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Healthcare-associated Stenotrophomonas maltophilia infections in the United States, 2018–2022
- Amelia Keaton, Lucy Fike, Kevin Spicer, Alexander Kallen, Kiran Perkins
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- Journal:
- Antimicrobial Stewardship & Healthcare Epidemiology / Volume 3 / Issue S2 / June 2023
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 29 September 2023, p. s89
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Background: Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is an important cause of opportunistic healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in critically ill patients and is difficult to treat due to intrinsic resistance to multiple antibiotic classes. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the CDC received anecdotal reports of increases in S. maltophilia respiratory infections. To further investigate these reports, we used a national electronic healthcare database to evaluate changes in S. maltophilia during the pandemic. Methods: Using the PINC-AI healthcare data (Premier Inc, Charlotte, NC) we identified all potential HAIs by calculating the total number of unique patients hospitalized during January 1, 2018, through December 31, 2021, who had any organism isolated on clinical culture obtained >3 days after admission. We calculated the proportion of patients with S. maltophilia detected in culture and stratified them by specimen source. To determine whether COVID-19 diagnosis influenced the proportion of patients diagnosed with S. maltophilia respiratory infections during the pandemic (January 1, 2020–December 31, 2021), we calculated the proportion of patients with S. maltophilia detected among those with any bacterial pathogen isolated from a respiratory culture >3 days after hospitalization. We stratified these results by presence or absence of concurrent COVID-19 diagnosis. Pearson χ2 test was used to test for differences where appropriate. Results: Among hospitalized patients with any organism isolated from a clinical culture, the proportion with S. maltophilia detected was higher in 2021 (n = 2,554 of 118,029, 2.2%) than in 2018 (n = 2,063 of 155,624, 1.3%) p 3 days after hospital admission from 2018 to 2021. Most patient isolates were from respiratory specimens. A concurrent diagnosis of COVID-19 did not appear to increase the likelihood of respiratory S. maltophilia detection. The increases in S. maltophilia during the pandemic might be explained by challenges inherent to caring for increased numbers of higher-acuity patients during this time, including staffing shortages and changes to infection prevention practices. Additional exploration of these data, as well as data from other sources and from additional years, may help to elucidate this issue more fully.
Disclosures: None
Outbreak of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia infections in an intensive care unit—Alameda County, California, May–October 2022
- Rebeca Elliott, Jeffrey Silvers, Axel Vazquez Deida, Paige Gable, Gillian McAllister, Alyssa Kent, Thomas Ewing, Janet Glowicz, Matthew Arduino, Heather Moulton-Meissner, Mir Noorbakhsh, Patricia Rodrigues, Munira Shemsu, Amit Chitnis, Hilary Metcalf, Barbara Allen, Suada Abdic, Alison Halpin, Kavita Trivedi, Amelia Keaton, Margarita Elsa Villarino
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- Journal:
- Antimicrobial Stewardship & Healthcare Epidemiology / Volume 3 / Issue S2 / June 2023
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 29 September 2023, p. s89
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Background: Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is a gram-negative, biofilm-producing bacterium that is ubiquitous in water environments and often associated with healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). Outbreaks of S. maltophilia bloodstream infections are a rare event and raise the suspicion of a common source. We used whole-genome sequencing (WGS) for an investigation of a cluster of S. maltophilia HAIs at a single hospital. Methods: A patient was defined as an intensive care unit (ICU) patient with fever and S. maltophilia isolated from a culture and who was treated for an HAI from May to October 2022. The response to the cluster included an epidemiologic investigation, water infection control risk assessments (WICRA), and environmental sampling. We also conducted WGS to characterize and assess relatedness between clinical and environmental S. maltophilia isolates. Results: From May 5 to October 1, 2022, we identified 11 HAIs due to S. maltophilia: 9 bloodstream infections and 2 ventilator-associated pneumonia cases. The initial epidemiological investigation did not identify common medical products, procedures, or personnel as an exposure source. The WICRA identified several breaches that may have exposed patients to contaminated water from sink backsplashes in the ICU, computerized tomography (CT) rooms, and the emergency department. In the CT rooms, saline bags were sometimes used for multiple patients, as were single-use intravenous contrast solution bottles. No additional cases were identified once infection control breaches were mitigated by installing sink splashguards, disinfecting drains, dedicating sink use for handwashing, and adhering to single-patient use of pharmaceutical products in the CT rooms. Of 46 environmental water samples, 19 were culture-positive for S. maltophilia. Isolates available for WGS included 7 clinical isolates (6 blood and 1 respiratory) and 17 environmental isolates. Among the 24 isolates sequenced, 16 unique multilocus sequence types (MLSTs) were identified. The 6 blood isolates sequenced were highly related (ST239, 0–4 high-quality, single-nucleotide variants [hqSNV] over 98.99% core genome), suggesting a common source. Two clusters of related environmental isolates were identified; however, overall MLST and hqSNV analyses suggested no relatedness between clinical and environmental isolates. Conclusions: An ICU cluster of S. maltophilia bloodstream infections was likely associated with water contamination of room surfaces and use of single-use intravenous products for multiple patients in the setting of a national pharmaceutical product shortage. This investigation highlights the importance of strong surveillance and water infection control, including routine assessment of ancillary areas in which intravenous products are administered and interdisciplinary collaboration to properly mitigate nosocomial transmission.
