To examine the appropriateness of the decision to quarantine healthcare workers (HCWs) exposed to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Retrospective cohort study.

A tertiary-care medical center in Israel.

HCWs exposed to a coworker infected with severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

Quarantined and nonquarantined HCWs were followed for up to 1 month following exposure and their COVID-19 status was determined. The validity of the decision to quarantine was assessed.

In total, 2,595 HCWs exposed to 419 confirmed index cases were studied. Of the contact cases, 752 HCWs were quarantined and 1,843 HCWs were not. Of those quarantined, 36 became SARS-CoV-2 positive (4.7%). Among those who were not quarantined, only 13 (0.7%) became SARS-CoV-2 positive, which translated to a sensitivity of 73.5% and a specificity of 71.9% for the decision to quarantine (positive and negative predictive values: 4.7% and 99.3%, respectively). Controlling for confounders, the decision to quarantine the HCW by the Israeli Ministry of Health guidelines was associated with a significant risk of becoming SARS-CoV-2 positive (RR, 3.83; 95% CI, 1.98–7.36; P = .001). If a nonselective policy was used, 11,700 working days would have been lost (902 working days lost per positive case).

An efficient and tight system of HCW contact investigations served its purpose in our hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study was based on HCW reports and reported adherence to safety regulations, and these findings are relevant to the massive pandemic waves due to the SARS-CoV-2 α (alpha) variant. These Methods demonstrate an effective way of handling risk without causing damage due to arbitrary risk-control measures.

To determine whether a multifaceted approach effectively influenced antibiotic use in an orthopedics department.

Retrospective cohort study comparing the readmission rate and antibiotic use before and after an intervention.

A 1,000-bed, tertiary-care, university hospital.

Adult patients admitted to the orthopedics department between January 2015 and December 2018.

During the preintervention period (2015–2016), 1 general orthopedic department was in operation. In the postintervention period (2017–2018), 2 separate departments were created: one designated for elective “clean” surgeries and another that included a “complicated wound” unit. A multifaceted strategy including infection prevention measures and introducing antibiotic stewardship practices was implemented. Admission rates, hand hygiene practice compliance, surgical site infections, and antibiotic treatment before versus after the intervention were analyzed.

The number of admissions and hospitalization days in the 2 periods did not change. Seven-day readmissions per annual quarter decreased significantly from the preintervention period (median, 7 days; interquartile range [IQR], 6–9) to the postintervention period (median, 4 days; IQR, 2–7; P = .038). Hand hygiene compliance increased and surgical site infections decreased in the postintervention period. Although total antibiotic use was not reduced, there was a significant change in the breakdown of the different antibiotic classes used before and after the intervention: increased use of narrow-spectrum β-lactams (P < .001) and decreased use of β-lactamase inhibitors (P < .001), third-generation cephalosporins (P = .044), and clindamycin (P < .001).

Restructuring the orthopedics department facilitated better infection prevention measures accompanied by antibiotic stewardship implementation, resulting in a decreased use of broad-spectrum antibiotics and a significant reduction in readmission rates.

To compare risk factors and outcome of patients colonized with carbapenemase-producing (CP) carbapenem-resistant Enterobactereaceae (CRE) and non–CP-CRE.

A comparative historical study.

A 1,000-bed tertiary-care university hospital.

Adults with CP-CRE positive rectal swab cultures, non–CP-CRE positive rectal swab cultures, and negative rectal swab cultures (non-CRE).

CP-CRE and non–CP-CRE colonized adult patients versus patients not colonized with CRE hospitalized during 24 months were included. We identified patients retrospectively through the microbiology laboratory, and we reviewed their files for demographics, underlying diseases, Charlson Index, treatment, and outcome.

This study included 447 patients for whom a rectal swab for CRE was obtained: 147 positive for CP-CRE, 147 positive for non–CP-CRE, and 147 negative for both. Patients with CP-CRE and non–CP-CRE versus no CRE more frequently resided in nursing homes (P<0.001), received antibiotics 3 months prior to admission (P < .001), and received glucocorticosteroids 3 months prior to admission (P = .047 and P < .001, respectively). Risk factors unique for non–CP-CRE versus CP-CRE colonization included mechanical ventilation and patient movement between hospital departments. Non–CP-CRE was a predictor for mechanical ventilation 2.5 that of CP-CRE colonization. In-hospital mortality was highest among non–CP-CRE–colonized patients. On COX multivariate regression for mortality prediction age, Charlson index and steroid treatment 3 months before admission influenced mortality (P = .027, P = .023, and P = .013, respectively).

Overlapping and unique risk factors are associated with CP-CRE and non–CP-CRE colonization. Non–CP-CRE colonized patients had a higher in-hospital mortality rate.

To assess the effectiveness of selective digestive decontamination (SDD) for eradicating carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) oropharyngeal and gastrointestinal carriage.

A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with 7 weeks of follow-up per patient.

A 1,000-bed tertiary-care university hospital.

