eBulletin October 2004 Edition 11
In this Edition:
Reminders:
! Type 2 Data Submission:
Quarter 3 Reports were released on 16th December 2005. The deadline for data to be forwarded to the VICNISS Coordinating
Centre for Quarter 4, 2005 is Tuesday, 31st January 2005. The corresponding report is then
due to be posted mid-March 2005.
! Type 1 Data Submission:
The submission deadline for Quarter 3, Year 2 data is 5th November 2004. Could all participants
who have not yet submitted all data for this period please do so ASAP. Reports are expected to be available by approximately
17th December 2004.
! Type 1 Surveillance Plans:
A reminder to all Type 1 Hospitals that Surveillance Plans for 2005 are due in no later than the
30th November 2004. If you have any queries regarding the type of surveillance activities that
are relevant to your facility please contact Claire Boardman on 9342 3905.
! Type 1 Antibiotic Prophylaxis Reports...
are coming soon. To ensure that data collection is as complete as possible please ensure that you are using the latest
forms which allow estimation of the time given where an exact time is not available.
Key Dates 2004-05: For more information on deadlines and dates, please click here
(link no longer available) for Key Dates 2004-05.
Outcome of Technical Advisory Group (TAG) Meeting, Wednesday 6th October 2004
As you will recall the purpose of this TAG meeting was to receive feedback from users regarding the VICNISS Reports, and in particular, what sort
of information is most useful.
The following is a summary of what was agreed to at the TAG.
_____________________________________________________________________
These reports will be provided every quarter.
SSI TABLES FOR ALL SURGICAL PROCEDURES
All tables stratified by Risk Index, and rates accompanied by 95% CIs.
- Quarterly numbers and rates with extra column for numbers of deep SSIs.
- Cumulative numbers and rates.
- Annual numbers and rates (by calendar year).
- Comparison report.
a. For THR & TKR, most recent 4 Quarters compared with the VICNISS aggregate cumulative.
b. For all others, most recent 2 Quarters compared with the VICNISS aggregate cumulative.
- The Standardised Infection Ratio report for CSECT to remain, as will the site specific report for CAGS.
ICU CLABSI TABLES
- Quarterly numbers and rates.
- Cumulative numbers and rates.
- Annual numbers and rates (by calendar year).
- Comparison report.
a. Most recent 2 Quarters compared with the VICNISS aggregate cumulative.
ICU VAP TABLES
To be considered.
______________________________________________________________________
The precise layout of these reports is yet to be determined, but we will endeavour to keep the format similar to existing reports.
Please note, the VICNISS Coordinating Centre will create these reports for each hospital, and they are an interim measure only whilst software is
being developed. It is expected that once developed, software will greatly enhance the variety of reports able to be written at each hospital.
We anticipate that the new reports will be ready for the next round of data.
The other topic of discussion at the TAG was the grouping of ICUs for reporting. The VICNISS Coordinating Centre is always on the lookout for the best
method of grouping the ICUs. Currently, we use Group A1 as determined by DHS. The TAG also agreed to recommend that Geelong Hospital now be included in
the Group A1 category for ICU report purposes. Therefore, hospitals in Group A1 now include the Royal Melbourne Hospital, The Alfred (Bayside Health), S
t Vincent's Health, Monash Medical Centre, Austin Health and Geelong Hospital (Barwon Health).
We'd like to thank all of you who did attend the TAG for your valuable contribution.
Online Interactive Education
Primarily developed for Type 2 Surveillance participants, the online interactive education package, is now open to all VICNISS participants at
www.vicniss.org.au - registration is free and easy by clicking on the Online Interactive
Education link on the left-hand menu! The purpose of this site is to provide an alternative educational resource for health professionals
involved in infection surveillance. It is one of many educational strategies designed by VICNISS. The modules now available are:
| Current modules on offer include: |
Future modules currently under development are: |
- Surveillance
- Multi-resistant Organisms
- Measles
- Antibiotic Prophylaxis in Surgery
- Prevention of Influenza by Vaccination (NEW)
- Occupational Exposures to Blood and Body Fluids (NEW)
|
- Chickenpox
- IV Line-associated BSIs
|
Type 2 Surveillance Update
For the Multi-resistant Organism and Bloodstream Infection surveillance modules the monthly collection by hospitals of Occupied Bed Days is no
longer neccessary. This data will now be directly accessed by the VICNISS Corodinating Centre from the Victorian Admitted Episode Dataset.
