Sources of healthcare-associated Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia in New Zealand acute hospitals.

AIM: The primary aim of this study was to identify the source of healthcare-associated Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia (HA-SAB) in acute district health board (DHB) hospitals to inform future national quality improvement activities.

METHOD: De-identified HA-SAB event source information was submitted to the Commission from all DHBs for the period 1 January 2017 to 30 June 2021. Data was categorised and analysed to identify trends and significant sources of infection.

RESULTS

There were 1,867 HA-SAB events. Of the events where S. aureus susceptibility results were reported, 159 (10%) isolates were methicillin-resistant S. aureus. The principal sources of HA-SAB were medical devices (65%), surgical site infection (10%), and organ site (8%). Ninety-five percent of medical devices were for vascular access, primarily central venous catheters (50%) and peripheral intravenous catheters (45%).

CONCLUSION

This study has identified intravascular devices as significant sources of HA-SAB. Ongoing surveillance for HA-SAB source is required to identify the major risk factors and to support quality improvement activities targeting infection prevention measures and best practice related to intravascular and other medical devices.