Policies and Protocols to Prevent the Spread and Costs of Clostridium Difficile Infection
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Date
2018-05
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The Ohio State University
Abstract
Background: Clostridium Difficile Infection (CDI) is a highly contagious, potentially lethal, and often preventable hospital acquired infection that costs the U.S. healthcare system billions of dollars annually. Because of the serious consequences and expensive nature of CDI, it is predicted the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will begin following CDI trends and basing reimbursement on how well a facility can protect against this infection.
Objectives: The overall purpose of this quality improvement project was to develop, implement, and evaluate an evidenced-based protocol to guide the staff of the University of Cincinnati Medical Center (UCMC) to recognize and prevent the spread of CDI to all hospitalized patients. Methods: A multidisciplinary committee was formed to evaluate UCMC’s current CDI practices and determine which evidence-based interventions should be included in any policy changes. After a comprehensive review of the literature and staff interviews were performed, the CDI prevention interventions selected for this project included: standardized room cleaning, use of ultraviolet lighting, updated antimicrobial stewardship practices, disposable gown use, and staff education.
Results: After a review of the isolation protocol there were practices found that were not conducive to preventing the spread of CDI, and the committee focused on three aims: instituting reusable gowns while changing the process for ordering isolation supplies, education through online PowerPoint instruction, and implementing changes on a pilot unit. These changes resulted in 19 fewer cases of CDI at UCMC in the first six months of the current fiscal year. Conclusions: A multicomponent, interprofessional, evidence-based, CDI prevention protocol may decrease the risk of hospital-acquired infections.
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c diff infection control policy