Statewide one‐day survey of central lines: Impact of different denominators on public reporting of infection rates

Purpose – This paper aims to determine whether the rank order of hospitals changes when their central line‐associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) rate is computed using a traditional proxy measure for the denominator (number of patients with one or more catheter in place) versus using the actual number of catheters or catheter‐lumens.Design/methodology/approach – The authors conducted a statewide voluntary one‐day prevalence survey among all hospitals participating in Washington State's mandatory public reporting program. Hospitals counted the number of catheters and catheter‐lumens as well as patients with catheters. Counts of patients with one or more catheter in place, of catheters, and of catheter‐lumens were extracted from each hospital's completed survey form and transformed into a ratio. Three CLABSI incidence density rates were computed for each hospital by scaling their annual CLABSI rate in the previous calendar year by the ratio of patients to catheters to catheter‐lumens. Influence of these...