Major articleNosocomial infections in a pediatric residential care facility
Section snippets
Setting
The Commonwealth of Virginia, a Mid-Atlantic state with an estimated population of 7,882,590 persons in 2009,10 houses 1 of approximately 100 state-of-the-art residential care facilities for children with severe physical and mental disabilities in the United States. Pediatric residential care facilities, such as St. Mary's Home for Disabled Children (SMHDC) located in Norfolk, Virginia, house children from newborns through 22 years of age. Occupants of these facilities are generally known as
Results
This study includes 109 residents at SMHDC identified on January 1, 2009, and followed through December 31, 2009. The total cumulative census for the study period was 37,819 resident-days of care, ranging from 37 to 365 days per person. The mean age (±standard deviation) of residents was 13.6 ± 5.85 years (no difference in age between males and females) with a male to female ratio of 1.06. The resident population had substantial levels of debilitating conditions including history of seizures
Discussion
To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine nosocomial infection rates in a pediatric residential care facility and the first among pediatric extended care facilities to calculate incidence rates. The lack of such information makes it difficult for extended care facilities to make external comparisons and judge whether its endemic rate exceeds that of other comparable facilities.
For extended care facilities that predominantly serve the adult population, rates of nosocomial infections
Acknowledgment
The authors thank the management staff at SMHDC and Irene David (medical records department) for their valuable support and review of the questionnaire and manuscript.
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2014, American Journal of Infection ControlCitation Excerpt :In addition, studies from western countries have demonstrated a direct link between levels of training for the staff and infection rates.13 Using soap, water, antiseptic, or alcohol-based hand rubs is the single most important effective measure to reduce the risks of cross infection15 and has been shown to be very effective.4,7 In addition, the use of gloves and gown and sanitized stethoscopes and thermometers after each use has also been suggested.4
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Conflicts of interest: None to report.