Safe care, Abruzzo at the forefront of hospital infection control
From widespread training to 'special surveillance' hospitals: from the Region an integrated network for the control of sepsis and the fight against multi-resistant bacteria also thanks to their early identification
Training. Capillary, widespread, constant. And permanent focus on an issue that must be placed in the foreground. This is the furrow traced in Abruzzo on the subject of hospital infection control and the fight against multiresistant bacteria, which on the initiative of the Epidemiological Operational Group takes on the force of a project conveyed by the Region and presented at the conference 'Microbiology & Infections Pescara 2025'.
A model for export
On the basis of the experience developed in previous years, a decisive step has been taken towards the creation of a structured network for the control of care-related infections, thanks to which Abruzzo can build a model to be exported with respect to one of the most serious health emergencies worldwide.
The strategy is developed along four lines: training of health workers; technology; data collection; activities on the ground. Underlying this is a direction that integrates two fundamental concepts, starting with 'infection control', which involves constant monitoring of hospital infections, hand hygiene according to WHO guidelines, risk management and coordination between healthcare professionals, and the implementation of company protocols to ensure a uniform and effective approach to infection prevention. Equally important is antimicrobial stewardship, a programme devised by a multidisciplinary team that monitors and directs antimicrobial therapy, with the aim of ensuring that all patients receive the appropriate drug, in the right dose and duration of therapy, limiting adverse events related to inappropriate therapies and containing the spread of resistance.
The 'Pescara days' were directed by excellent names as scientific leaders: Giustino Parruti, Director of Infectious Diseases at the Pescara ASL and Simit President of the Abruzzo-Molise section; Paolo Fazii, National Councillor of the Italian Clinical Microbiologists Association (Amcli) and Head of Clinical Microbiology at the Pescara ASL; Jacopo Vecchiet, Professor at the 'D'Annunzio' University and Director of the Infectious Diseases Clinic in Chieti; and Massimo Andreoni, Scientific Director of the Italian Society of Infectious and Tropical Diseases (Simit) and member of the Higher Health Council.
Doc Training
"Our project involves assigning each Abruzzo local health authority a dedicated health director and a team of epidemiologist nurses," explains Giustino Parruti, "to monitor, prevent and contain infections in a timely manner, guaranteeing patients increasingly safe care. One element that places Abruzzo at the top in Italy concerns the training of healthcare personnel: more than 70% of the 6,900 doctors and nurses in the four provinces took part in training sessions on the correct use of antibiotics and hospital infection prevention strategies in 2024-2025. The course will continue in 2026 with a group of more than 500 'trainer' operators from different disciplines committed to spreading good practice in all hospital departments.
