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ABSTRACT: Background
The optimal extent of screening of contact patients (CoPat) after exposure to patients infected or colonized with vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) remains controversial.Methods
We retrospectively developed a new risk stratification for screening patients exposed to VRE, based on data from three outbreaks-two with Enterococcus faecium vanB and one with Enterococcus faecium vanA involving 1096 CoPat-in a low endemic setting. We classified them into four risk groups: three on environmental exposure, one by healthcare exposure: high (sharing the same room/bathroom with a VRE-colonized patient), medium (hospitalization in the same room after a VRE-colonized patient's discharge until terminal disinfection including ultraviolet C (UVc)-disinfection), low (hospitalized in the same room within three weeks before the VRE-colonized patient), and "staff" (screening of patients having the same medical care team).Results
VRE-transmission occurred in 7.9% in the high-risk group compared to 0.6% and 0% in the medium and low risk groups. There was a significant trend to higher rates of transmission by risk level of exposure (p < 0.001). In the "staff" group, VRE transmission rate was 2.3%.Conclusion
Based on this stratification, we recommend to focus screening of exposed CoPat on the high-risk and "staff" group, saving resources and costs, but larger studies will allow to further improve the yield of VRE screening in the outbreak setting.
SUBMITTER: Buchler AC
PROVIDER: S-EPMC9008949 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Apr
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Büchler Andrea C AC Ragozzino Silvio S Wicki Melanie M Spaniol Violeta V Jäger Sammy S Seth-Smith Helena M B HMB Goldenberger Daniel D Hinic Vladimira V Egli Adrian A Frei Reno R Widmer Andreas F AF
Antimicrobial resistance and infection control 20220413 1
<h4>Background</h4>The optimal extent of screening of contact patients (CoPat) after exposure to patients infected or colonized with vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) remains controversial.<h4>Methods</h4>We retrospectively developed a new risk stratification for screening patients exposed to VRE, based on data from three outbreaks-two with Enterococcus faecium vanB and one with Enterococcus faecium vanA involving 1096 CoPat-in a low endemic setting. We classified them into four risk groups ...[more]