Feb. 13—U.S. hospitals reported reductions in central line-associated bloodstream infections and some surgical site infections in 2011, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Catheter-associated urinary tract infections remained unchanged between 2010 and 2011.

The report showed a 41 percent reduction in 2011 in central line infections since 2008, up from the 32 percent reduction reported in 2010. Progress in preventing these infections was seen in ICUs, wards, and neonatal ICUs in all reporting facilities. Surgical site infections showed a 17 percent reduction since 2008, up from the 7 percent reduction reported in 2010. This improvement was not evident for all procedure types. 

The report data comes from the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN), the CDC’s infection tracking system, which receives data from more than 11,500 U.S. healthcare facilities. The number of infections reported was compared with 2010 data, as well as with a national baseline.

Publication Date: Wednesday, February 13, 2013