Department of Nosocomial Infection Prevention and Control

The Department was established in 2005 with the aim of prevention and control of nosocomial infections in the both patients and medical staff at the Military Medical Academy.

The Department has one hospital epidemiologist (epidemiology specialist with the PhD degree in hospital infections and assistant professor of epidemiology) and four medical technicians who have completed a special medical technician training program intended to prepare medical technicians for the work relating to the quality control and prevention of nosocomial infections.

CONTACT:

Department of Nosocomial Infection Prevention and Control, MMA, 17 Crnotravska St. 11000 Belgrade
MMA’s Information Office: +381 11 / 2661122, 2662755
Head’s Office: Assist. Prof. Vesna Šuljagić, MD, PhD: +381 11 3608934
Medical Technicians’ Station: : +381 11 3609974

The main activities of the Department are focused on the effectiveness i.e. prevention and control of hospital-acquired infections (significant reduction of nosocomial infection rates, successful treatment, etc) as well as the efficacy, i.e. maximum cost effectiveness (therapy and health care expenditures, number of hospital days, etc. All those activities carried out in line with the Patient Health Protection Act and the Act on the Protection of the Population from Infectious Diseases include the following:
-   Continuous   surgical site infection surveillance in patients having undergone operation at the Military Medical Academy; obtained results are presented to the surgical staff to ensure additional analysis and provision of high quality and advanced therapy and medical care to the surgical patients;
-   Continuous monitoring of the infection at the site of surgical incision and   catheter-associated urinary tract infection in patients hospitalized at the Academy; obtained results are periodically presented to the medical personnel of the    clinic where catheterized patients   are treated to ensure additional analysis and provision of high quality and advanced therapy and medical care to such patients;
-   Continuous monitoring of the surgical site infection and   central vascular catheter   associated infection in patients hospitalized at the Academy; obtained results are periodically presented to the medical personnel of the    clinic where catheterized patients   are treated to ensure additional analysis and provision of high quality and advanced therapy and medical care to such patients;
-   Continuous epidemiological surveillance of the ICU patients and recording all ICU-acquired infections   among those patients; obtained results are periodically presented to the medical personnel of the IC Unit   to ensure additional analysis and provision of high quality and advanced therapy and medical care to those patients;
-   Continuous epidemiological surveillance of reservoirs and sources of multiresistant causes of nosocomial infections; giving recommendation and control of implementation of advanced measures for prevention of the mentioned causes.
-   Continuous sterilization control of all sterilizing apparatus by biological method at the MMA. Steam under pressure (autoclaving) should be performed once a week and low temperature sterilization once a day and when needed; informing of the MMA clinics’ personnel responsible for sterilization about the obtained results;
-   Training of personnel to correctly and properly use disinfecting and antiseptic agents at the MMA, their selection and procurement;
-   Writing of recommendations for the prevention and control of certain types of nosocomial infections;
-   Continuous education of MMA personnel on the prevention and control of all types of nosocomial infections as well as training of MMA‘s employees in the advanced approach to the hospital-acquired infections in health care professionals (immunization, protection of personnel by the use of personal protective equipment, etc.);
-   Coordination of activities relating to HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Project within the Armed Forces of Serbia, and
-   Offers graduate education and training programs in the field of nosocomial infections for all profiles of non-MMA healthcare professionals (doctors of medicine, medical technicians with higher or secondary education)

Recommendations
-   Peripheral intravenous catheter insertion and maintenance procedure;
-   Recommendations for preventing nosocomial urinary tract infections;
-   Recommendations for preventing hospital- acquired pneumonia;
-   Recommendations for preventing and controlling hemodialysis-associated   infections;
-   Recommendations for preventing and controlling infections associated with the administration of anesthesia;
-   Recommendations for preventing and controlling the spread of the vancomycin- resistant enterococci;
-   Recommendations for preventing surgical site infections;
-   Recommendations for preventing intravascular catheter-associated infections;
-   Recommendations for preventing the spread of avian influenza (‘bird flu’) in hospital settings;
-   Recommendations for preventing the spread of hospital antimicrobial resistance;
-   Healthcare facilities hand hygiene recommendations;
-   Recommendations for isolation measures in the prevention and control of nosocomial infections – poster, and
-   Recommendations for proper reprocessing of multiple-use medical devices/equipment.

CONTACT:

Department of Nosocomial Infection Prevention and Control, MMA, 17 Crnotravska St. 11000 Belgrade
MMA’s Information Office: +381 11 / 2661122, 2662755
Head’s Office: Assist. Prof. Dr.Vesna Šuljagić,: +381 11 3608934
Medical Technicians’ Station: : +381 11 3609974