Disclosures: None
Severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreaks in nursing homes involving residents who had completed a primary coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine series—13 US jurisdictions, July–November 2021
- W. Wyatt Wilson, Amelia A. Keaton, Lucas G. Ochoa, Kelly M. Hatfield, Paige Gable, Kelly A. Walblay, Richard A. Teran, Meghan Shea, Urooj Khan, Ginger Stringer, Joanne G. Colletti, Erin M. Grogan, Carly Calabrese, Andrew Hennenfent, Rebecca Perlmutter, Katherine A. Janiszewski, Ishrat Kamal-Ahmed, Kyle Strand, Emily Berns, Jennifer MacFarquhar, Meghan Linder, Dat J. Tran, Patricia Kopp, Rebecca M. Walker, Rebekah Ess, Jennifer S. Read, Chelsey Yingst, James Baggs, John A. Jernigan, Alex Kallen, Jennifer C. Hunter, the MOVIN Surveillance Team
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- Journal:
- Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology / Volume 44 / Issue 6 / June 2023
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 16 January 2023, pp. 1005-1009
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- June 2023
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Among nursing home outbreaks of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) with ≥3 breakthrough infections when the predominant severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variant circulating was the SARS-CoV-2 δ (delta) variant, fully vaccinated residents were 28% less likely to be infected than were unvaccinated residents. Once infected, they had approximately half the risk for all-cause hospitalization and all-cause death compared with unvaccinated infected residents.
Multistate outbreak of Salmonella Mbandaka infections linked to sweetened puffed wheat cereal – United States, 2018
- Amelia A. Keaton, Colin A. Schwensohn, Joshua M. Brandenburg, Evelyn Pereira, Brandon Adcock, Selam Tecle, Rachel Hinnenkamp, Jeff Havens, Kim Bailey, Brad Applegate, Pamela Whitney, Deborah Gibson, Kathy Manion, Michelle Griffin, Joy Ritter, Carrie Biskupiak, Kadri Ajileye, Mugdha Golwalkar, Michael Gosciminski, Brendalee Viveiros, Genevieve Caron, Laine McCullough, Lori Smith, Eshaw Vidyaprakash, Matthew Doyle, Cerise Hardy, Elisa L. Elliot, Laura B. Gieraltowski
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- Journal:
- Epidemiology & Infection / Volume 150 / 2022
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 20 June 2022, e135
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In May of 2018, PulseNet, the national molecular subtyping network for enteric pathogens, detected a multistate cluster of illnesses caused by an uncommon molecular subtype of Salmonella serovar Mbandaka. A case was defined as an illness in a person infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Mbandaka with illness onset on or after 3 March 2018 and before 1 September 2018. One-hundred thirty-six cases from 36 states were identified; 35 hospitalisations and no deaths were reported. Ill people ranged in age from <1 year to 95 years (median: 57 years). When standardised questionnaires did not generate a strong hypothesis, opened-ended interviews were performed. Sixty-three of 84 (75%) ultimately reported consuming or possibly consuming a specific sweetened puffed wheat cereal in the week before illness onset. Environmental sampling performed at the cereal manufacturing facility yielded the outbreak strain. The outbreak strain was also isolated from open cereal samples from ill people's homes and from a sealed retail sample. Due to these findings, the brand owner of the product issued a voluntary recall of the cereal on 14 June 2018. Additional investigation of the manufacturing facility identified persistent environmental contamination with Salmonella Mbandaka that was closely genetically related to other isolates in the outbreak. This investigation highlights the ability of Salmonella to survive in low-moisture environments, and the potential for prolonged outbreaks linked to products with long shelf lives and large distribution areas.
