Compendium of Strategies to Prevent Healthcare-Associated Infections

A 2022 update to the compendium is accessible online by the Cambridge University Press, on behalf of The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA).

SHEA and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) jointly published these science-based and practical recommendations for acute care hospitals for the prevention of common HAIs. Some highlights from the 2022 updated CLABSI guidance include:

• The subclavian vein is now considered the preferable site for central venous catheter (CVC) insertion in intensive care patients to reduce infectious complications.
• Chlorhexidine-containing dressings are now considered an “essential practice” in patients over two months of age.
• Examples of “additional approaches" to be used by hospitals when CLABSIs are not controlled after implementation of essential practices, include the use of antiseptic- or antimicrobial-impregnated CVCs and the use of antiseptic-containing hub/connector cap/port protectors to cover connectors.
• Interventions that are not recommended and those that remain unresolved due to inadequate evidence.

The full suite of Compendium articles will be published throughout 2022 and will include strategies to prevent catheter-associated urinary tract infections, Clostridium difficile infections, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections, surgical site infections, ventilator-associated- pneumonia and -events, and non-ventilator healthcare-associated-pneumonia. There will also be an article dedicated to hand hygiene.

The document represents practical recommendations by the leading champions in infection prevention and healthcare quality improvement: SHEA, IDSA, AHA, APIC, and the Joint Commission. The Compendium is included in the Joint Commission’s National Patient Safety Goals^®.

The compendium:

• Synthesizes best evidence for the prevention of surgical site infections, central line-associated bloodstream infections, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, ventilator-associated pneumonia, Clostridium difficile, and MRSA

• Highlights basic HAI prevention strategies plus advanced approaches for outbreak management and other special circumstances

• Recommends performance and accountability measures to apply to individuals and groups working to implement infection prevention practices

The 2022 update is the third iteration of the Compendium, which was originally published in 2008 and revised in 2014. The Compendium provides information to assist organizations with implementing the HAI NPSGs. Although the Compendium was developed for acute care hospitals, some of its evidence-based implementation strategies are applicable to other settings.