Prevalence of Antimicrobial Resistance in Gram-Negative Bacteria Bloodstream Infections in Peru and Associated Outcomes: VIRAPERU Study.

Surveillance of antimicrobial resistance among gram-negative bacteria (GNB) is of critical importance, but data for Peru are not available. To fill this gap, a non-interventional hospital-based surveillance study was conducted in 15 hospitals across Peru from July 2017 to October 2019. Consecutive unique blood culture isolates of key GNB (Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter spp.) recovered from hospitalized patients were collected for centralized antimicrobial susceptibility testing, along with linked epidemiological and clinical data. A total of 449 isolates were included in the analysis. Resistance to third-generation cephalosporins (3GCs) was present in 266 (59.2%) GNB isolates. Among E. coli (n = 199), 68.3% showed 3GC resistance (i.e., above the median ratio for low- and middle-income countries in 2020 for this sustainable development goal indicator). Carbapenem resistance was present in 74 (16.5%) GNB isolates, with wide variation among species (0% in E. coli, 11.0% in K. pneumoniae, 37.0% in P. aeruginosa, and 60.8% in Acinetobacter spp. isolates). Co-resistance to carbapenems and colistin was found in seven (1.6%) GNB isolates. Empiric treatment covered the causative GNB in 63.3% of 215 cases. The in-hospital case fatality ratio was 33.3% (92/276). Pseudomonas aeruginosa species and carbapenem resistance were associated with higher risk of in-hospital death. In conclusion, an important proportion of bloodstream infections in Peru are caused by highly resistant GNB and are associated with high in-hospital mortality.

Underutilization and Quality Gaps in Blood Culture Processing in Public Hospitals of Peru.

Correct processing of blood cultures may impact individual patient management, antibiotic stewardship, and scaling up of antimicrobial resistance surveillance. To assess the quality of blood culture processing, we conducted four assessments at 16 public hospitals across different regions of Peru. We assessed the following standardized quality indicators: 1) positivity and contamination rates, 2) compliance with recommended number of bottles/sets and volume of blood sampled, 3) blood culture utilization, and 4) possible barriers for compliance with recommendations. Suboptimal performance was found, with a median contamination rate of 4.2% (range 0-15.1%), with only one third of the participating hospitals meeting the target value of < 3%; and a median positivity rate of 4.9% (range 1-8.1%), with only 6 out of the 15 surveilled hospitals meeting the target of 6-12%. None of the assessed hospitals met both targets. The median frequency of solitary blood cultures was 71.9% and only 8.9% (N = 59) of the surveyed adult bottles met the target blood volume of 8 - 12 mL, whereas 90.5% (N = 602) were underfilled. A high frequency of missed opportunities for ordering blood cultures was found (69.9%, 221/316) among patients with clinical indications for blood culture sampling. This multicenter study demonstrates important shortcomings in the quality of blood culture processing in public hospitals of Peru. It provides a national benchmark of blood culture utilization and quality indicators that can be used to monitor future quality improvement studies and diagnostic stewardship policies.

Surgical Site Infections Rates in More Than 13,000 Surgical Procedures in Three Cities in Peru: Findings of the International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium.

BACKGROUND: Surgical site infections (SSIs) are a threat to patient safety. However, there are not available data on SSI rates stratified by surgical procedure (SP) in Peru. METHODS: From January 2005 to December 2010, a cohort prospective surveillance study on SSIs was conducted by the International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium (INICC) in four hospitals in three cities of Peru. Data were recorded from hospitalized patients using the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-National Healthcare Safety Network (CDC-NHSN) methods and definitions for SSI. Surgical procedures (SPs) were classified into 4 types, according to ICD-9 criteria. RESULTS: We recorded 352 SSIs, associated to 13,904 SPs (2.5%; CI, 2.3-2.8) SSI rates per type of SP were the following for this study's Peruvian hospitals, compared with rates of the INICC and CDC-NHSN reports, respectively: 2.9% for appendix surgery (vs. 2.9% vs. 1.4%); 2.8% for gallbladder surgery (vs. 2.5% vs. 0.6%); 2.2% for cesarean section (vs. 0.7% vs. 1.8%); 2.8% for vaginal hysterectomy (vs. 2.0% vs. 0.9%). CONCLUSIONS: Our SSIs rates were higher in all of the four analyzed types of SPs compared with CDC-NHSN, whereas compared with INICC, most rates were similar. This study represents an important advance in the knowledge of SSI epidemiology in Peru that will allow us to introduce targeted interventions.