Early- vs Late-onset Ventilator-associated Pneumonia in Critically Ill Adults: Comparison of Risk Factors, Outcome, and Microbial Profile.

Background: Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is one of the most frequent hospital-acquired infections, which develops in mechanically ventilated patients after 48 hours of mechanical ventilation. The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence rate, various risk factors, microbiological profile, and outcome of early- vs late-onset ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) in medical intensive care unit (MICU). Materials and methods: This prospective study was conducted on 273 patients admitted to the MICU in JIPMER, Puducherry, from October 2018 to September 2019. Results: The incidence of VAP was 39.59 per 1000 ventilation days of MICU patients (93/273). Of these, 53 (56.9%) patients had early-onset VAP and 40 (43.1%) had late-onset VAP. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that steroid therapy, supine head position, coma or impaired unconsciousness, tracheostomy, and re-intubation were found to be independent predictors of early- and late-onset VAP, respectively. Most cases of VAP were caused by Gram-negative bacteria (90.6%), with nonfermenters contributing to 61.8%. The most frequent pathogens causing early-onset VAP were Acinetobacter baumannii (28.9%) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (20.6%), while in late-onset VAP, A. baumannii (32.9%) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (21.9%) were the most common. Maximum death rate was seen in patients infected with Escherichia coli (50%) and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (38.5%). There was no significant association between the presence of VAP and mortality among the studied population. Conclusion: The incidence of VAP in our study was high. There were no significant differences in the prevalence of pathogens associated with early-onset or late-onset VAP. Our study shows that early-onset and late-onset VAP have different risk factors, highlighting the need for developing different preventive and therapeutic strategies. How to cite this article: Gunalan A, Sastry AS, Ramanathan V, Sistla S. Early- vs Late-onset Ventilator-associated Pneumonia in Critically Ill Adults: Comparison of Risk Factors, Outcome, and Microbial Profile. Indian J Crit Care Med 2023;27(6):411-415.

Clinical Profile and Outcome of Neonates with Elizabethkingia Sepsis.

Elizabethkingia, an emerging nosocomial pathogen is a gram-negative bacillus causing NICU outbreaks. This case series from a tertiary care hospital, South India describes the clinical profile and outcome of 92 neonates with culture-positive elizabethkingia sepsis over a period of 2 y. Elizabethkingia sepsis predominantly affected preterm neonates and the common clinical features were respiratory distress, apnea, and poor feeding. Meningitis was noted in 68% and mortality was 12%. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing showed that elizabethkingia was susceptible to minocycline and levofloxacin.

Comparison of hand hygiene compliance among healthcare workers in Intensive care units and wards of COVID-19: A large scale multicentric study in India.

BACKGROUND: Hand hygiene is a significant component involved in preventing transmission of health care associated infections including COVID-19. Compliance to hand hygiene among the health care workers (HCWs) requires evaluation and timely feedback. "You can't improve what you can't measure" is a famous saying and this multicentric study was designed to measure hand hygiene compliance and have birds eye view on hand hygiene compliance in COVID Intensive care units (ICUs) and wards across India. METHODS: A prospective multicentric observational study was conducted for a period of 6 months in 92 health care facility across India which included varied type of public and private hospitals. Hand hygiene audit was conducted in COVID ICU and COVID non-ICU wards in all these facilities by their HCWs using the IBHAR mobile application based on WHO's hand hygiene audit tool. Hand hygiene total adherence rate (HHTAR) and hand hygiene complete adherence rate (HHCAR) were analyzed and compared between 2 locations. Adherence rates were analyzed based on the zones, institute type, profession and for each WHO moments. RESULTS: A total of 1,61,056 hand hygiene opportunities were documented and adherence rates were recorded higher in COVID wards (HHTAR-61.4%; HHCAR-28.8%) than COVID ICUs (HHTAR-57.8%; HHCAR-25.6%). Overall, the adherence rates were observed higher in COVID wards (HHTAR- 68.1%; HHCAR-38.3%) of private hospitals, COVID wards of the west zone (HHTAR- 70.2%; HHCAR-36.8%), cleaning staffs of the COVID ward scores better compliance than all other professions in COVID ICUs and COVID wards. HHTAR was found to be the higher in moment 3 (After body fluid exposure-76.3%) followed by moment 4 (after touching patient-73.7%) done in COVID wards compared to moments done in ICUs. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the practice of hand hygiene in COVID care locations across India. Effective strategies need to be implemented in COVID ICUs across the facilities to improve the compliance.

