The Role of a Sensory Control Model of Nursing Infection Control Inspectors Combined with Infection Control Nurses in Preventing Healthcare-Associated Infections
Authors: LIU JIA , TANG XUEMEI , WANG NA , WANG HUILIN , QIN TINGTING , HAO YONGQI , ZHOU GUI 
Published: November 2023

Abstract
Background: Following the outbreak of COVID-19, our local hospitals have strengthened infection prevention and control guidelines. In addition to the infection control link nurses (ICLN) working in the wards, nursing infection control inspectors (NICI) were introduced to oversee infection control practices. NICIs utilize standardized checklists and various inspection methods to assess the implementation of infection prevention and control measures. They also investigate changes in hospital infection rates before and after the implementation of NICI work.Methods: We select 50 nursing infection control inspectors from infection control nurses. They supervise implementation of infection prevention and control measures.They can discover hidden dangers and problems in infection prevention and control measures, and conduct medical staff to take measures to solve hidden dangers and problems.Using a retrospective approach, data from the Xinglin Hospital's infection monitoring system were collected for cases from 2018 to 2022. Infections occurring within 48 hours after admission were defined as nosocomial infections. The period from January 1, 2018, to December 30, 2019, was defined as the pre-COVID-19 group, while the period from January 1, 2020, to December 30, 2022, was defined as the post-COVID-19 group.Results: During the study period, the rate of hospital-acquired infections(HAIS) after COVID-19 was 2.23% in 2020, 1.53% in 2021, and 1.39% in 2022, which was much lower compared to 2.59% in 2018 and 2.54% in 2019. The prevalence rate of critically ill patients in hospital was 29.40% and 30.49% in year 2018 and2019. Compared to 29.92% in 2020, 31.82% in 2021 and 31.46% in 2022. After the COVID-19 outbreak, there was a significant increase in the rate of hand hygiene compliance and hand sanitizer usage. There was a significant decrease in the incidence of lower respiratory tract infections, bloodstream infections, and urinary tract infections. There is a significant decrease in the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), and average hospital stay in those patients. Microbiologic analysis of respiratory tract infections showed significant decreases in Haemophilus influenzae, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. There was no significant difference in the catheter-related bloodstream infections(CRBSI) and catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) before and after COVID-19.Conclusions Following COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an increase in critically ill patients. Our institution implemented a collaborative mechanism between NICI and ICLN. This collaboration significantly improved healthcare staff's compliance with hand hygiene, leading to a notable decrease in hospital infection rates. Specifically, rates of respiratory tract infection, bloodstream infections, VAP,CRBSI decreased significantly, and the average length of patient hospital stays decreased. Our results showed that implementing a model where Nursing Infection Control Inspectors work in conjunction with infection control nurses has proven effective in addressing and preventing healthcare-associated infections, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, when preventing nosocomial infections became crucial.