Healthcare-associated infection (HAI) outbreaks move fast.
CaseTrace, a new CDC resource is now available to help healthcare providers investigate HAI outbreaks faster and minimize potential patient exposures.
CaseTrace is a free, browser-based tool designed to help outbreak investigators and healthcare facilities understand patient movement within and across healthcare settings. It maps potential patient exposures to a HAI pathogen in a graphical timeline to help investigators identify potential transmission events more quickly and with greater detail than traditional line list review.
CaseTrace is designed for epidemiologists and infection control practitioners, such as nursing home infection preventionists. To use CaseTrace, upload an anonymized patient line list using the provided template. The tool then generates the following:
- Interactive visualizations of patient stays over time and by location
- Event timelines showing when patients tested positive, received treatment, or experienced an outcome of interest
- Summary and detail tables of overlapping patient stays, available for download
CaseTrace requires no software installation and works in any web browser.
The tool, a downloadable line list template, and a user manual are available at: CaseTrace | HAIs | CDC.