<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><sec id="j_sjph-2016-0034_s_000_w2aab2b8b2b1b7b1aab1c15b1Aa"><h3>Introduction</h3><p>The second Slovenian national healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) prevalence survey (SNHPS) was conducted in acute-care hospitals in 2011. The objective was to assess the sensitivity and specificity of the method used for the ascertainment of six types of HAIs (bloodstream infections, catheter-associated infections, lower respiratory tract infections, pneumoniae, surgical site infections, and urinary tract infections) in the University Medical Centre Ljubljana (UMCL).</p></sec><sec id="j_sjph-2016-0034_s_100_w2aab2b8b2b1b7b1aab1c15b2Aa"><h3>Methods</h3><p>A cross-sectional study was conducted in patients surveyed in the SNHPS in the UMCL using a retrospective medical chart review (RMCR) and European HAIs surveillance definitions. Sensitivity and specificity of the method used in the SNHPS using RMCR as a reference was computed for ascertainment of patients with any of the six selected types of HAIs and for individual types of HAIs. Agreement between the SNHPS and RMCR results was analyzed using Cohen’s kappa coefficient.</p></sec><sec id="j_sjph-2016-0034_s_101_w2aab2b8b2b1b7b1aab1c15b3Aa"><h3>Results</h3><p>1474 of 1742 (84.6%) patients surveyed in the SNHPS were included in RMCR. The sensitivity of the SNHPS method for detecting any of six HAIs was 90% (95% confidence interval (CI): 81%-95%) and specificity 99% (95% CI: 98%-99%). The sensitivity by type of HAI ranged from 63% (lower respiratory tract infections) to 92% (bloodstream infections). Specificity was at least 99% for all types of HAIs. Agreement between the two data collection approaches for HAIs overall was very good (κ=0.83).</p></sec><sec id="j_sjph-2016-0034_s_102_w2aab2b8b2b1b7b1aab1c15b4Aa"><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>The overall sensitivity of SNHPS collection method for ascertaining HAIs overall was high and the specificity was very high. This suggests that the estimated prevalence of HAIs in the SNHPS was credible.</p></sec></abstract>

IntroductionThe second Slovenian national healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) prevalence survey (SNHPS) was conducted in acute-care hospitals in 2011. The objective was to assess the sensitivity and specificity of the method used for the ascertainment of six types of HAIs (bloodstream infections, catheter-associated infections, lower respiratory tract infections, pneumoniae, surgical site infections, and urinary tract infections) in the University Medical Centre Ljubljana (UMCL).MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted in patients surveyed in the SNHPS in the UMCL using a retrospective medical chart review (RMCR) and European HAIs surveillance definitions. Sensitivity and specificity of the method used in the SNHPS using RMCR as a reference was computed for ascertainment of patients with any of the six selected types of HAIs and for individual types of HAIs. Agreement between the SNHPS and RMCR results was analyzed using Cohen’s kappa coefficient.Results1474 of 1742 (84.6%) patients surveyed in the SNHPS were included in RMCR. The sensitivity of the SNHPS method for detecting any of six HAIs was 90% (95% confidence interval (CI): 81%-95%) and specificity 99% (95% CI: 98%-99%). The sensitivity by type of HAI ranged from 63% (lower respiratory tract infections) to 92% (bloodstream infections). Specificity was at least 99% for all types of HAIs. Agreement between the two data collection approaches for HAIs overall was very good (κ=0.83).ConclusionsThe overall sensitivity of SNHPS collection method for ascertaining HAIs overall was high and the specificity was very high. This suggests that the estimated prevalence of HAIs in the SNHPS was credible.

Sensitivity and specificity of the method used for ascertainment of healthcare-associated infections in the second Slovenian national prevalence survey

National Institute of Public Health, Trubarjeva 2, 1000 Ljubljana,

University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Department of Infectious Diseases, Japljeva 2, 1000 Ljubljana,

Slovenian Journal of Public Health

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Občutljivost in specifičnost metode prepoznavanja bolnišničnih okužb v drugi slovenski nacionalni presečni raziskavi

IntroductionThe second Slovenian national healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) prevalence survey (SNHPS) was conducted in acute-care hospitals in 2011. The...

Sensitivity and specificity of the method used for ascertainment of healthcare-associated infections in the second Slovenian national prevalence survey

Article Category: Research article

Published Online: Jul 28, 2016

Page range: 248 - 255

Received: Feb 29, 2016

Accepted: May 24, 2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/sjph-2016-0034

Keywords
healthcare-associated infections, prevalence, retrospective medical chart reviews, sensitivity, specificity, cross-sectional study, Slovenia

© National Institute of Public Health, Slovenia

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Sensitivity and specificity of the method used for ascertainment of healthcare-associated infections in the second Slovenian national prevalence survey

Article Category: Research article

Published Online: Jul 28, 2016

Page range: 248 - 255

Received: Feb 29, 2016

Accepted: May 24, 2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/sjph-2016-0034

Keywordshealthcare-associated infections, prevalence, retrospective medical chart reviews, sensitivity, specificity, cross-sectional study, Slovenia

© National Institute of Public Health, Slovenia

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
healthcare-associated infections, prevalence, retrospective medical chart reviews, sensitivity, specificity, cross-sectional study, Slovenia