Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Elizaga, Marnie L.
• Weinstein, Robert A.
• Hayden, Mary K.

Titel

Patients in Long-Term Care Facilities: A Reservoir for Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci

Ist Teil von

• Clinical infectious diseases, 2002-02, Vol.34 (4), p.441-446

Ort / Verlag

Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press

Erscheinungsjahr

2002

Quelle

Oxford Journals 2020 Medicine

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• A prospective cohort study with culture surveys and chart reviews was conducted to determine the prevalence of rectal colonization with vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) and to identify risk factors for colonization among 100 residents of 20 different long-term care facilities (LTCFs) who were admitted to 2 medical wards of an academic acute care hospital. On admission to the hospital, 45 (45%) of these 100 patients were determined to be harboring VRE. Prior use of antibiotics and the presence of a decubitus ulcer were identified as risk factors. Fourteen other LTCF residents-33% of those at risk-acquired VRE in the hospital. Antecubital skin colonization with VRE was detected in 28% of patients. Hospital ward surveillance revealed a 60% mean point prevalence of VRE colonization among patients in LTCFs, compared with 21% for other patients (P < .001). Patients in LTCFs in urban referral hospitals are a major reservoir for VRE, which can be transmitted to other inpatients in the hospital, in the LTCF, and in smaller community hospitals.