hospitals in Australia annually, resulting in 6906 deaths. Hospital acquired pneumonia is the most frequent HAI, followed by surgical site infections, and urinary tract infections. We find that blood stream infections contribute a small percentage of HAIs, but contribute the highest number of deaths (3207), more than twice that of the second largest, while pneumonia has the highest impact on years lived with disability. This study is the first time the national burden of HAIs has been estimated for Australia from point prevalence data. The estimated burden is high, and highlights the need for continued investment in HAI prevention.