Baseline phase characteristics of hospitals and wards enrolled in the study
| Hospital | Hospital characteristics | Study ward characteristics | Study arm | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total beds (n) | Total number of single rooms (%) | Ratio of infection control nurses to beds | Surgical subspecialties | Total beds (n) | Total admissions during baseline phase (n) | Mean patient-to-nurse ratio (SD)* | Per cent hand hygiene compliance (95% CI) | Number of patients screened on admission (%) | Number identified MRSA positive on admission (%)† | ||
| 1 | 3611 | 45 (1.2) | 1:240 | Abdominal | 588 | 8018 | 6.4 (1.2) | 18.8 (15.1 to 22.9) | 0 (0) | 9 (0.1) | Enhanced hand hygiene |
| Cardiovascular | |||||||||||
| Orthopaedic | |||||||||||
| 2 | 317 | 235 (74.1) | 1:160 | Cardiothoracic | 72 | 1613 | 4.1 (1.8) | 75.4 (70.3 to 80.0) | 29 (1.8) | 20 (1.2) | Screening and decolonisation |
| Orthopaedic | |||||||||||
| Vascular | |||||||||||
| 3 | 850 | 135 (15.9) | 1:425 | Cardiovascular | 75 | 1841 | 5.6 (0.7) | 26.8 (24.4 to 29.4) | 14 (0.8) | 11 (0.6) | Screening and decolonisation |
| General | |||||||||||
| Orthopaedic | |||||||||||
| 4 | 822 | 0 (0) | 1:137 | Abdominal | 230 | 6574 | 3.7 (0.9) | 39.3 (34.6 to 44.1) | 182 (2.8) | 21 (0.3) | Combined |
| Orthopaedic | |||||||||||
| Urology | |||||||||||
| Vascular | |||||||||||
| 5 | 545 | 89 (16.3) | 1:272 | General | 121 | 1938 | 5.8 (1.5) | 14.3 (11.3 to 17.6) | 56 (2.9) | 4 (0.2) | Screening and decolonisation |
| Neurosurgery | |||||||||||
| Orthopaedic | |||||||||||
| Vascular | |||||||||||
| 6 | 547 | 4 (0.7) | 1:274 | General | 93 | 1300 | 16.8 (2.5) | 25.1 (20.7 to 30.1) | 0 (0) | 5 (0.4) | Screening and decolonisation |
| Orthopaedic | |||||||||||
| Vascular | |||||||||||
| 7 | 902 | 62 (6.9) | 1:180 | Abdominal | 84 | 1963 | 6.1 (1.5) | 76.5 (71.3 to 81.1) | 607 (30.9) | 41 (2.1) | Combined |
| General | |||||||||||
| Vascular | |||||||||||
| 8 | 850 | 202 (23.8) | 1:567 | Orthopaedic | 87 | 2434 | 5.5 (0.6) | 50.2 (44.6 to 55.8) | 0 (0) | 3 (0.1) | Enhanced hand hygiene |
| Urology | |||||||||||
| Vascular | |||||||||||
| 9 | 1350 | 150 (11.1) | 1:260 | Cardiothoracic | 164 | 1561 | 10.0 (2.2) | 67.0 (61.4 to 72.3) | 17 (1.1) | 15 (1.0) | Enhanced hand hygiene |
| Neurosurgery | |||||||||||
| Plastic surgery | |||||||||||
| 10 | 2044 | 402 (19.7) | 1:204 | Abdominal | 302 | 6366 | 4.8 (0.4) | 55.9 (51.2 to 60.5) | 1666 (26.2) | 140 (2.2) | Enhanced hand hygiene |
| Cardiovascular | |||||||||||
| Orthopaedic | |||||||||||
| Urology | |||||||||||
| Overall | 11 838 | 1324 (11.2) | 1816 | 33 608 | 6.6 (3.8) | 39.5 (38.1 to 40.9) | 2571 (7.6) | 269 (0.8) | |||
*Calculated by dividing the mean patient load by mean number of nurses working on the ward at a given time (averaged over day, evening and night shifts).
†By screening or clinical culture.
MRSA, meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.