Ask CCRM: Incidence of Common Infections in Long-Term Care

A Continuing Care Risk Management (CCRM) member recently asked ECRI Institute for information on infection rates in long-term care.

An estimated 1.6 million to 3.8 million endemic infections, such as lower respiratory tract, symptomatic urinary tract, and skin and soft-tissue infections, occur in U.S. long-term care organizations each year (compared with an estimated 2.1 million infections in hospitals). Because studies of endemic infections often do not account for infections due to outbreaks, the total burden of infectious disease in these settings is believed to be even higher. (Strausbaugh...