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Abbas S, Stevens MP. Horizontal versus vertical strategies for infection prevention: current practices and controversies. Curr Opin Infect Dis 2024; 37:282-289. [PMID: 38820054 DOI: 10.1097/qco.0000000000001027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/02/2024]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) represent a major burden on healthcare facilities. Effective infection prevention strategies are essential to prevent the spread of HAIs. These can be broadly classified as vertical and horizontal interventions. Through this review, we aim to assess the merits of these strategies. RECENT FINDINGS Vertical strategies include active surveillance testing and isolation for patients infected or colonized with a particular organism. These strategies are beneficial to curb the spread of emerging pathogens and during outbreaks. However, the routine use of contact precautions for organisms such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus remains controversial. Horizontal interventions are larger-scale and reduce HAIs by targeting a common mode of transmission shared by multiple organisms. Among these, hand hygiene, chlorhexidine gluconate bathing of select patients and environmental decontamination are the most high-yield and must be incorporated into infection prevention programs. As antimicrobial stewardship is also an effective horizontal strategy, antimicrobial stewardship programs must operate in synergy with infection prevention programs for maximal impact. SUMMARY Overall, horizontal interventions are considered more cost-effective and have a broader impact. Infection control programs may opt for a combination of vertical and horizontal strategies based on local epidemiology and available resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Salma Abbas
- Department of Internal Medicine, Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Center, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
| | - Michael P Stevens
- Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, West Virginia University School of Medicine, Morgantown, West Virginia, USA
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Cincotta SE, Walters MS, Ham DC, Octaria R, Healy JM, Slayton RB, Paul P. Regional impact of multidrug-resistant organism prevention bundles implemented by facility type: A modeling study. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2024:1-8. [PMID: 38415308 DOI: 10.1017/ice.2023.278] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/29/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Emerging multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs), such as carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE), can spread rapidly in a region. Facilities that care for high-acuity patients with longer stays may have a disproportionate impact on this spread. OBJECTIVE We assessed the impact of implementing preventive interventions, directed at a subset of facilities, on regional prevalence. METHODS We developed a deterministic compartmental model, parametrized using CRE and patient transfer data. The model included the community and healthcare facilities within a US state. Individuals may be either susceptible or infectious with CRE. Individuals determined to be infectious through admission screening, periodic prevalence surveys (PPSs), or interfacility communication were placed in a state of lower transmissibility if enhanced infection prevention and control (IPC) practices were in place at a facility. RESULTS Intervention bundles that included PPS and enhanced IPC practices at ventilator-capable skilled nursing facilities (vSNFs) and long-term acute-care hospitals (LTACHs) had the greatest impact on regional prevalence. The benefits of including targeted admission screening in acute-care hospitals, LTACHs, and vSNFs, and improved interfacility communication were more modest. Daily transmissions in each facility type were reduced following the implementation of interventions primarily focused at LTACHs and vSNFs. CONCLUSIONS Our model suggests that interventions that include screening to limit unrecognized MDRO introduction to, or dispersal from, LTACHs and vSNFs slow regional spread. Interventions that pair detection and enhanced IPC practices within LTACHs and vSNFs may substantially reduce the regional burden.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel E Cincotta
- Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Maroya S Walters
- Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - D Cal Ham
- Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Rany Octaria
- Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Jessica M Healy
- Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Rachel B Slayton
- Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Prabasaj Paul
- Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
