title: Feedback to nursing staff as an intervention to reduce catheter-associated urinary tract infections.
abstract: Because of high incidence of catheter-related urinary tract infections (UTIs) in our Veterans Affairs medical center, we began providing nursing staff with unit-specific UTI rates. In our preintervention period, the first quarter of 1995, 38 infections occurred in 1186 catheter-patient-days or 32/1000 catheter-patient-days (95% CI, 22.9-43.7). Thereafter, nursing staff members were provided with a quarterly report with catheter-related UTI rates depicted graphically by unit. In the 18 months after this intervention, the mean UTI rate decreased to 17.4/1000 catheter-patient-days (95% CI, 14.6-20.6, P =.002). We estimated a cost savings of $403,000. We conclude that unit-specific feedback of nosocomial UTI rates to nursing staff is a highly effective method of reducing infection rates and reducing costs associated with nosocomial UTI.
authors.affiliation: VA Health Care System, PA, USA.
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Goetz
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kedzuf
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wagener
authors.forename: R R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Muder
mesh_terms: D003428:Cross Infection / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005246:Feedback; D006787:Hospitals, Veterans; D006801:Humans; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D014546:Urinary Catheterization / Q000009:adverse effects*; D014552:Urinary Tract Infections / Q000191:economics / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*