A one day nosocomial infections prevalence survey among newborns and under-eighteen children in France

Objectives. - To know nosocomial infections (NI) rates among newborns and hospitalised children according to age and units of hospitalisation, Methods. - In 2001, the Comite technique des infections nosocomiales (CTIN) initiated a one-day prevalence survey on an arranged date. It was conducted by the 5 centres de coordination de lutte contre les infections nosocomiales (C.CLIN). Paediatric data only were analysed dividing them into 2 groups: newborns (NB) up to 28 days old, whether in maternity, neonatology or intensive care units, and children (CH) from 29 days to 18 years old with separate analysis for surgery, cancer units and intermediate care and rehabilitation centres (ICRC). Results. - The survey included 21 596 children under 18 years old: 9136 NB and 12,460 CH, i.e. 7.1% of the total hospital population on that one given day. A total of 2.6% of the patients were infected, with 1.2% of NB and 3.3% of CH. There were 1.09 infections per patient. 456 different microorganisms were responsible for 562 infections, i.e. 81.1%: 18,6% Staphylococcus aureus of which 26.7% were methicillin resistant (MRSA), 21.9% Staplylococcus epidermis, 21.9% enterobacteries, 10.3% Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 4.4% Candida albicans, and 4.2% rotavirus. NB and CH infection factors were studied separately. Selective criteria for hospitalised NB were: gender: male(P < 0.05), level of gravity (P < 0.05), surgery (P < 0.001), catheter (P < 0.01) and hospital type (P < 0.01). For EN, criteria were severity score (P < 0.01), surgery (P < 0.001), catheter (P < 0.01), and hospital type (P < 0.01). The rate for patients hospitalised in cancer units was 13.2% with no significant factors found. The rate of infected patients in intensive care units was 7.8% for NB and 16.2% for CH, with 9.6% neonatal, 30.8% heart condition, 26.3% non-specialised units and 14.2% children units. ICRC infection rate was 4.5% while surgery units had a rate of 1.9% with 2.4% orthopaedic, 0.7% children units, 2.0% non-specialised units and 8.1% neurosurgery. Discussion. - The 2001 NI level showed a significant fall from 3.5% in the 1996 survey (all ages) to 2.4%. However, including newborns from private maternity units into the survey may have partly lowered this level. MRSA levels have also dropped from 46% in 1996 to 27% in 2001. It is difficult to compare international data as definitions vary. Furthermore, it should be possible to separate newborns from older children as well as specifying the type of units involved. Infected patients levels are generally lower in the French surveys, no matter the age group or units studied than in other surveys. Conclusion. - This survey has enabled the monitoring of the children population in maternity units, on a given day, in France. It showed that the rate of NI in the paediatric population seems low compared to previous data or other countries' data. Efforts need to be made in order to lower it further. Incidence surveillance method is preferable to single out which risk factors can be acted upon. Standardized national protocols are offered to maternity units and should soon be available for newborns units as well as older children units. (c) 2005 Elsevier SAS. Tous droits reserves.