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Official Journal of the Australasian College for Infection Prevention and Control
REVIEW

A literature review supporting the proposed national Australian definition for Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia

Brett Mitchell A D , Anne Gardner A , Peter Collignon B , Lee Stewart A and Marilyn Cruickshank C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A School of Nursing, Midwifery and Nutrition, James Cook University, Townsville Campus, Qld 4811, Australia.

B Infectious Diseases Unit, The Canberra Hospital, Canberra, ACT, 2605, Australia.

C Australian Commission on Safety & Quality in Healthcare, Level 7, 1 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

D Corresponding author. Email: brett.mitchell@jcu.edu.au

Healthcare Infection 15(4) 105-113 https://doi.org/10.1071/HI10030
Submitted: 26 August 2010  Accepted: 24 November 2010   Published: 20 December 2010

Abstract

Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia (SAB) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. During 2009, a national surveillance definition for SAB was developed through the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare (ACSQHC). The aim of this paper is to review the literature surrounding SAB surveillance and in doing so, evaluate the recently developed Australian national definition for SAB. The issues examined in this paper that relate to SAB surveillance include detection, the management of duplicates, classification and acquisition of SAB. Upon reviewing the literature, it was clear that the national Australian SAB surveillance definitions developed by the ACSQHC Healthcare Associated Infection Surveillance Committee are consistent with the majority of literature. Where inconsistencies exist, for example the lack of acquisition information in SAB surveillance programs in the United Kingdom, it is clear that the Australian surveillance definitions are more robust and provide more useful information. The national surveillance definitions for SAB developed by the ACSQHC surveillance committee sets an improved standard for other countries.


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