State's Rate of Surgical Infection Above National Average

ALBANY — A new report says New York hospitals had a higher rate of infection in surgical intensive care units in 2007 than the rest of the nation.

Compared to the national average of 2.7 infections per 1,000 days of central-line treatment, New York surgical intensive care units had 3.7 per 1,000.

A central line is a tube into a major vein that allows doctors to administer medication or monitor a health condition. They can lead to infection.

The report on hospital acquired infections was conducted by the state Department of Health in compliance with a 2005 law that required New York to track statewide infection trends.

New York had a lower rate of central-line infections in pediatric and coronary intensive care units than the rest of the country.