The National Healthcare Safety Network Long-term Care Facility Component early reporting experience: January 2013-December 2015

• Published in: American journal of infection control 2018-06, Vol.46 (6), p.637-642
• Main Authors: Palms, Danielle L., Mungai, Elisabeth, Eure, Taniece, Anttila, Angela, Thompson, Nicola D., Dudeck, Margaret A., Edwards, Jonathan R., Bell, Jeneita M., Stone, Nimalie D.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.); Clostridium difficile; Clostridium Infections - epidemiology; Clostridium Infections - microbiology; Clostridium Infections - prevention & control; Cross Infection - epidemiology; Cross Infection - microbiology; Cross Infection - prevention & control; Disease Notification - statistics & numerical data; Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial; Epidemiological Monitoring; Humans; Incidence; Infection Control - methods; Infection Control - organization & administration; Long-Term Care - methods; long-term care facilities; methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus; Patient Safety; Staphylococcal Infections - epidemiology; Staphylococcal Infections - microbiology; Staphylococcal Infections - prevention & control; Surveillance; Surveys and Questionnaires; United States; urinary tract infections; Urinary Tract Infections - epidemiology; Urinary Tract Infections - microbiology; Urinary Tract Infections - prevention & control
• ISSN: 0196-6553; 1527-3296
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ajic.2018.01.003

•This report is the first description of early enrollees and infection reporting in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) Long-term Care Facility (LTCF) Component.•From 2013-2015, nursing homes represented most early enrollees in the NHSN LTCF Component and were primarily not-for-profit, hospital-affiliated facilities.•Nursing home participation permitted the calculation of incidence rates for urinary tract infections, Clostridium difficile infections, and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections.•As enrollment increases, trends in these data can be used to monitor national progress toward healthcare–associated infection prevention goals for nursing homes. In 2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention launched the Long-term Care Facility (LTCF) Component of the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) designed for LTCFs to monitor Clostridium difficile infections (CDIs), urinary tract infections (UTIs), infections due to multidrug-resistant organisms, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and infection prevention process measures. We describe characteristics and reporting patterns of facilities enrolled in the first 3 years of the surveillance system and rate estimates for CDI, UTI, and MRSA data submitted between 2013 and 2015. From 2013-2015, 279 LTCFs were enrolled and eligible to report to the NHSN with variability in reporting from year to year. Crude rate estimates pooled over these 3 years from reporting facilities were 0.98 incident LTCF-onset CDI cases per 10,000 resident days, 0.59 UTI cases per 1,000 resident days, and 0.10 LTCF-onset MRSA cases per 1,000 resident days. These initial data demonstrate the capability of the NHSN LTCF Component as a national surveillance system for monitoring infections in LTCFs. Further investigation is needed to understand factors associated with successful enrollment and reporting. As participation increases, data from a larger group of LTCFs will be used to establish national baselines and track prevention goals.