Adults with CRKP-positive rectal swab cultures.

Patients were blindly randomized (1:1) over a 20-month period. The SDD arm received oral gentamicin and polymyxin E gel (0.5 g 4 times per day) and oral solutions of gentamicin (80 mg 4 times per day) and polymyxin E (1 × 106 units 4 times per day for 7 days). The placebo arm received oral placebo gel 4 times per day and 2 placebo oral solutions 4 times per day for 7 days. Strict contact precautions were applied. Samples obtained from the throat, groin, and urine were also cultured.

Forty patients (mean age ± standard deviation, 71 ± 16 years; 65% male) were included. At screening, greater than or equal to 30% of oropharyngeal, greater than or equal to 60% of skin, and greater than or equal to 35% of urine cultures yielded CRKP isolates. All throat cultures became negative in the SDD arm after 3 days (P< .0001). The percentages of rectal cultures that were positive for CRKP were significandy reduced at 2 weeks. At that time, 16.1% of rectal cultures in the placebo arm and 61.1% in the SDD arm were negative (odds ratio, 0.13; 95% confidence interval, 0.02–0.74; P<.0016). A difference between the percentages in the 2 arms was still maintained at 6 weeks (33.3% vs 58.5%). Groin colonization prevalence did not change in either arm, and the prevalence of urine colonization increased in the placebo arm.

This SDD regimen could be a suitable decolonization therapy for selected patients colonized with CRKP, such as transplant recipients or immunocompromised patients pending chemotherapy and patients who require major intestinal or oropharyngeal surgery. Moreover, in outbreaks caused by CRKP infections that are uncontrolled by routine infection control measures, SDD could provide additional infection containment.

Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2012;33(1):14-19

To devise a local strategy for eradication of a hospital-wide outbreak caused by carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP).

Quasi-experimental, before-and-after, interrupted time-series study.

A 1,000-bed tertiary-care university teaching hospital.

Retrospectively, all relevant data were collected from the medical records of patients with CRKP infections from May 2006 through April 2007, the preintervention period. From May 1, 2007, through May 1, 2010, the postintervention period, the intervention was applied and prospectively followed. The 5 key elements of this strategy were an emergency department flagging system, the building of a cohort ward, the eradication of clusters, environmental and personnel hand cultures, and a carbapenem-restriction policy. The demographic and clinical parameters of patients colonized by and/or infected with CRKP were collected from medical records.

A total of 10,680 rectal cultures were performed for 8,376 patients; 433 (5.16%) and 370 (4.4%) were CRKP-colonized and CRKP-infected patients, respectively, and 789 (98%) of 803 patients were admitted to the CRKP cohort ward. The CRKP infection density was reduced from 5.26 to 0.18 per 10,000 patient-days (P<.001), and no nosocomial CRKP infections were diagnosed. Twenty-three percent of environmental cultures were found to be positive. Meropenem use was reduced from 283 ± 70.92 to 118 ± 74.32 defined daily doses per 1,000 patient-days (P<.001).

This intervention produced an enormous impact on patient location, surveillance cultures, and antibiotic policies and a massive investment in infection control resources.

To determine the attributable (direct) mortality and morbidity caused by carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae bacteremia.

A matched retrospective, historical cohort design, using a stepwise procedure to stringendy match the best control subjects to the best case subjects.

A 1,000-bed tertiary-care university teaching hospital.

Case subjects were defined as adult patients with carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae bacteremia during the period from October 2005 through October 2008. Control subjects were defined as patients who were very similar to case subjects except that they did not have bacteremia.

Matching potential control subjects to case subjects was performed at a 1:1 ratio using a computerized record system. The criteria used included same hospitalization period, similar Charlson comorbidity index, same underlying disease, same age within 10 years, and same sex. Demographic and clinical characteristics were collected from medical records.

During the study period, 319 patients developed an infection due to carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae. Of these 319 patients, 39 (12.2%) developed a bloodstream infection, for an overall rate of 0.59 episodes of carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae bacteremia per 10,000 patient-days. We excluded 7 patients from our study, leaving a total of 32 case subjects in our cohort. Case subjects were significandy more likely than control subjects (n = 32) to require care in an intensive care unit (12 case subjects [37.5%] vs 3 control subjects [9.4%]), ventilator support (17 case subjects [53.1%] vs 8 control subjects [25%]), and use of a central venous catheter (19 case subjects [59.4%] vs 9 control subjects [28.1%]). For case subjects, the crude mortality rate was 71.9% (ie, 23 of the 32 case subjects died); for control subjects, the crude mortality rate was 21.9% (ie, 7 of the 32 control subjects died) (P < .001. For case subjects, the attributable mortality was 50% (95% confidence interval [CI], 15.3%-98.6%). A mortality risk ratio of 3.3 (95% CI, 2.9-28.5) was found for case subjects with carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae bacteremia.

Patients with carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae require more intensive and invasive care. We have shown that the crude and attributable mortality rates associated with carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae bacteremia were striking.