Impact of an electronic surveillance system on compliance with isolation precaution measures: an interrupted time series study.

Abstract

Background: Electronic surveillance systems (ESSs) may assist infection prevention and control (IPC) teams in detecting and monitoring patients infected or colonised by pathogens to prevent healthcare-associated infections. We aimed to assess the impact of implementing an ESS on compliance with isolation precaution measures for bacterial infections or colonizations.

Methods: A quasi-experimental before-after study was conducted using interrupted time series analysis from 1 March 2018 to 31 July 2024 at the University Hospital of Nancy (France). The ESS was implemented in October 2022. The results of audits conducted by IPC nurses to investigate isolation measures for inpatients that required isolation precautions were aggregated monthly.

Results: 1379 audits were included in the study. The implementation of the ESS had no significant immediate impact on isolation measures, except for an increase in the presence of adequate hand hygiene products (+10.1%, p < 0.01). After the COVID-19 period, all isolation measures decreased. The implementation of the ESS was associated with positive changes in trends of isolation measures, particularly for the prescription of isolation precautions (+1.1%/month, p < 0.01), the isolation signage (+1.2%/month, p < 0.001), the hand hygiene products (+0.8%/month, p < 0.01), and full compliance with isolation measures (+1.1%/month, p < 0.0001). The audit rate significantly increased in the first 7 months of ESS use but then decreased.

Conclusions: The positive impact of ESS on compliance with isolation measures was likely due to the increased presence and communication of the IPC team in care wards, which was facilitated by the time saved in the surveillance and detection of carriers through the ESS.