Nosocomial Infection Reporting System Improvement in the Public Hospitals

Background: The nosocomial infection (NI) rate in developing countries is about 20–25%. However, in Iran, this is nearly 2.95%, which may be related to an incorrect and incomplete reporting system. Hence, the present study aimed at investigating NI reporting challenges in hospitals affiliated with Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS) and providing solutions for its improvement. Methods: This interventional study was conducted on 14 public hospitals affiliated with TUMS. The study population included all nurses and doctors of the infection control team of the hospitals. As an intervention, a training workshop was held for the selected hospital infection control teams. The other intervention was the standardization of NI indicators in the National NI Surveillance System (NNISS). Before and after the intervention, the infection control teams of the TUMS vice-chancellor for treatment affairs assessed the hospitals regarding NI reporting. All analyses were performed using SPSS version 26 software at a significant level of less than 0.05. Results: The results of the present study showed that the rate of NIs reported in the hospitals has grown significantly in consecutive years, indicating 2.98%, 2.81%, 3.62%, and 4.41%, respectively, from 2014 to 2017. The correct syntax of patients with a positive culture, changes in the type of antibiotics, wound changes, and NI symptoms were 100%, 43.6%, 33.3%, and 31.25%, respectively. Conclusion: The findings related to hospital infections were close to what was expected, and it is expected that more significant improvements will be experienced with more control and supervision in the field of diagnosis and how to analyze hospital infections.