Verona Integron-Encoded Metallo-Beta-Lactamase (VIM)–Producing Pseudomonas aeruginosa Outbreak Associated with Acute Care
- Allison Chan, Alicia Shugart, Albert Burks, Christina Moore, Paige Gable, Heather Moulton-Meissner, Gillian McAllister, Alison Halpin, Maroya Walters, Amelia Keaton, Kelley Tobey, Katie Thure, Sarah Schmedes, Paige Gable, Henrietta Hardin, Adrian Lawsin
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- Journal:
- Antimicrobial Stewardship & Healthcare Epidemiology / Volume 1 / Issue S1 / July 2021
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 29 July 2021, p. s26
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Background: Contaminated healthcare facility plumbing is increasingly recognized as a source of carbapenemase-producing organisms (CPOs). In August 2019, the Tennessee State Public Health Laboratory identified Tennessee’s twelfth VIM-producing carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (VIM-CRPA), from a patient in a long-term acute-care hospital. To determine a potential reservoir, the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) reviewed healthcare exposures for all cases. Four cases (33%), including the most recent case and earliest from March 2018, had a history of admission to intensive care unit (ICU) room X at acute-care hospital A (ACH A), but the specimens were collected at other facilities. The Public Health Laboratory collaborated with ACH A to assess exposures, perform environmental sampling, and implement control measures. Methods: TDH conducted in-person infection prevention assessments with ACH A, including a review of the water management program. Initial recommendations included placing all patients admitted to room X on contact precautions, screening for CPO on room discharge, daily sink basin and counter cleaning, and other sink hygiene measures. TDH collected environmental and water samples from 5 ICU sinks (ie, the handwashing and bathroom sinks in room X and neighboring room Y [control] and 1 hallway sink) and assessed the presence of VIM-CRPA. Moreover, 5 patients and 4 environmental VIM-CRPA underwent whole-genome sequencing (WGS). Results: From February to June 2020, of 21 patients admitted to room X, 9 (43%) underwent discharge screening and 4 (44%) were colonized with VIM-CRPA. Average room X length of stay was longer for colonized patients (11.3 vs 4.8 days). Drain swabs from room X’s bathroom and handwashing sinks grew VIM-CRPA; VIM-CRPA was not detected in tap water or other swab samples. VIM-CRPA from the environment and patients were sequence type 253 and varied by 0–13 single-nucleotide variants. ACH A replaced room X’s sinks and external plumbing in July. Discharge screening and contact precautions for all patients were discontinued in November, 5 months following the last case and 12 consecutive negative patient discharge screens. Improved sink hygiene and mechanism testing for CRPA from clinical cultures continued, with no new cases identified. Conclusions: An ICU room with a persistently contaminated sink drain was a persistent reservoir of VIM-CRPA. The room X attack rate was high, with VIM-CRPA acquisition occurring in >40% of patients screened. The use of contaminated plumbing fixtures in ACH have the potential to facilitate transmission to patients but may be challenging to identify and remediate. All healthcare facilities should follow sink hygiene best practices.
Funding: No
Disclosures: None
Evaluation of Patient Risk Factors for Carbapenemase-Producing Organism Colonization
- Carolyn Stover, Allison Chan, Snigdha Vallabhaneni, Allison Brown, Amelia Keaton, Alicia Shugart, Nychie Dotson, Sebastian Arenas, Marion Kainer, Maroya Walters
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- Journal:
- Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology / Volume 41 / Issue S1 / October 2020
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 02 November 2020, pp. s229-s230
- Print publication:
- October 2020
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Background: Carbapenemase-producing organisms (CPOs) are a growing antibiotic resistance threat. Colonization screening can be used to identify asymptomatically colonized individuals for implementation of transmission-based precautions. Identifying high-risk patients and settings to prioritize screening recommendations can preserve facility resources. To inform screening recommendations, we analyzed CPO admission screens and screening conducted on point-prevalence surveys (PPSs) performed through the Antibiotic Resistance Laboratory Network’s Southeast Regional Laboratory (SE AR Lab Network). Methods: During 2017–2019, the SE AR Lab Network collected data via a REDCap survey for a subset of CPO screens on a limited set of easily determined patient risk factors. Rectal swabs were collected and tested with the Cepheid Carba-R. Specimens collected within 2 days of admission were classified as admission screening and the remainder were classified as PPS. Index cases were excluded from analyses. Odd ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals were calculated, and a value of 0.1 was used for cells with a value of zero. Results: In total, 520 screens were conducted, which included 366 admission screens at 2 facilities and 154 screens from 27 PPSs at 8 facilities. CPOs were detected in 14 (2.7%) screens, including in 10 (2.7%) admission screens and in 4 (2.6%) contacts during PPSs; carbapenemases detected were Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC) (n = 12), New Delhi Metallo-β-lactamase (NDM) (n = 1) and Verona Integron-Encoded Metallo-β-lactamase (VIM) (n = 1). One long-term acute care hospital (LTACH) performed universal admission screening, which accounted for 96% of admission screens and all 10 CPOs detected by admission screening. Mechanical ventilation (OR, 5.0; 95% CI, 1.4–18.0) and the presence of a tracheostomy (OR, 5.4; 95% CI, 1.5–19.4) were associated with a positive admission screen. Moreover, 8 facilities conducted PPSs: 4 acute care hospitals, 2 long-term acute care hospitals, and 2 nursing homes. CPO prevalence in long-term acute care hospitals was 4.8% (2 of 42), 2.4% (1 of 41) in acute care hospitals, and 1.5% (1 of 69) in nursing homes. Requiring assistance with bathing (OR, 4.8; 95% CI, 1.6–8.0) and stool incontinence (OR, 16.6; 95% CI, 13.4–19.8) were associated with a positive screen on PPSs. All 7 roommates of known cases tested negative for CPO colonization. Conclusions: Findings suggest that patients with certain easily assessed characteristics, such as mechanical ventilation, tracheostomy, or stool incontinence or who require bathing assistance, may be associated with CPO positivity during screening. Further data collection and analysis of such risk factors may provide insight for the development of more targeted admission and contact screening strategies.
