Six percent suffer hospital infection

The measurement was supported by the Federal Office of Public Health and is an important milestone of the national strategy for the surveillance, prevention and control of hospital-acquired infections (NOSO strategy). The aim is to improve the situation in hospitals, among other things, with a more consistent application of the Hygiene standards to improve. With a figure of 5.9 percent, Switzerland is in line with the European average for hospital-acquired infections (healthcare-associated infections). The last European survey in 2011/2012 showed a value of 6.0 percent. In such point prevalence surveys, data are collected per ward/department on a single survey day.

Large Swiss hospitals report more infections than small and medium-sized ones. The reasons for this are that hospitalized patients in larger institutions are generally sicker. In addition, larger hospitals perform higher-risk procedures. As in other studies, the Wound infections after surgical procedures (29 percent of all hospital infections) were the most common, followed by lower respiratory tract infections (18 percent), urinary tract infections (15 percent) and bloodstream infections (13 percent). Elderly patients and intensive care patients were particularly affected by infections.

Regular measurements are important

Ninety-six Swiss hospitals participated in the national measurement. They each collected data on healthcare-associated infections from around 13,000 patients on one day between April and June 2017. It is planned to repeat this type of survey in the coming years to document the development in the fight against preventable infections in Swiss hospitals.
The survey in Switzerland by Swissnoso met international standards for the first time and was conducted in parallel with the survey of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) in all EU countries. The current Swiss results will be comparable with the European data as soon as they are available at the end of 2018.

Important basis for the containment of hospital-acquired infections
The results of the 2017 Point Prevalence Survey paint an up-to-date picture of hospital infections and antimicrobial use at the national level. With these data, hospitals are given the opportunity to analyze their own results and take action if needed. With 96 hospitals, more than half of the Swiss acute care hospitals participated. This proportion should be increased for the next studies.
With the national strategy for the surveillance, prevention and control of healthcare-associated infections (NOSO strategy), the Federal Office of Public Health, together with the cantons, hospitals, nursing homes and other key stakeholders, aims to improve the application of hygiene standards throughout Switzerland, strengthen surveillance and prevention, and promote the expansion of education and research.

Text: BAG

• BAG
• Swissnoso
• National Report Point Prevalence Survey 2017
• More information about the point prevalence survey
• Strategy NOSO