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Lyman M, Forsberg K, Sexton DJ, Chow NA, Lockhart SR, Jackson BR, Chiller T. Worsening Spread of Candida auris in the United States, 2019 to 2021. Ann Intern Med 2023; 176:489-495. [PMID: 36940442 PMCID: PMC11307313 DOI: 10.7326/m22-3469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 50.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/22/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Candida auris is an emerging fungal threat that has been spreading in the United States since it was first reported in 2016. OBJECTIVE To describe recent changes in the U.S. epidemiology of C auris occurring from 2019 to 2021. DESIGN Description of national surveillance data. SETTING United States. PATIENTS Persons with any specimen that was positive for C auris. MEASUREMENTS Case counts reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by health departments, volume of colonization screening, and antifungal susceptibility results were aggregated and compared over time and by geographic region. RESULTS A total of 3270 clinical cases and 7413 screening cases of C auris were reported in the United States through 31 December 2021. The percentage increase in clinical cases grew each year, from a 44% increase in 2019 to a 95% increase in 2021. Colonization screening volume and screening cases increased in 2021 by more than 80% and more than 200%, respectively. From 2019 to 2021, 17 states identified their first C auris case. The number of C auris cases that were resistant to echinocandins in 2021 was about 3 times that in each of the previous 2 years. LIMITATION Identification of screening cases depends on screening that is done on the basis of need and available resources. Screening is not conducted uniformly across the United States, so the true burden of C auris cases may be underestimated. CONCLUSION C auris cases and transmission have risen in recent years, with a dramatic increase in 2021. The rise in echinocandin-resistant cases and evidence of transmission is particularly concerning because echinocandins are first-line therapy for invasive Candida infections, including C auris. These findings highlight the need for improved detection and infection control practices to prevent spread of C auris. PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE None.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meghan Lyman
- Mycotic Diseases Branch, Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia (M.L., K.F., D.J.S., N.A.C., S.R.L., B.R.J., T.C.)
| | - Kaitlin Forsberg
- Mycotic Diseases Branch, Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia (M.L., K.F., D.J.S., N.A.C., S.R.L., B.R.J., T.C.)
| | - D Joseph Sexton
- Mycotic Diseases Branch, Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia (M.L., K.F., D.J.S., N.A.C., S.R.L., B.R.J., T.C.)
| | - Nancy A Chow
- Mycotic Diseases Branch, Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia (M.L., K.F., D.J.S., N.A.C., S.R.L., B.R.J., T.C.)
| | - Shawn R Lockhart
- Mycotic Diseases Branch, Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia (M.L., K.F., D.J.S., N.A.C., S.R.L., B.R.J., T.C.)
| | - Brendan R Jackson
- Mycotic Diseases Branch, Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia (M.L., K.F., D.J.S., N.A.C., S.R.L., B.R.J., T.C.)
| | - Tom Chiller
- Mycotic Diseases Branch, Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia (M.L., K.F., D.J.S., N.A.C., S.R.L., B.R.J., T.C.)
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Bartsch SM, Wong KF, Mueller LE, Gussin GM, McKinnell JA, Tjoa T, Wedlock PT, He J, Chang J, Gohil SK, Miller LG, Huang SS, Lee BY. Modeling Interventions to Reduce the Spread of Multidrug-Resistant Organisms Between Health Care Facilities in a Region. JAMA Netw Open 2021; 4:e2119212. [PMID: 34347060 PMCID: PMC8339938 DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.19212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
IMPORTANCE Multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) can spread across health care facilities in a region. Because of limited resources, certain interventions can be implemented in only some facilities; thus, decision-makers need to evaluate which interventions may be best to implement. OBJECTIVE To identify a group of target facilities and assess which MDRO intervention would be best to implement in the Shared Healthcare Intervention to Eliminate Life-threatening Dissemination of MDROs in Orange County, a large regional public health collaborative in Orange County, California. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS An agent-based model of health care facilities was developed in 2016 to simulate the spread of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) for 10 years starting in 2010 and to simulate the use of various MDRO interventions for 3 years starting in 2017. All health care facilities (23 hospitals, 5 long-term acute care hospitals, and 74 nursing homes) serving adult inpatients in Orange County, California, were included, and 42 target facilities were identified via network analyses. EXPOSURES Increasing contact precaution effectiveness, increasing interfacility communication about patients' MDRO status, and performing decolonization using antiseptic bathing soap and a nasal product in a specific group of target facilities. