The network approach for prevention of healthcare-associated infections: long-term effect of participation in the Duke Infection Control Outreach Network.

Objective: To describe the rates of several key outcomes and healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) among hospitals that participated in the Duke Infection Control Outreach Network (DICON).

Design And Setting: Prospective, observational cohort study of patients admitted to 24 community hospitals from 2003 through 2009.

Methods: The following data were collected and analyzed: incidence of central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs), ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs), and HAIs caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA); employee exposures to bloodborne pathogens (EBBPs); physician EBBPs; patient-days; central line-days; ventilator-days; and urinary catheter-days.