CDC - Blogs - Safe Healthcare – SHEA Scientific Meeting Featured Cutting Edge Research on Prevention and Treatment of HAIs

SHEA Scientific Meeting Featured Cutting Edge Research on Prevention and Treatment of HAIs
Categories: Antibiotic use, Hand Hygiene, Healthcare-associated infections

April 6th, 2011 8:17 am ET -

Steven M. Gordon, MD, FACP

Guest Author – Steven M. Gordon, MD, FACP
President of SHEA

The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America’s 21st Annual Meeting provided a forum for discussing the latest research, evidence and advances in healthcare epidemiology, with the goal of bringing this knowledge one step closer to bedside implementation and the elimination of healthcare-associated infections. More than 1,600 academicians, researchers, frontline providers, infection preventionists and public health officials attended the four-day event in Dallas.

Two studies that highlight the breadth of the work presented at this year’s meeting are highlighted below. The first, from researchers with the Salt Lake City VA Healthcare System, demonstrates the rising use of broad-spectrum antibiotics over a five-year period. This increased use may be impacting the efficacy of our most powerful antibiotics.

In an era of multi-drug resistant organisms, clinicians are placed in a difficult situation. Because treatment outcomes of many bacterial infections are influenced by the timing of appropriate therapy, the increasing presence of resistant organisms triggers greater use of these powerful antibiotics for proven or suspected infections in hospitalized patients. Studies like this are critical to our understanding of antibiotic resistance.

In another study, an interprofessional team from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine looked to compare Legionella spp. and HPC counts in water from electronic and manual faucets in patient units of The Johns Hopkins Hospital. After culturing the water and dismantling the faucets, researchers found that each of the six internal pieces of every electronic faucet harbored bacteria. While Legionella spp. and small amounts of bacteria in water generally do not affect healthy individuals, they can pose a threat to immunocompromised patients in healthcare facilities. This study points to the importance of examining technological advances in real-world care settings to ensure safety.

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CDC - Blogs - Safe Healthcare – SHEA Scientific Meeting Featured Cutting Edge Research on Prevention and Treatment of HAIs




Large Veterans Health Administration Study Shows ‘Last Resort’ Antibiotics Use on the Rise

Dallas, TX (April 3, 2011) – A large, multi-year study of antibiotic use in Veterans Health Administration’s acute care facilities demonstrates dramatically increased use of carbapenems, a powerful class of antibiotics, over the last five years. These drugs are often considered the last treatment option for severe infections with multi-drug resistant pathogens. The increased carbapenem use, which has also been described in non-VA facilities in the US, is alarming because carbapenem-resistant bacteria are becoming more common. Overuse of these drugs could weaken their efficacy, threatening their effectiveness against these and other emerging infections. The study was presented today at the annual meeting of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA).

Using barcode medication administration (BCMA) data for antibiotics administered in 110 VA acute care health facilities from 2005-2009, Makoto Jones, MD, and colleagues identified an increasing trend in the use of broad spectrum antibiotics. In the study’s five year period, researchers noted a gradual increase in overall antibiotic use, but striking increases in the use of carbapenems (102 percent increase), intravenous vancomycin (79 percent increase), and combinations of penicillin with beta-lactamase-inhibitors (41 percent increase). Fluoroquinolones were the most frequently used drugs across facilities, accounting for 20 percent of all antibiotic use.

“Use of these antibiotics helps the patient receiving the treatment, but has future consequences for innocent bystanders,” said Jones. “The more these drugs are used, the more resistance we see.” Additionally, the researchers noted that the quantity of antibiotics reported from VA facilities seems to be similar to reported data from non-VA hospitals in the US. [Read more: Large Veterans Health Administration Study Shows ‘Last Resort’ Antibiotics Use on the Rise]




Electronic Faucets Unsafe for Use in High-Risk Patient Hospital Settings: Study Shows Automatic Faucets Carry High Levels of Bacteria

Dallas, TX (March 31, 2011) – Researchers at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have determined that electronic faucets are more likely to become contaminated with unacceptably high levels of bacteria, including Legionella spp., compared with traditional manually operated faucets. The study will be presented on Saturday at the annual meeting of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA).

Electronic-eye, non-touch faucets have been increasingly utilized in healthcare settings to lower water consumption and in an attempt to reduce recontamination of the hands of healthcare personnel. Emily Sydnor, MD, infectious disease fellow at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and colleagues, working in conjunction with the facilities and engineering departments at Johns Hopkins Hospital examined bacterial growth from faucets of two clinical wards within the hospital from December 2008 through January 2009. Their study included 20 manual faucets and 20 electronic faucets, each receiving water from the same source.

Cultures obtained from the faucets showed that 50 percent of water cultures from electronic faucets grew Legionella spp. compared to 15 percent of water cultures from manual faucets. Sydnor also found that 26 percent of water cultures from electronic faucets had significant growth on heterotrophic plate count (HPC) cultures, an estimate of the number of bacteria in the water, compared to 13 percent of water cultures from manual faucets. While the HPC rates were not statistically different, Sydnor believes the differences are worth noting. [Read more: Electronic Faucets Unsafe for Use in High-Risk Patient Hospital Settings: Study Shows Automatic Faucets Carry High Levels of Bacteria]