[Infections and use of antibiotics in residents of long-term care facilities in Hungary].

INTRODUCTION

Healthcare associated infections and antimicrobial use are common among residents of long-term care facilities. Faced to the lack of standardized data, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control funded a project with the aim of estimating prevalence of infections and antibiotic use in European long-term care facilities.

AIM

The aim of the authors was to present the results of the European survey which were obtained in Hungary.

METHOD

In Hungary, 91 long-term care facilities with 11,823 residents participated in the point-prevalence survey in May, 2013.

RESULTS

The prevalence of infections was 2.1%. Skin and soft tissues infections were the most frequent (36%), followed by infections of the respiratory (30%) and urinary tract (21%). Antimicrobials were mostly prescribed for urinary tract infections (40.3%), respiratory tract infections (38.4%) and skin and soft tissue infections (13.2%). The most common antimicrobials (97.5%) belonged to the ATC J01 class of "antibacterials for systemic use".

CONCLUSIONS

The results emphasise the need for a national guideline and education for good practice in long-term care facilities.