Funding: None
Disclosures: None
Determining Core Element Achievement in Long-Term Care Facilities Across Tennessee
- Cullen Adre, Youssoufou Ouedraogo, Christopher David Evans, Amelia Keaton, Marion Kainer
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- Journal:
- Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology / Volume 41 / Issue S1 / October 2020
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 02 November 2020, p. s89
- Print publication:
- October 2020
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Background: In 2017, a new antimicrobial stewardship standard was established by the Joint Commission that requires long-term care facilities (LTCFs) to have an antimicrobial stewardship program (ASP) based on current scientific literature. The Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) team sought to ascertain the current state of ASPs across Tennessee and to assist programs with implementation strategies. Utilizing a Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services’ Civil Monetary Penalties grant, the TDH purchased copies of the National Quality Partners Playbook for Antibiotic Stewardship in Post-Acute and Long-Term Care to provide to LTCFs as incentive to complete a survey that would evaluate their current adoption of core elements. Methods: A self-administered questionnaire on ASP practices was developed and distributed to LCTFs. This survey expanded upon questions from the NHSN 2018 LTCF annual survey. These questions pertained to actionable items facilities are taking to achieve core elements. Achievement of the CDC’s 7 core elements of ASPs was determined based upon a combination of 1 or more responses to the survey questions. The percentage of LTCFs achieving each ASP core element at the regional and statewide level was determined. We also calculated the percentage of LTCFs that achieved all 7 elements versus 5 or more core elements. The analyses and visualizations were performed using SAS 9.4 and Tableau software. Results: Currently, 88 of 316 licensed LTCF facilities in Tennessee have participated in the survey. All regions were represented by EMS region. Based on the results of our survey, 100% of participating facilities have achieved at least 5 core elements, and 78% of participating facilities have achieved all 7 core elements. The core element with the lowest achievement was Accountability at 89%, and reporting and action had the highest achievement (100%). Conclusions: Early results suggest that LTCFs across Tennessee have active ASPs with strong core element achievement. However, we received responses from only 27% of licensed LTCFs. Minimal data are available regarding the current state of LTCF ASPs in Tennessee, and data will continue to be collected and analyzed. Participation may be limited to those already actively engaged in public health efforts, including antimicrobial stewardship. LTCFs that have participated in the initial evaluation will be surveyed at 6 months and 12 months after receipt of playbooks to evaluate their ASP progression and NQP Playbook utilization.
