Hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) are one of the most frequent complications for hospitalized patients. External pressures, including value-based reimbursement and national efforts to improve antibiotic stewardship, are causing hospitals to refocus their efforts on combatting HAIs. Evidence shows that a combination of infection control methods is most effective in bringing down HAI rates. But, increasingly laboratories have a central role to play in the investigation of cases of HAI. A Sizable Issue The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates there are about 722,000 HAIs in U.S. acute care hospitals annually and HAIs contribute to 75,000 patient deaths during their hospitalizations. HAIs not only can be life threatening, but they are also costly—nearly $10 billion annually in HAI. CDC data shows HAIs are declining, but they remain a pervasive problem given that on any given day, approximately one in 25 U.S. patients contracts at least one infection during their hospital care. Stubbornlyhigh HAI rates demonstrate the need for improved infection control in U.S. hospitals. It is widely recognized that no one strategy can prevent all HAIs. Active surveillance—the systematic collection of samples from either all or high-risk asymptomatic patients—is thought to be an effective tool in hospitals’ arsenal to […]