A cross-sectional surveillance on healthcare-associated infections in a trauma centre in Eastern Uttar Pradesh: Experience of a student researcher

Objectives: Surveillance of healthcare-associated infection (HAI) is extremely important for the implementation and monitoring of infection prevention and control (IPC) policies and practices in health-care organisations. This study led by a Phase 2 medical student researcher was performed to assess the burden of different HAIs in a type 1 trauma centre.Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on patients with a provisional diagnosis of HAI. Pretested and predesigned pro forma fulfilling the criteria for surveillance of HAIs from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-National Healthcare Safety Network was used to collect data. The microbiological culture reports were reviewed. The rates of different HAIs were calculated in Microsoft Excel 2010 based on standard definitions.Results: The rates of catheter-associated urinary tract infection and ventilator-associated event (VAE) were 1.19/1000 catheter days and 36.99/1000 ventilator days, respectively. The surgical site infection rate was 4.97/100 surgeries with the majority of infections noted after orthopaedic interventions.Conclusions: Among all HAIs, VAE rate, mostly due to Acinetobacter baumannii, was higher than the existing Indian estimate, requiring immediate attention on prevailing IPC practices. The involvement of medical student researchers could help in the generation of baseline data in resource-limited settings.