Box 2.
Annual Plan of Healthcare-Associated Infections (Piano Annuale delle Infezioni Correlate all’Assistenza—PAICA) in the Lazio Region [69]
| Since 2014, the Health Authority in the Lazio Region stated specific indications targeted to public as well as private hospitals and other healthcare facilities, including long-term care facilities, in issuing a specific annual plan for prevention, monitoring and control of healthcare-associated infections (PAICA). The PAICA is thus the planning tool for the operational activities of the Healthcare-Associated Infections Control Committee (Comitato per il Controllo delle Infezioni Correlate all’Assistenza – CC-ICA) and the Antimicrobial Stewardship Team. Healthcare facilities should program at least five activities pursuant to the strategic objectives indicated by the Regional Health Authority to include those of the National Regional Prevention Plan (PRP) and the National Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance (PNCAR): |
| Objective A To spread the culture of Safety of care with specific reference to the Prevention of Infectious Risk |
| Suggested activities: |
| • Organize training/information activities for healthcare workers aimed at monitoring and preventing HAIs and good use of antimicrobials |
| • Develop an Antimicrobial Stewardship model to counter resistance to antibiotics |
| Objective B To improve the appropriateness of care and organization in terms of infectious risk, through the promotion of interventions to improve the quality of services provided and the monitoring and/or containment of HAIs including those carried out by invasive infections by carbapenemase-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) |
| Suggested activities: |
| • Perform at least one point prevalence survey of HAIs, i.e., associated with endovascular devices with a focus on Central Venous Catheters (CVCs) and Peripherally Inserted Central Catheters (PICCs) |
| • Consolidate active surveillance of CRE colonization/infections and other alert MDRO and Clostridioides difficile |
| • Monitor alcohol-based products for hand hygiene and anti-infective drug consumption (expressed as Liter or DDD/ hospitalization days, respectively) |
| • Implement measures to control nosocomial transmission of MDRO colonization/infection |
| • The annual PAICA should be published on the own facility web site, and should report the results coming from the activities performed in the previous year |