Cosa c’è di nuovo sulle infezioni correlate all’assistenza nelle strutture residenziali per anziani in Italia? I risultati del progetto europeo HALT2

In the period April May 2013, the European Centre for disease Prevention and Control funded the HALT 2 project to promote the awareness on the healthcare acquired infection (HAI) and antimicrobial use in long term care facilities. During a point prevalence survey a set of indicators were collected in order to describe infection control resources and antimicrobial policy, population care load and risk factors, sites of infections and antimicrobial prescriptions. In Italy participated 235 voluntary facilities in 11 regions including 18418 residents. Most of them were older than 85 years and exposed at various risk factors as catheters or wounds. The observed prevalence of HAI was 3,3%, respiratory, urinary and skin infections were the most reported. Prevalence of antimicrobials was 4%, most of them were third generation cephalosporins, fluoroquinolones or penicillins and inhibitors given for therapy. Although written protocols are widely diffused, a lack of surveillance of infections and best practices was observed. Training of staff was heterogeneous among facilities and usually dedicated to the nursing staff only. Despite the problem is well known, actions are still required to introduce effective tools for the prevention and control in this critical setting in the healthcare net.