Enhanced infection control measures during the COVID-19 pandemic significantly reduced healthcare-associated infections in a Chinese cancer hospital: a Bayesian structural time series analysis
Abstract
BackgroundEnhanced infection control measures were widely implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic, but their quantitative impact on healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in specialized cancer hospitals remains insufficiently evaluated.MethodsMonthly surveillance data from January 2016 to June 2022 (78 time points) were collected from a tertiary cancer hospital in Sichuan Province, China. A Bayesian structural time series (BSTS) model was used to construct a counterfactual prediction of HAI incidence under the scenario without enhanced measures, and the causal effect was estimated by comparing observed and predicted values. Model convergence was assessed by Geweke and Heidelberger–Welch diagnostics. Robustness was further assessed through sensitivity analyses on the outcome scale (counts versus incidence rates), the definition of the intervention date, and alternative covariate sets.ResultsEnhanced infection control measures (June 2020–June 2022) were associated with a cumulative reduction of 525 HAI cases [95% credible interval (CrI): 203–1,051] relative to the pre-pandemic trend, corresponding to a 36% relative reduction (95% CrI: 19–54%; posterior tail probability p < 0.01). Subgroup analyses showed significant reductions in respiratory system HAIs (357 cases; 38% reduction) and urinary system HAIs (56 cases; 46% reduction), while the reduction in oral cavity HAIs was not statistically significant.ConclusionEnhanced infection control measures significantly reduced HAI incidence, particularly in the respiratory and urinary systems. These findings provide evidence for optimizing infection control policies in specialized cancer hospitals in the post-pandemic era.
Related
- Development and content validation of a risk-stratified nursing intervention programme for the prevention of healthcare-associated infections
- Prevalence, Etiology, and Clinical Outcomes of Healthcare-Associated Infections in a Tertiary Pediatric Hospital.
- Epidemiology, microbiological characteristics, and antimicrobial resistance of device-associated healthcare-associated infections in a neonatal intensive care unit: a six-year surveillance study
- CSF pharmacokinetics-pharmacodynamics of linezolid in critically brain injured patients, with or without central nervous system healthcare-associated infection. The PK-Pop-LCR Study: A Multicentre Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics Population Study
- Healthcare-Associated Infections with Pseudomonas spp. in a Neurosurgical Hospital: Epidemiological and Clinical Insights.
BibTeX
@article{tian2026enhanced,
title = {{Enhanced infection control measures during the COVID-19 pandemic significantly reduced healthcare-associated infections in a Chinese cancer hospital: a Bayesian structural time series analysis}},
author = {Qingqing Tian and Qin Huang and Hui Wang and Jiayang Tang and Anran Liu and Weiwei Yang and Weibing Li and Chunlin Wu},
journal = {Frontiers in Public Health},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.3389/fpubh.2026.1946523},
url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2026.1946523},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Enhanced infection control measures during the COVID-19 pandemic significantly reduced healthcare-associated infections in a Chinese cancer hospital: a Bayesian structural time series analysis
AU - Qingqing Tian
AU - Qin Huang
AU - Hui Wang
AU - Jiayang Tang
AU - Anran Liu
AU - Weiwei Yang
AU - Weibing Li
AU - Chunlin Wu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/09
JO - Frontiers in Public Health
DO - 10.3389/fpubh.2026.1946523
UR - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2026.1946523
AB - BackgroundEnhanced infection control measures were widely implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic, but their quantitative impact on healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in specialized cancer hospitals remains insufficiently evaluated.MethodsMonthly surveillance data from January 2016 to June 2022 (78 time points) were collected from a tertiary cancer hospital in Sichuan Province, China. A Bayesian structural time series (BSTS) model was used to construct a counterfactual prediction of HAI incidence under the scenario without enhanced measures, and the causal effect was estimated by comparing observed and predicted values. Model convergence was assessed by Geweke and Heidelberger–Welch diagnostics. Robustness was further assessed through sensitivity analyses on the outcome scale (counts versus incidence rates), the definition of the intervention date, and alternative covariate sets.ResultsEnhanced infection control measures (June 2020–June 2022) were associated with a cumulative reduction of 525 HAI cases [95% credible interval (CrI): 203–1,051] relative to the pre-pandemic trend, corresponding to a 36% relative reduction (95% CrI: 19–54%; posterior tail probability p < 0.01). Subgroup analyses showed significant reductions in respiratory system HAIs (357 cases; 38% reduction) and urinary system HAIs (56 cases; 46% reduction), while the reduction in oral cavity HAIs was not statistically significant.ConclusionEnhanced infection control measures significantly reduced HAI incidence, particularly in the respiratory and urinary systems. These findings provide evidence for optimizing infection control policies in specialized cancer hospitals in the post-pandemic era.
SN - 2296-2565
ER -