Administrative and financial support is lacking, which almost inevitably results in limited funds and resource availability to address infection control. Additionally, it is almost certain

that the low http://www.selleckchem.com/products/VX-809.html nurse-to-patient staffing ratios result in substantially high healthcare-associated infection rates. In these hospitals, insufficient supplies, over-crowded wards and antiquated technology are also among the primary factors that can explain high DA-HAI rates. The institution of DA-HAI surveillance is the first step to reduce and systematically prevent DA-HAI risk in ICU-hospitalized patients [4]. Next, infection control practices need to be adopted to improve the prevention of DA-HAIs. Needless to say, shared knowledge and accurate information on the burden posed by device-associated

infections in these hospital ICUs can serve to foster the implementation of effective infection control strategies in developing countries [32]. In this regard, there is evidence suggesting positive results in healthcare worker performances. It has been shown in different studies from member hospitals of the INICC that hand hygiene compliance and CL, urinary catheter and ventilator care have improved considerably through EPZ5676 mw the implementation of the INICC surveillance program, including performance feedback for healthcare practices in the ICU, leading to a substantial reduction in the incidence of CLABSIs [19], [24], [33] and [34], CAUTIs [21] and [35] and VAP [18], [36], [37] and [38]. This study had many limitations. First, the data reported cannot be generalized for the entire population in Egypt. From December 2008 to July 2010, data from three ICUs in Egypt were recorded within the comprehensive surveillance system of the INICC. A major

limitation lies in the possibility that the determined rates may have been affected by slight variations in the efficacy of surveillance and resource availability for the three hospitals. Similarly, the laboratories involved may have widely varying levels of expertise and resource availability. In this study, we only had microorganism data from VAP infections. However, this is a common Erastin feature that is present in any surveillance study that involves different healthcare facilities. Additionally, the hospitals enrolled in this study initiated the surveillance program at different periods, and therefore, data were not simultaneously collected from the participating ICUs. Finally, severity illness scores, such as APACHE, were not applied because of the lack of resources to calculate more labor-intensive scores. DA-HAIs present a serious and largely under-recognized threat to patient safety in developing countries, which needs to be faced immediately.