Background and objective: Correct utilization of source isolation (SI) in hospitals is important to take advantage of hospital resources. The objective of this work was to evaluate the utilization of SI considering the appropriateness of isolation length-stay.
Patients and method: During a period of 19 months a prospective observational study was carried out among non-critical inpatients who underwent SI in a university hospital. The information was obtained from Admission Unit data, daily ward rounds and review of case history records.
Results: A total of 239 SIs were identified, summarizing 2,589 days in isolation (median: 8 days, range: 1-56 days). These data supposed a cumulative incidence of 6.74 isolations by 1,000 admissions, and an incidence density of 1.08 isolations by 1,000 inpatient-day. 36.8% of SIs were considered incorrectly used, meaning a total of 703 inappropriate stays in isolation (27.1% of all stays carried out in SI). Surgical wound infections prompted inappropriate isolations with a greater frequency (45.2%), mainly after hip and knee prosthesis implantation interventions (42.9% and 17.9%, respectively).
Conclusions: It is necessary to develop quality criteria and indicators in order to implement quality improvement actions to optimize SI length-stay management.