2023 National and State Healthcare-Associated Infections Progress Report

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released the 2023 National and State Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAI) Progress Report. In 2023, U.S. acute care hospitals (ACHs) made significant progress in preventing several important healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), with notable reductions continuing from the previous year.

The new report includes data from the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN). Data for acute care hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs), and long-term acute care hospitals (LTACHs) are available in CDC's Antimicrobial Resistance & Patient Safety Portal (AR&PSP) .

All settings observed significant changes in at least one HAI; ACHs reported significant decreases in many HAIs between 2022 and 2023:

• Central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) (down 13%),
• Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) (down 11%),
• Ventilator-associated events (VAE) (down 5%),
• LabID hospital-onset methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteremia (down 16%), and
• LabID hospital-onset Clostridioides difficile (CDI) (down 13%).

In ACHs, among surgical site infections (SSI), abdominal hysterectomy (HYST) was up 8% and colon surgery (COLO) had no significant changes (figure 1).

The 2015 national baseline standardized infection ratio (SIR) of 1 is used as another reference point for measuring progress. In 2023, most national SIRs for ACHs were significantly lower than the 2015 baseline SIR of 1 (figure 2). National SIRs for VAE and SSI HYST were the exception, with national SIRs equal to, or greater than, the baseline reference point of 1.

The 2023 HAI Progress Report showed little progress in reducing HAIs in other healthcare settings, when compared to 2022. Among IRFs, only two HAIs experienced a significant change: IRF-onset CDI decreased by 14% while CAUTI increased by 8% in 2023 compared to 2022 (figure 1). In LTACHs, only LTACH-onset CDI significantly decreased (13%) in 2023 compared to 2022 (figure 1). No other significant changes were observed in these settings.

The 2023 HAI Progress Report continues to highlight the need for healthcare facilities to reinforce infection prevention and control practices. In addition, states can use the report to evaluate their progress compared to the prior year or to the nation. CDC remains committed to protecting patients and promoting safety and quality in healthcare. The agency will continue partnering with healthcare facilities and other federal and local public health agencies to achieve healthcare quality across the U.S.

Explore the Antimicrobial Resistance & Patient Safety Portal (AR&PSP) for data from this most recent HAI Progress Report. You may also read the full 2023 HAI Progress Report for additional national and state-specific HAI data.