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Background & objectives:Hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) are a major challenge to patient safety and have serious public health implications by changing the quality of life of patients and sometimes causing disability or even death. The true burden of HAI remains unknown, particularly in developing countries. The objective of this study was to estimate point prevalence of HAI and study the associated risk factors in a tertiary care hospital in Pune, India.Methods:A series of four cross-sectional point prevalence surveys were carried out between March and August 2014. Data of each patient admitted were collected using a structured data entry form. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines were used to identify and diagnose patients with HAI.Results:Overall prevalence of HAI was 3.76 per cent. Surgical Intensive Care Unit (ICU) (25%), medical ICU (20%), burns ward (20%) and paediatric ward (12.17%) were identified to have significant association with HAI. Prolonged hospital stay [odds ratio (OR=2.81), mechanical ventilation (OR=18.57), use of urinary catheter (OR=7.89) and exposure to central air-conditioning (OR=8.59) had higher odds of acquiring HAI (P<0.05).Interpretation & conclusions:HAI prevalence showed a progressive reduction over successive rounds of survey. Conscious effort needs to be taken by all concerned to reduce the duration of hospital stay. Use of medical devices should be minimized and used judiciously. Healthcare infection control should be a priority of every healthcare provider. Such surveys should be done in different healthcare settings to plan a response to reducing HAI.

Objectives:Recent guidelines for estimation of glucose recommend the use of citrate buffer tubes to inhibit glycolysis if the sample cannot be cooled immediately and separated within 30 min. These tubes are currently not available in India. We prepared the citrate tubes and compared the glucose results obtained with sodium fluoride tubes.Methods:Random blood samples of 44 apparently healthy volunteers were collected in three pairs of citrate buffer and sodium fluoride tubes during September to October 2013. They were labeled as 0 h, 1 h and 2 h samples indicating a delay in centrifugation to separate plasma. Glucose was analyzed on the fully auto analyzer in duplicates using glucose oxidase-peroxidase method.Results:The mean glucose concentrations at 0 h in citrate tubes were 105.8 ± 19.5 mg/dl compared to 99.6 ± 18.3 mg/dl in sodium fluoride tube. There was statistically significant difference in the glucose levels measured in plasma separated from citrate buffer tube and sodium fluoride tube at 0 h, 1 h, and 2 h. The difference between citrate and sodium fluoride tube results ranged from 6.1 mg/dl at 0 h to 7.4 mg/dl at 2 h. Glucose levels decreased significantly at 2 h in both citrate and sodium fluoride tubes.Conclusion:There is a significant decrease in glucose levels in sodium fluoride tubes even with immediate separation of plasma. There is urgent need to standardize the preanalytical conditions for glucose estimation so that effective inhibition of glycolysis can be done.

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