The first reporting period (1st May to 30th September 2004) is now nearly completed. The deadline for data submission (except for the Surgical Site
Infection surveillance module) is 31st October 2004. The report is due to be distributed during December 2004.
User Group meetings for each rural region have been organised for September/ October 2004. The primary aim of these meetings will be to provide a
forum for the exchange of views amongst participants of the VICNISS Type 2 program and the Coordinating Centre. For further details, please contact
Noleen Bennett on 9342 3906.
VICPA Infection Control Awareness Week
As part the VICPA Infection Control Awareness Week (22nd-28th November 2004), staff from the VICNISS Coordinating Centre are
available to come to your hospital for presentations, for example about the VICNISS system, or to present aggregate data or other apects of surveillance
you may wish to discuss. If you would be intersted in having us talk at your site during this week, let us know as soon as possible so we can prepare!
Also, maintaining the spirit of the VICPA Infection Control Awareness Week, VICNISS are holding a special competition on our
website starting on the 22nd November. First prize is a voucher for the Monash University bookstore. Secret
letters are to be hidden in various pages on our website. The aim will be to find all the letters, unjumble them to make a word and email your answer
to us asap. The competition closes at COB on Friday 26th November.
Keep an eye on our website for more details.
Type 1 Surveillance Education Workshop to be Repeated
The second workshop on "Reports" has now been rescheduled. Content for the workshop will be based around the VICNISS report format,
including how to read the reports, how to interpret rates, "confidence intervals" and "p values". Details are as follows:
| DATE: |
Wednesday, 1st December 2004 |
| TIME: | 1.00pm lunch (provided) for 1.30 start (Finish approximately 4.00pm, dependant on numbers |
| VENUE: | VICNISS, 10 Wreckyn Street, North Melbourne (VIDRL Building) VICNISS, 10 Wreckyn St, North Melbourne
(click here for a Map, PDF File
 88kb, opens in new window) |
As the planning of the day will be dependent on numbers attending, could you please RSVP to vicniss @ mh.org.au
or call 9342 2605 by the 17th of November 2004.
Type 1 User Group
The second Type 1 User Group meeting for 2004 was held at VICNISS on the 15th September. A number of items were discussed. These included
concerns about the collection of data for Ventilator Associated Pneumonia, and potentially looking for a method of risk adjustment in this group.
Other issues discussed included data quality, reports, surveillance plans, the orthopaedics costing study and the online education module on the
VICNISS website. For more detailed notes please click
here (PDF File 
90kb, opens in new window) to view and download.
The next Type 1 User Group details will be posted when the date is finalised.
Orthopaedic Costings Study
VICNISS is currently undertaking research of the attributable cost of hip and knee joint replacement surgery infections at selected participating
VICNISS hospitals following approval from each hospital's Ethics Committee.
The costing study is to be undertaken in two parts. In Part 1, through retrospective medical record review we will identify specific hospital costs
attributed to orthopaedic surgical site infections. The infection details have already been reported to VICNISS by the Infection Control staff at
each facility.
In Part 2, data extracted from a DHS database (VAED) will assist in examining costs associated with joint replacement surgery for both patients
with and without an orthopaedic surgical site infection. The VAED data will provide a means of comparison for the infections reported to VICNISS,
which are identified by the patient's UR and Date of Birth (DOB).
The study should be completed in December 2004 and preliminary results available via our website early next year. If you have any queries r
egarding the study or would like further information please contact Claire Boardman.
A Reminder to all Facilities undertaking Orthopaedic Surveillance Activities
If your facility is undertaking orthopaedic surveillance for a period of 3 or 6 months in each calendar year please remember to check for all
infections that may re-present throughout the remainder of the calendar year. All infections that re-present should be included in the data if the
procedure date occurred during the surveillance period.
Consumer Information
A brochure for consumers on "Hospital Acquired Infections" is now available for download from our website. A MRO fact sheet is also
being developed. The development of these sheets involved the input of several hospital Community Advisory Committees. VICNISS is also working
with the Better Health Channel.
Infection Control Literature Review, September 2004
Our most recent literature review, compiled by Dr Deb
Friedman, VICNISS ID Physician discusses current research on the following selected topics:
- Community Acquired MRSA
- Prevention of Meningococcal Infection in Household Contacts
- Transmission of Common Cold Viruses
- Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria are Expensive
