Preventing healthcare acquired infections remains a key concern for institutions globally. Bill O’Neill, vp of Infection Control Applications, PurThead, looks at the role of antimicrobial surfaces in hospitals today.
Healthcare associated infections (HAIs) pose a major threat to patient safety worldwide, with hundreds of millions of patients affected each year. These infections lead to significant and preventable morbidity and mortality, not to mention huge financial costs borne by governments, health systems and patients. Studies have tied HAI rates to contamination in the patient environment, making the reduction of bioburden contamination a top priority. This is leading hospitals and companies to explore antimicrobial surfaces as a novel approach to bioburden reduction.
In the UK, a 2011 survey conducted by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) found that out of 52,443 NHS hospital patients surveyed, a total of 3,360 were diagnosed with an active HAI, while 135 patients had more than one infection.1
In the United States, hospitals report more than 1.7 million HAIs annually, causing approximately 100,000 deaths a year.2 The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that HAIs cost US hospitals at least $28bn (€21.5bn) annually.3 Additionally, the World Health Organisation (WHO) found that in high-income countries, 30% of patients in intensive care units (ICUs) are affected by at least one HAI. In low- and middle-income countries that frequency is at least two to three times higher.4
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