Vital Signs Issue: March 2016

Superbugs threaten hospital patients

1 in 4 catheter- and surgery-related HAIs caused by

six resistant bacteria in long-term hospitals

America is doing a better job of preventing healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), but more work is needed – especially in fighting antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) latest Vital Signs report urges healthcare workers to use a combination of infection control recommendations to better protect patients from these infections.

“New data show that far too many patients are getting infected with dangerous, drug-resistant bacteria in healthcare settings,” said CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. “Doctors and healthcare facilities have the power to protect patients – no one should get sick while trying to get well.”

Many of the most urgent and serious antibiotic-resistant bacteria threaten patients while they are being treated in healthcare facilities for other conditions, and may lead to sepsis or death. In acute care hospitals, 1 in 7 catheter- and surgery-related HAIs can be caused by any of the six antibiotic-resistant bacteria listed below. That number increases to 1 in 4 infections in long-term acute care hospitals, which treat patients who are generally very sick and stay, on average, more than 25 days.

The six antibiotic-resistant threats examined are:
•Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE)
•Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)
•ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae (extended-spectrum β-lactamases)
•Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE)
•Multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa
•Multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter

U.S. hospitals doing better at preventing most HAIs

The national data in this Vital Signs report, along with data from CDC’s latest annual progress report on HAI prevention, show that acute care hospitals have achieved:
•A 50 percent decrease in central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) between 2008 and 2014. ◦1 in 6 remaining CLABSIs are caused by urgent or serious antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

•A 17 percent decrease in surgical site infections (SSIs) between 2008 and 2014 related to 10 procedures tracked in previous HAI progress reports. ◦1 in 7 remaining SSIs are caused by urgent or serious antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

•No change in the overall catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) between 2009 and 2014. During this time, however, there was progress in non-ICU settings, progress in all settings between 2013 and 2014, and most notably, even more progress in all settings towards the end of 2014. ◦1 in 10 CAUTIs are caused by urgent or serious antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Read the entire press release and learn more about HAIs

Vital Signs is a monthly report that appears as part of the CDC journal, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Learn More!