Regional impact of multidrug-resistant organism prevention bundles implemented by facility type: A modeling study.

BACKGROUND: Emerging multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs), such as carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE), can spread rapidly in a region. Facilities that care for high-acuity patients with longer stays may have a disproportionate impact on this spread. OBJECTIVE: We assessed the impact of implementing preventive interventions, directed at a subset of facilities, on regional prevalence. METHODS: We developed a deterministic compartmental model, parametrized using CRE and patient transfer data. The model included the community and healthcare facilities within a US state. Individuals may be either susceptible or infectious with CRE. Individuals determined to be infectious through admission screening, periodic prevalence surveys (PPSs), or interfacility communication were placed in a state of lower transmissibility if enhanced infection prevention and control (IPC) practices were in place at a facility. RESULTS: Intervention bundles that included PPS and enhanced IPC practices at ventilator-capable skilled nursing facilities (vSNFs) and long-term acute-care hospitals (LTACHs) had the greatest impact on regional prevalence. The benefits of including targeted admission screening in acute-care hospitals, LTACHs, and vSNFs, and improved interfacility communication were more modest. Daily transmissions in each facility type were reduced following the implementation of interventions primarily focused at LTACHs and vSNFs. CONCLUSIONS: Our model suggests that interventions that include screening to limit unrecognized MDRO introduction to, or dispersal from, LTACHs and vSNFs slow regional spread. Interventions that pair detection and enhanced IPC practices within LTACHs and vSNFs may substantially reduce the regional burden.

Distinct Origins and Transmission Pathways of blaKPC Enterobacterales across Three U.S. States.

Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) are among the most concerning antibiotic resistance threats due to high rates of multidrug resistance, transmissibility in health care settings, and high mortality rates. We evaluated the potential for regional genomic surveillance to track the spread of blaKPC-carrying CRE (KPC-CRE) by using isolate collections from health care facilities in three U.S. states. Clinical isolates were collected from Connecticut (2017 to 2018), Minnesota (2012 to 2018), and Tennessee (2016 to 2017) through the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Multi-site Gram-negative Surveillance Initiative (MuGSI) and additional surveillance. KPC-CRE isolates were whole-genome sequenced, yielding 255 isolates from 214 patients across 96 facilities. Case report data on patient comorbidities, facility exposures, and interfacility patient transfer were extracted. We observed that in Connecticut, most KPC-CRE isolates showed evidence of importation from outside the state, with limited local transmission. In Minnesota, cases were mainly from sporadic importation and transmission of blaKPC-carrying Klebsiella pneumoniae ST258, and clonal expansion of blaKPC-carrying Enterobacter hormaechei ST171, primarily at a single focal facility and its satellite facilities. In Tennessee, we observed transmission of diverse strains of blaKPC-carrying Enterobacter and Klesbiella, with evidence that most derived from the local acquisition of blaKPC plasmids circulating in an interconnected regional health care network. Thus, the underlying processes driving KPC-CRE burden can differ substantially across regions and can be discerned through regional genomic surveillance. This study provides proof of concept that integrating genomic data with information on interfacility patient transfers can provide insights into locations and drivers of regional KPC-CRE burden that can enable targeted interventions.

Characteristics, Comorbidities, and Data Gaps for Coronavirus Disease Deaths, Tennessee, USA.

As of March 2021, coronavirus disease (COVID-19) had led to >500,000 deaths in the United States, and the state of Tennessee had the fifth highest number of cases per capita. We reviewed the Tennessee Department of Health COVID-19 surveillance and chart-abstraction data during March 15‒August 15, 2020. Patients who died from COVID-19 were more likely to be older, male, and Black and to have underlying conditions (hereafter comorbidities) than case-patients who survived. We found 30.4% of surviving case-patients and 20.3% of deceased patients had no comorbidity information recorded. Chart-abstraction captured a higher proportion of deceased case-patients with >1 comorbidity (96.3%) compared with standard surveillance deaths (79.0%). Chart-abstraction detected higher rates of each comorbidity except for diabetes, which had similar rates among standard surveillance and chart-abstraction. Investing in public health data collection infrastructure will be beneficial for the COVID-19 pandemic and future disease outbreaks.

Web-Based Interactive Tool to Identify Facilities at Risk of Receiving Patients with Multidrug-Resistant Organisms.

