Protecting Patients and Stopping Outbreaks

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Your patients can get infections when receiving healthcare, called healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). HAIs are commonly caused by antibiotic-resistant pathogens (harmful germs), which may lead to sepsis or death. People can also get antibiotic-resistant infections in their community, for example, gonorrhea, tuberculosis (TB), or foodborne infections.

Take the following actions to help protect your patients and people in the community from antibiotic-resistant infections.

Help Prevent Infections and their Spread

Follow infection prevention and control guidelines (including screening at-risk patients when indicated):
Ask patients if they have recently received care in another facility or traveled to another country (germs can spread easily across borders).
Ensure your patients receive recommended vaccines, and talk to them and their families about:
- Preventing infections
- Keeping scrapes and wounds clean
- Managing chronic conditions
- Seeking medical care when an infection is not getting better
- Understanding when antibiotics are needed
Alert the receiving facility when transferring patients who are colonized or infected with antibiotic-resistant germs, and ask colleagues to use an Inter-Facility Infection Control Transfer Form pdf icon[PDF – 3 pages]
Educate patients on ways to prevent spread
Stay informed of current outbreaks

Improve Antibiotic Prescribing

Antibiotics save lives, but any time they are used it can cause side effects and lead to antibiotic resistance.

Follow clinical and treatment guidelines. Support CDC’s Core Elements of Antibiotic Stewardship to ensure appropriate antibiotic use
Consider fungal infections for patients with respiratory infections that do not respond to antibiotics, for example:
- Valley fever (coccidioidomycosis)
- Histoplasmosis
- Blastomycosis
Watch for signs and symptoms of sepsis: Clinical Resources and Guidelines
Perform appropriate diagnostic tests to guide antibiotic therapy, including correct drug, dose, and duration
Optimize TB therapy: Treatment for TB Disease

Be Alert and Take Action

Be aware of infections and resistance patterns in your facility and community
Ensure you are notified by lab immediately when antibiotic-resistant germs are identified in your patients
Inform patients and families if they have an antibiotic-resistant infection, as well as sexual partners when appropriate (e.g. gonorrhea)
Know when to report cases and submit resistant isolates to the health department to help identify unusual resistance or treatment failures
- For example, report gonorrhea isolates with decreased cephalosporin susceptibility or clinical treatment failure to CDC through your state or local public health authority