from Thi Anh Thu L, Thi Hong Thoa V, Thi Van Trang D, Phuc Tien N, Thuy Van D, Thi Kim Anh L, Wertheim HF, Truong Son N 2015
published in Am J Infect Control. 43(12): e93-99
DOI 10.1016/j.ajic.2015.08.006

Cost-effectiveness of a hand hygiene program on health care-associated infections in intensive care patients at a tertiary care hospital in Vietnam.

Increasing hand hygiene compliance by multimodal intervention strategies significantly reduces the incidence of healthcare-associated infections and costs per patients.

A multimodal intervention was implemented in a Vietnamese clinic to improve hand hygiene compliance and thus reduce the rate of healthcare-associated infections (HAI). The hand hygiene compliance increased from 26% to 58%, while the incidence of patients with HAIs decreased from 32% to 20%. The average cost of a patient with HAI was calculated to be $ 1,908 which was 2.5 times higher than for a patient without HAI. The total cost of the intervention bundle was $6.50 per patient. Overall, preventing one HAI saved $1,074.

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