Nosocomial pneumonia and bacteraemia in the Belgian intensive care units (ICU) network: epidemiology and risk factors

Surveillance of nosocomial infections (NI) with feedback of own results to healthcare personnel has repeatedly been shown to be an efficacious measure, that can significantly contribute to the prevention of these infections. Moreover, multicentric surveillance can give an added value to local results by offering aggregate results as a basis tor comparison. However, one of the prerequisites for meaningful comparisons to be made is that the results be comparable in terms of case mix, intrinsic patient risk and exposure to high-risk devices and treatments.