Surveillance in infection control: are we making progress?

PURPOSE OF THE REVIEW: Surveillance of nosocomial infections is an indispensable tool in infection control, and is used for detecting problem areas, defining patients who are at risk and evaluating intervention strategies. Surveillance techniques are continuously being evaluated and improved. RECENT FINDINGS: Problems with definitions, risk stratification and case finding render development of (inter)national surveillance systems difficult with respect to the comparability of data between different hospitals. These problems also influence surveillance in specific areas of nosocomial infections, such as urinary tract infections, ventilator-associated pneumonia and surgical site infections. Examples of such problem areas are discussed in the present review. SUMMARY: Despite continuing efforts made to improve quality of (inter)national and local surveillance systems, issues of infection definition and risk stratification are still under debate and need further research.