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES MRSA and CRE prevalence and number of new carriers (ie, transmission events). RESULTS Compared with continuing infection control measures used in Orange County as of 2017, increasing contact precaution effectiveness from 40% to 64% in 42 target facilities yielded relative reductions of 0.8% (range, 0.5%-1.1%) in MRSA prevalence and 2.4% (range, 0.8%-4.6%) in CRE prevalence in health care facilities countywide after 3 years, averting 761 new MRSA transmission events (95% CI, 756-765 events) and 166 new CRE transmission events (95% CI, 158-174 events). Increasing interfacility communication of patients' MDRO status to 80% in these target facilities produced no changes in the prevalence or transmission of MRDOs. Implementing decolonization procedures (clearance probability: 39% in hospitals, 27% in long-term acute care facilities, and 3% in nursing homes) yielded a relative reduction of 23.7% (range, 23.5%-23.9%) in MRSA prevalence, averting 3515 new transmission events (95% CI, 3509-3521 events). Increasing the effectiveness of antiseptic bathing soap to 48% yielded a relative reduction of 39.9% (range, 38.5%-41.5%) in CRE prevalence, averting 1435 new transmission events (95% CI, 1427-1442 events). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE The findings of this study highlight the ways in which modeling can inform design of regional interventions and suggested that decolonization would be the best strategy for the Shared Healthcare Intervention to Eliminate Life-threatening Dissemination of MDROs in Orange County.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah M. Bartsch
- Public Health Informatics, Computational, and Operations Research, Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, City University of New York, New York, New York
| | - Kim F. Wong
- Center for Simulation and Modeling, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Leslie E. Mueller
- Public Health Informatics, Computational, and Operations Research, Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, City University of New York, New York, New York
| | - Gabrielle M. Gussin
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Health Policy Research Institute, Health School of Medicine, University of California–Irvine, Irvine
| | - James A. McKinnell
- Infectious Disease Clinical Outcomes Research Unit, Lundquist Institute, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, California
- Torrance Memorial Medical Center, Torrance, California
| | - Thomas Tjoa
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Health Policy Research Institute, Health School of Medicine, University of California–Irvine, Irvine
| | - Patrick T. Wedlock
- Public Health Informatics, Computational, and Operations Research, Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, City University of New York, New York, New York
| | - Jiayi He
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Health Policy Research Institute, Health School of Medicine, University of California–Irvine, Irvine
| | - Justin Chang
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Health Policy Research Institute, Health School of Medicine, University of California–Irvine, Irvine
| | - Shruti K. Gohil
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Health Policy Research Institute, Health School of Medicine, University of California–Irvine, Irvine
| | | | - Susan S. Huang
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Health Policy Research Institute, Health School of Medicine, University of California–Irvine, Irvine
| | - Bruce Y. Lee
- Public Health Informatics, Computational, and Operations Research, Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, City University of New York, New York, New York
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Lee BY, Bartsch SM, Lin MY, Asti L, Welling J, Mueller LE, Leonard J, Brown ST, Doshi K, Kemble SK, Mitgang EA, Weinstein RA, Trick WE, Hayden MK. How Long-Term Acute Care Hospitals Can Play an Important Role in Controlling Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae in a Region: A Simulation Modeling Study. Am J Epidemiol 2021; 190:448-458. [PMID: 33145594 DOI: 10.1093/aje/kwaa247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2019] [Revised: 10/27/2020] [Accepted: 10/29/2020] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Typically, long-term acute care hospitals (LTACHs) have less experience in and incentives to implementing aggressive infection control for drug-resistant organisms such as carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) than acute care hospitals. Decision makers need to understand how implementing control measures in LTACHs can impact CRE spread regionwide. Using our Chicago metropolitan region agent-based model to simulate CRE spread and control, we estimated that a prevention bundle in only LTACHs decreased prevalence by a relative 4.6%-17.1%, averted 1,090-2,795 new carriers, 273-722 infections and 37-87 deaths over 3 years and saved $30.5-$69.1 million, compared with no CRE control measures. When LTACHs and intensive care units intervened, prevalence decreased by a relative 21.2%. Adding LTACHs averted an additional 1,995 carriers, 513 infections, and 62 deaths, and saved $47.6 million beyond implementation in intensive care units alone. Thus, LTACHs may be more important than other acute care settings for controlling CRE, and regional efforts to control drug-resistant organisms should start with LTACHs as a centerpiece.
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