title: Racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare-associated infections in the United States, 2009-2011.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Little is known about racial and ethnic disparities in the occurrence of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in hospitalized patients.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether racial/ethnic disparities exist in the rate of occurrence of HAIs captured in the Medicare Patient Safety Monitoring System (MPSMS).
  
  
  METHODS
  Chart-abstracted MPSMS data from randomly selected all-payer hospital discharges of adult patients (18 years old or above) between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2011, for 3 common medical conditions: acute cardiovascular disease (composed of acute myocardial infarction and heart failure), pneumonia, and major surgery for 6 HAI measures (hospital-acquired antibiotic-associated Clostridium difficile, central line-associated bloodstream infections, postoperative pneumonia, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, hospital-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, and ventilator-associated pneumonia).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The study sample included 79,019 patients who had valid racial/ethnic information divided into 6 racial/ethnic groups-white non-Hispanic (n = 62,533), black non-Hispanic (n = 9,693), Hispanic (n = 4,681), Asian (n = 1,225), Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (n = 94), and other (n = 793)-who were at risk for at least 1 HAI. The occurrence rate for HAIs was 1.1% for non-Hispanic white patients, 1.3% for non-Hispanic black patients, 1.5% for Hispanic patients, 1.8% for Asian patients, 1.7% for Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander patients, and 0.70% for other patients. Compared with white patients, the age/gender/comorbidity-adjusted odds ratios of occurrence of HAIs were 1.1 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.99-1.23), 1.3 (95% CI, 1.15-1.53), 1.4 (95% CI, 1.07-1.75), and 0.7 (95% CI, 0.40-1.12) for black, Hispanic, Asian, and a combined group of Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander and other patients, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Among patients hospitalized with acute cardiovascular disease, pneumonia, and major surgery, Asian and Hispanic patients had significantly higher rates of HAIs than white non-Hispanic patients.
authors.affiliation: Qualidigm, Wethersfield, Connecticut.
authors.forename: Anila
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bakullari
authors.forename: Mark L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Metersky
authors.forename: Yun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Noel
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Eldridge
authors.forename: Sheila
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Eckenrode
authors.forename: Michelle M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Pandolfi
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jaser
authors.forename: Deron
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Galusha
authors.forename: Ernest
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Moy
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001213:Asian / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology*; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D006278:Medicare; D008875:Middle Aged; D044468:Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D061214:Patient Safety / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D044469:Racial Groups / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult