An augmented data method for the analysis of nosocomial infection data.

ABSTRACT: The analysis of nosocomial infection data for communicable pathogens is complicated by two facts. First, typical pathogens more commonly cause asymptomatic colonization than overt disease, so transmission can be only imperfectly observed through a sequence of surveillance swabs, which themselves have imperfect sensitivity. Any given set of swab results can therefore be consistent with many different patterns of transmission. Second, data are often highly dependent: the colonization status of one patient affects the risk for others, and, in some wards, repeated admissions are common. Here, the authors present a method for analyzing typical nosocomial infection data consisting of results from arbitrarily timed screening swabs that overcomes these problems and enables simultaneous estimation

SUBMITTER: Cooper BS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2519111 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature