Hospital-acquired blood stream infections in New Zealand

Aim. To determine the number and rates of hospital-acquired blood stream infections in New Zealand public hospitals. Method. From October 1994 to December 1996 each of the 23 Crown Health Enterprises (CHEs) provided the Crown Company Monitoring Advisory Unit with data on the number of episodes of hospital-acquired blood stream infection (HA-BSI) and the number of inpatient admissions. Results. During the 27 month study period, 3049 episodes of HA-BSI occurred in an inpatient population of 1 300 892 giving a national average rate of 0.23%. HA-BSI rates were highest for the six tertiary level, metropolitan CHEs (range 0.19%-0.56%) in which 79% of all HA-BSIs occurred. Conclusion. The HA-BSI rate for New Zealand is within the range that would be expected for a developed country with a comprehensive health service. The variability between CHEs in terms of the clinical services provided and case mix differences invalidates direct comparison of HA-BSI rates. Surveillance for HA-BSI should continue with the collection of data which would allow meaningful comparison of similar tertiary level services.