Healthcare-associated infections continue to affect hundreds of thousands of hospitalized patients across the United States each year, even as hospitals make measurable progress in infection prevention.
In 2023, about 1 in 38 U.S. hospital patients had at least one healthcare-associated infection, or HAI, on any given day.
Comparable figures were 1 in 31 patients in 2015 and 1 in 25 patients in 2011, showing a steady reduction over more than a decade.
Researchers still estimated that approximately 518,000 HAIs occurred in U.S. hospitals during 2023.
Serious consequences can follow these infections, including longer hospital stays, severe illness, additional treatment, and death. Healthcare systems can also face billions of dollars in added costs linked to preventable infections and their complications.
Recent findings show that hospitals have made important gains, but infection prevention remains a major patient-safety challenge.
What the 2023 CDC Hospital Infection Study Found
A CDC-led survey examined 13,653 patients across 218 hospitals in 10 states during 2023. Among those patients, 355 had at least one healthcare-associated infection.
That equals 2.6% of patients included in the survey.
Comparable data collected in 2015 showed infections among 394 of 12,299 patients across 199 hospitals, equal to 3.2%.
Researchers were also able to make a more direct comparison using 151 hospitals that took part in both surveys.
After adjusting for factors that could affect infection risk, patients hospitalized in 2023 were 27% less likely to have an HAI compared with patients in 2015.
Such improvement occurred even though patients surveyed in 2023 were generally older and had longer hospital stays.
Both factors can increase exposure to infection risks and complicate prevention efforts.
When an infection is not identified promptly and a delayed or incorrect diagnosis causes additional harm, patients may consult Chicago Medical Misdiagnosis Lawyers to review the circumstances of their medical care.
Results suggest that progress did not simply result because hospitals were treating younger or healthier populations. Infection rates declined even as several patient characteristics associated with higher risk became more common.
Hospital Infection Rates That Improved Most Since 2015
Some of the strongest reductions involved infections that hospitals have targeted through established prevention programs.
Major progress was recorded in three areas:
- difficile infection prevalence dropped to 0.22% in 2023, compared with 0.54% in 2015.
- Central line-associated bloodstream infection prevalence declined to 0.16%, compared with 0.30% in 2015.
- Catheter-associated urinary tract infection prevalence fell to 0.09%, compared with 0.20% in 2015.
Several factors may have contributed to those declines.
Hospitals have expanded infection-control measures around central lines and urinary catheters, while antimicrobial stewardship programs have placed greater attention on proper antibiotic use.
Changes in C. difficile testing practices may also have affected reported infection levels.
Established prevention protocols provide hospitals with specific steps for lowering infection risks linked to invasive devices.
Examples include improving:
- Catheter insertion techniques
- Removing devices when they are no longer needed
- Strengthening hand hygiene
- Monitoring compliance with infection-control procedures
Progress also carries added significance because HAI rates increased during 2020 and 2021.
COVID-19 placed major pressure on hospital staffing, infection-prevention teams, intensive care units, and routine safety procedures.
Recovery after those disruptions suggests that many hospitals were able to restore infection-control practices and regain progress lost during the pandemic period.
Why Healthcare-Associated Infections Are Still a Major Patient-Safety Risk
Major challenges now involve infections that are not directly linked to medical devices or procedures.
About 61% of HAIs identified in 2023 were not associated with a device or procedure. Such infections can be harder to prevent because hospitals cannot always rely on a single standardized intervention similar to removing a catheter or improving central-line care.
Pneumonia, surgical-site infections, and gastrointestinal infections were among the most common HAIs recorded during 2023.
Little change occurred in pneumonia and surgical-site infection rates compared with 2015. Slower progress in these categories shows that infection-prevention improvements have not occurred evenly across all types of HAIs.
Non-device-associated infections can include non-ventilator-associated pneumonia, gastrointestinal infections, and skin and soft-tissue infections.
Causes can differ substantially between patients. Risk can be affected by underlying health conditions, mobility, antibiotic exposure, surgery, immune status, hospital environment, and length of stay.
Such variation makes prevention more complicated. Device-associated infections often allow hospitals to target one clear source of risk.
Pneumonia or gastrointestinal infections may involve several possible causes at once, making a single prevention protocol less effective.
Growing attention may therefore need to shift toward broader hospital practices, including:
- Respiratory infection prevention
- Surgical care
- Environmental cleaning
- Antibiotic management
- Patient mobility
- Earlier recognition of infection symptoms
FAQs
Summary
Hospital infection prevention has improved considerably compared with earlier national surveys.
HAI prevalence declined to 2.6% of hospitalized patients in 2023, compared with 3.2% in 2015. Viewed another way, approximately 1 in 38 hospital patients had an HAI on any given day in 2023, compared with 1 in 31 in 2015 and 1 in 25 in 2011.
Progress has been especially visible in C. difficile infections, central line-associated bloodstream infections, and catheter-associated urinary tract infections.
Yet an estimated 518,000 HAIs still occurred in U.S. hospitals during 2023.
About 61% were not linked to medical devices or procedures, pointing to a growing prevention challenge. Future infection-control efforts will need to protect gains made against catheter-related, central-line, and C. difficile infections while finding more effective ways to reduce pneumonia, surgical-site infections, gastrointestinal infections, and other non-device-associated HAIs.
