Half the cases of bacteraemia in hospitals in England are linked to devices

The incidence of device related bacteraemia in teaching hospitals is more than twice that in other hospitals in England, and central lines are the most common source, a new study has found. The incidence of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was also found to be higher in teaching hospitals.

Surveillance targeted at devices is the most efficient strategy for dealing with the problem, say the authors, from the Public Health Laboratory Service (Journal of Hospital Infection 2003:53:46-57).

In the study, the authors analysed data from …