Funding: None
Disclosures: None
Determining Antibiotic Use in Long-Term Care Facilities Across Tennessee
- Cullen Adre, Youssoufou Ouedraogo, Christopher David Evans, Amelia Keaton, Marion Kainer
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- Journal:
- Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology / Volume 41 / Issue S1 / October 2020
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 02 November 2020, pp. s185-s186
- Print publication:
- October 2020
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Background: Antibiotic stewardship is an area of great concern in long-term care facilities nationwide. The CDC promotes 7 core elements of antimicrobial stewardship. Based on information obtained from the Infection Control Assessment and Response (ICAR) Program, the 2 core elements most infrequently achieved by LTCFs are tracking and reporting. Currently, minimal data are available on antibiotic use (AU) in LTCFs in Tennessee. To address both issues, the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) developed a monthly antibiotic use (AU) point-prevalence (PP) survey to provide LTCFs with a free tool to both track and report their AU and to gather data on how LTCFs are using antibiotics. Methods: We used REDCap to create a questionnaire to collect information on selected antibiotics administered in Tennessee LTCFs. This self-administered survey was promoted through the TDH monthly antimicrobial stewardship and infection control (ASIC) call as well as at various conferences and speaking engagements across the state. Antimicrobial stewardship leads for each facility were targeted. Antibiotics were grouped into 4 classes according to their indications: C. difficile infections, urinary tract infections, skin and soft-tissue infections (SSTIs) and respiratory infections. We determined AU percentage by dividing the number of days of therapy for a drug by a facility’s average census. Individualized reports are provided to each participating facility on a quarterly basis. Results: Currently, 16 facilities have participated in the survey. Overall, 40.7% of antibiotics prescribed were in the common for SSTI category and 39.3% were common for respiratory infections. The top 33 most commonly prescribed antibiotics were amoxicillin (156 days of therapy [DOT]), nitrofurantoin (92 DOT), and levofloxacin (88 DOT). The average percentage of residents on antimicrobials on the day of survey was 12.3%; within this group, 57% of antibiotics were initiated in the LTCF, whereas 43% were present upon admission. Conclusions: Early results from the TDH AU PP survey revealed that drugs commonly used for SSTIs and respiratory infection were the most common antibiotic prescriptions and a potential area of focus for TDH’s antimicrobial stewardship efforts. None of the 3 most frequently prescribed antibiotics, however, fall under the SSTI indication, despite SSTI being the most commonly prescribed indication based on the survey’s evaluation metrics. This finding could be related to the larger number of antibiotics that fall under the SSTI indication. Preliminary data are being used to guide the direction of TDH’s future ASIC calls to better suit disease states, which have room for improvement.
Funding: None
Disclosures: None
Effects of Susceptibility Result Suppression on National Healthcare Safety Network Antibiotic Resistance Option Data
- Matthew Estes, Youssoufou Ouedraogo, Christopher David Evans, Daniel Muleta, Cullen Adre, Amelia Keaton, Marion Kainer
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- Journal:
- Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology / Volume 41 / Issue S1 / October 2020
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 02 November 2020, pp. s33-s34
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- October 2020
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Background: The National Healthcare Safety Network’s (NHSN) Antibiotic Resistance (AR) Option offers hospitals a way to report antibiotic resistance data from their facility’s laboratory information system and create facility-specific antibiograms. Suppression of select antibiotic susceptibility results may be used by antibiotic stewardship teams to prevent unnecessary use of broad-spectrum therapies by not making those susceptibilities available to providers. To be of use, antibiograms should offer a complete picture of antibiotic resistance. We wanted to understand the impact of data suppression. Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted including data from 2017 and 2018. The clinical susceptibility data for cefotaxime, ceftriaxone, ceftazidime, ertapenem, imipenem, and meropenem against carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (CRPA), Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB), and extended-spectrum β-lactamase–producing Enterobacteriaceae (ESBL) were collected from commercial antimicrobial susceptibility testing instruments (cASTI) in 3 Tennessee healthcare networks that also report to the NHSN AR Option. These data were linked to the NHSN data using 4 keys: date of birth, isolate collection date, pathogen, and specimen source. An isolate was defined as suppressed when susceptibility results were observed from the cASTI but not in NHSN. The proportions of suppressed results were calculated and stratified by genus, facility, and antibiotic. Results: Overall, 1,009 isolates were matched between the NHSN AR data and the laboratory test results. Of these, 4.1% were CRAB, 23.3% were CRPA, and 72.6% were Enterobacteriaceae. In total, 4,948 susceptibility results were available from cASTIs. Suppressed results in NHSN data were observed in 918 isolates (91.0%) and accounted for 2,797 results (56.6%). Of the 817 isolates tested against imipenem, 18.7% were found to be suppressed. Moreover, 100%, 57.9%, and 8.6% of imipenem tests against CRAB, CRPA, and Enterobacteriaceae, respectively, were suppressed. Of the suppressed results, 38.3%, 3.6%, and 58.1% were susceptible, intermediate, and resistant respectively. Of the 363 isolates tested against meropenem, 48.2% were found to be suppressed. In addition, 12.2%, 53.0%, and 52.2% of meropenem tests against CRAB, CRPA, and Enterobacteriaceae, respectively, were suppressed. Of the suppressed results, 47.4%, 11.4%, and 41.1% were susceptible, intermediate, and resistant, respectively. Conclusions: A large proportion of isolates had at least 1 analyzed antibiotic suppressed within the NHSN AR Option. It will be important to develop and implement strategies to ensure that nonsuppressed data are available to be reported to the NHSN AR module.
Funding: None
Disclosures: None