Healthcare Associated Infections | A.R. Patient Safety Portal

Healthcare Associated Infections | A.R. Patient Safety Portal

2018 National and State HAI Progress Report Highlights Continued Prevention Progress; Improvements Still Needed

CDC has published the 2018 National and State Healthcare-Associated Infection (HAI) Progress Report. This report shows that the U.S. has made significant reductions in several types of HAIs and highlights areas where more improvements are needed. The national progress in reducing HAIs shows that prevention is possible. 

The 2018 HAI Progress Report provides data from the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) on central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs), catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs), ventilator-associated events (VAEs), surgical site infections (SSIs), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bloodstream events, and Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile) events. The report includes data across four healthcare settings: acute care hospitals, critical access hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, and long-term acute care hospitals.



Nationally, among acute care hospitals between 2017 and 2018, highlights in the report include:

• About 9% decrease in CLABSIs
• About 8% decrease in CAUTIs
• No significant changes in VAEs
• No significant changes in SSIs related to the 10 procedures tracked in the report
• No significant changes in hospital onset MRSA bacteremia
• About 12% decrease in hospital onset C. difficile infections 

HAI Progress Report data are available in CDC’s new Antibiotic Resistance & Patient Safety Portal (AR&PSP), an interactive web-based application that was created to innovatively display data collected through CDC’s NHSN and other sources. Visit the AR&PSP to view enhanced data visualizations on Antibiotic Resistance, Use, and Stewardship datasets as well as HAI data for the nation and states. 





CDC’s HAI Progress Report is a snapshot of how each state and the country are doing in eliminating HAIs. While much progress has been made, more needs to be done to prevent healthcare-associated infections in a variety of settings. Ongoing collaboration between public health, healthcare professionals, and other partners is critical to ensuring patient safety.

Visit CDC’s HAI website for more information about the 2018 HAI Progress Report, including the executive summary, data tables, and technical appendix and frequently asked questions.