To identify facilities at risk of receiving patients colonized or infected with multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs), we developed an interactive web-based interface for visualization of patient-sharing networks among healthcare facilities in Tennessee, USA. Using hospital discharge data and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' claims and Minimum Data Set, we constructed networks among hospitals and skilled nursing facilities. Networks included direct and indirect transfers, which accounted for <365 days in the community outside of facility admissions. Authorized users can visualize a facility of interest and tailor visualizations by year, network dataset, length of time in the community, and minimum number of transfers. The interface visualizes the facility of interest with its connected facilities that receive or send patients, the number of interfacility transfers, and facilities at risk of receiving transfers from the facility of interest. This tool will help other health departments enhance their MDRO outbreak responses.

Combining clinical and candidate gene data into a risk score for azathioprine-associated leukopenia in routine clinical practice.

Leukopenia is a serious, frequent side effect associated with azathioprine use. Currently, we use thiopurine methyltransferase (TPMT) testing to predict leukopenia in patients taking azathioprine. We hypothesized that a risk score incorporating additional clinical and genetic variables would improve the prediction of azathioprine-associated leukopenia. In the discovery phase, we developed four risk score models: (1) age, sex, and TPMT metabolizer status; (2) model 1 plus additional clinical variables; (3) sixty candidate single nucleotide polymorphisms; and (4) model 2 plus model 3. The area under the receiver-operating-characteristic curve (AUC) of the risk scores was 0.59 (95% CI: 0.54-0.64), 0.75 (0.71-0.80), 0.66 (0.61-0.71), and 0.78 (0.74-0.82) for models 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively. During the replication phase, models 2 and 4 (AUC = 0.64, 95% CI: 0.59-0.70 and AUC = 0.63, 95% CI: 0.58-0.69, respectively) were significant in an independent group. Compared with TPMT testing alone, additional genetic and clinical variables improve the prediction of azathioprine-associated leukopenia.

Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Bloodstream Infections and Injection Drug Use, Tennessee, USA, 2015-2017.

Recently, Tennessee, USA, has seen an increase in the use of commonly injected drugs, such as heroin and fentanyl. Injection drug use (IDU) practices can lead to life-threatening methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bloodstream infections (BSIs) and other serious diseases. We matched MRSA BSIs identified through the National Healthcare Safety Network to the Tennessee Hospital Discharge Data System to characterize the prevalence, demographics, and clinical characteristics associated with IDU in this disease population. Of the 7,646 MRSA BSIs identified during 2015-2017, we found that 1,839 (24.1%) were IDU-related. IDU-related BSIs increased by 118.9%; the greatest rise occurred among emergency department-onset infections (197.4%). IDU was more often associated with white, female, 18-49-year-old, and uninsured persons (p<0.001). We found >1 additional IDU-related diagnoses in 84.2% of IDU-related BSIs. Targeted harm reduction strategies for persons at high risk of IDU are necessary to reduce MRSA BSIs in acute care settings.

Association between urinary sodium and potassium excretion and blood pressure and inflammation in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Hypertension is highly prevalent in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In other populations, high sodium (Na+) and low potassium (K+) intake are associated with an increased risk of hypertension, and in animal models, a high salt intake exacerbated arthritis. Patients with RA have many comorbidities associated with salt sensitivity, but their salt intake and its relationship to blood pressure and inflammation is unknown. Using the Kawasaki formula, Na+ and K+ urinary excretion (reflecting intake) was estimated in 166 patients with RA and 92 controls, frequency matched for age, sex, and race. Inflammatory markers and disease activity were measured in RA patients. We tested the associations between blood pressure and Na+ and K+ excretion. Estimated 24-h Na+ excretion was similarly high in both RA (median [IQR] 5.1 g, [3.9-6.6 g]) and controls (4.9 g, [4.0-6.5 g]), p = 0.9, despite higher rates of hypertension in RA (54 vs. 39%, p = 0.03). The Na+:K+ excretion ratio was significantly higher in RA (2.0 [1.6-2.4]) vs. 1.7 [1.5-2.1]), p = 0.02] compared to controls. In RA, a lower K+ excretion was inversely correlated with diastolic blood pressure (adjusted ß = - 1.79, p = 0.04). There was no significant association between Na+ or K+ excretion and inflammatory markers. Despite a similar Na+ excretion, patients with RA had higher rates of hypertension than controls, a finding compatible with increased salt sensitivity. Patients with RA had a lower Na+:K+ excretion ratio than controls, and lower K+ excretion was associated with higher diastolic blood pressure in RA.