[Where is the experience of "Pilot-Hospitals" in hospital hygiene? First approach of a quality label].

The testing of "Pilot-Hospitals", which started in early 1990, is being continued and expanded: the continuous monitoring of cross infections in "Pilot-Hospitals" according to one single methodology, the one recommended by the Council of Europe, has enabled us to record and to analyse 5,389 reports of infections for the year 1990. Urinary tract infection is the most common site of nosocomial infection (36.5%), followed by broncho-pulmonary complications (22%), local complications (15%) and septicaemias (12.2%). Enterobacteria, and especially Escherichia coli, predominate and Staphylococci infections, especially coagulase-negative Staphylococci, increase. According to the wish of the "Académie Nationale de Médecine de France", which required us to establish a Quality Label which could be applied to the various hospitals, "Pilot-Hospitals" are progressively establishing the criteria of this label. At present, eleven criteria have been kept: the first three ones are inherent in the Recommendations of the Council of Europe and require the introduction of a continuous monitoring of nosocomial infections, the setting up of an Infection Control Committee--which meets at least three times a year--, as well as a pluri-disciplinary training scheme. The eight other criteria emphasize the necessity for an operational cell in hospital hygiene, according to the size of the hospital, and determination of a personnel ratio assigned to the cell according to the number of beds occupied and to the type of activity of the department.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)