New CDC- funded study finds success in preventing CRE – the “nightmare bacteria”

New CDC- funded study finds success in preventing CRE – the “nightmare bacteria”

 





























CDC microbiologist demonstrates the
modified Hodge test, which is used to
identify antibiotic resistance in
bacteria known as Enterobacteriaceae.
Bacteria that are resistant to
carbapenems, considered
“last resort” antibiotics, produce a
distinctive clover-leaf shape.

Learn more about carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) in healthcare settings here: http://www.cdc.gov/HAI/organisms/cre/index.html. 

Researchers from the Chicago Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Prevention Epicenter (C-PIE) were able to reduce colonization and infection of Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase‐producing Enterobacteriaceae (KPC CRE) at four long‐term acute care hospitals using a bundled approach of prevention strategies.

Healthcare‐associated infections due to antibiotic‐resistant bacteria result in greater risk of death and higher costs.  In 2013, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) declared carbapenem‐resistant Enterobacteriaceae an immediate public health threat requiring urgent and aggressive action.  Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase‐producing Enterobacteriaceae (KPC) are the most common carbapenem‐resistant Enterobacteriaceae worldwide.  The C-PIE study was planned as a quality improvement project to prevent CRE colonization and infection in long‐term acute care hospitals (LTACHs) in metropolitan Chicago, Illinois, USA. Four of 7 LTACHs in the region were invited and agreed to participate in the project.  Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase‐producing Enterobacteriaceae are an increasing threat to healthcare institutions. Long‐term acute care hospitals have especially high prevalence of KPC.  Read the study in Clinical Infectious Diseases here:http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/ciu1173?ijkey=tTKDbp6XNhnCBY3&keytype=ref.