Epi Center studies will tackle tough questions

The "Epi Center" research program, recently funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to study nosocomial infections, includes participation by the following facilities:

· Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore;

· Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Boston;

· McGuire Veterans Affairs Hospital, Richmond, VA;

· Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis;

· Miriam Hospital, Providence, RI;

· Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York City;

· Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago;

· University of Iowa, Iowa City.

According to the CDC, the research projects will include addressing the following projects at the cited locations:

· Do changes in the number of staff providing care for patients in intensive care units affect those patients' risk of developing a health care-associated infection? (Johns Hopkins, Washington University, McGuire VA Hospital)

· Which patients face the greatest risk of infection with antimicrobial-resistant bacteria? How can the risk for those patients be reduced? (Northwestern, Miriam, University Of Iowa)

· What special risks are faced by patients whose immune systems are compromised by disease or by drugs being used to treat cancer and chronic diseases? What can be done to reduce these risks? (Northwestern, Sloan-Kettering)

· Are the methods being proposed to measure the quality of health care valid and useful for directing quality improvement activities? (McGuire VA Hospital)

· How fully do patients recover from health care-associated infections? Which patients are most likely to suffer long-term consequences of nosocomial infections? (Johns Hopkins)

· To what extent are drug-resistant infections complicating doctors' practices in the community? What can be done to help physicians improve the prevention and treatment of infections in the office environment? (Northwestern)

· How can hospitals best identify patients admitted with drug-resistant infections and prevent the spread of these infections to other patients? (Northwestern)

· What is the best way to learn about hospital-associated problems that develop after the patient has been discharged and gone home? (Harvard Pilgrim, University Of Iowa)

· Do managed care organizations offer particular advantages of continuity of care and follow-up that can be used to better detect and prevent infections? (Harvard Pilgrim)

· Do hospital mergers and consortium arrangements offer opportunities to bolster programs to prevent and control infections by combining resources? (Washington University)