Centre for Infection Prevention Management (CIPM)
Work Stream 3: Infection Surveillance
A small team from the Centre for Infection Prevention Management is hosted within the Department of Primary Care and Public Health and
has been granted funding by UKCRC to create both an operational database within Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and a research database to try and link disparate sources of data on Healthcare Associated Infections. The surveillance team works under the direction of Paul Aylin and is part of a wider programme of work within CIPM involving colleagues from both Imperial College and Imperial College Healthcare Trust.
This programme of work investigates information sources available and examines how data can be best used in surveillance and to help guide patient management. It explores issues around patient confidentiality, linkage, validation and use internal databases and other sources such as Hospital Episode Statistics and mortality data and will result in a number of operational tools for surveillance and management of healthcare associated infections.
The aims of the project are:
- To evaluate systems to monitor antibiotic resistance and prescribing practice and facilitate the investigation of antibiotic strategies across primary and acute care
- To build predictive models if possible, based on the data, to assist in the management of patients
- To develop sustainable mechanisms to extend the range, quality and sophistication of current data on infection and risk in the NHS in order to prevent and manage infection
- To establish measurable predictors of readmission for infections including MRSA bacteraemia, surgical site infection (SSI) and C. difficile based on routinely collected information
- To develop surveillance in high-risk populations and develop surveillance schemes across the primary and secondary care interface, including post-discharge surveillance.
Healthcare Associated Infections research
The team works closely with the co-director of CIMP, Professor Alison Holmes, and other infection control staff within Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. This collaboration provides unique access to laboratory diagnoses and the opportunity to compare HES data with systems of notification. Further investigation involves a case study comparing HES data and hospital lab records (or report system record) on a patient-by-patient basis. The team also investigates all healthcare associated infection ICD codes and looks at their readmission rate as well as use it as a patient safety initiative (PSI).
