Superbugs threaten hospital patients

News from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): 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

For details, see CDC.

Posted by Dr. Tim Sandle