Impact of conducting hand hygiene audit in COVID-19 care locations of India-A large scale national multicentric study - HHAC study.

PURPOSE: Hand hygiene (HH), the core element in infection prevention in healthcare, especially for multidrug resistant organism's transmission. The role of HH audits and HH adherence rates in the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in resource limited settings, are yet to be established. METHODS: A nationwide multicenter study was conducted in India, involving public, private, teaching and non-teaching COVID healthcare facilities (COVID-HCFs) using the IBhar mobile application based on WHO's hand hygiene audit tool. The HH adherence rates (HHAR) such as complete HHAR (HHCAR), total HHAR (HHTAR), profession specific HHAR, WHO's 5 HH moment specific HHAR and associated variables were measured over 6 month duration (June-December 2021). RESULTS: A total of 2,01,829 HH opportunities were available and the HHCAR and HHTAR were 27.3% and 59.7%. The HHTAR was significantly higher in the west zone (72.2%), private institutes (65.6%), non-teaching institutes (67.7%), nurses (61.6%), HH moments 2 (71.8%) and 3 (72.1%), and morning shift (61.4%). The HHTAR was better in non-COVID HCFs (65.4%) than COVID-HCFs (57.8%) as well as non-COVID ICUs (68.1%) than COVID ICUs (58.7%). The HHTAR was increased from month 1 to month 6 except a small decrease in the month of December. CONCLUSIONS: The hand hygiene adherence is comparable with adherence rate during COVID-19 pandemic in western countries as well as the resource limited settings. The use of gloves during the pandemic and simplified HH techniques and their influence over the HH adherence to be studied further. The sustainable adherence rate over long duration needs to be ensured by continuing the HH audit using multimodal interventions.

Quality assessment of platelet concentrates prepared by platelet-rich plasma, buffy-coat, and apheresis methods in a tertiary care hospital in South India: A cross-sectional study.

INTRODUCTION: In blood banking and transfusion medicine, it is of paramount importance to improve transfusion safety and provide a higher quality of product to maximize the therapeutic outcomes and minimize the risk of developing transfusion-associated complications for patients receiving a blood transfusion. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study conducted at the department of transfusion medicine in a tertiary care hospital of South India from February 2019 to December 2020. The primary objective of the study was to assess the quality of platelet concentrates (PC) prepared by platelet-rich plasma (PRP), buffy-coat (BC), and apheresis method. A total of 760 PCs were subjected to quality assessment, among which 124 were PRP-PC, 176 were BC-PC, and 460 were single donor platelet (SDP). RESULTS: The total percentage of platelets meeting all the six quality control parameters in PRP, BC and SDP was 78.23%, 81.81%, and 89.96%, respectively. Apheresis PCs showed a significantly higher platelet concentration per µL on comparison with whole-blood-derived platelets. BC-PCs were found to be better than PRP-PC with regard to lower white blood cell (WBC) contamination (P < 0.05) and red blood cell (RBC) contamination (P < 0.01). No statistically significant difference was found with regard to platelet yield, volume, swirling, and pH. CONCLUSION: Ex vivo quality of PCs prepared by BC-PC, PRP-PC, and apheresis-PC fulfilled the desired quality control parameters. BC-PC was better than PRP-PC in terms of lesser WBC and RBC contamination and comparable in terms of volume, platelet yield, swirling, and pH. Apheresis PCs showed a higher platelet concentration per microliter on comparison with whole-blood-derived platelets; hence in a blood center where facilities for collection of apheresis product are available, SDPs should be the choice of platelet transfusion.

Case Report: Bloodstream Infection with Toxigenic Corynebacterium diphtheriae and Gram-Negative Sepsis in a Child with Burns.

Corynebacterium (C.) diphtheriae is the agent for a contagious infection, diphtheria. It may manifest as pharyngitis with pseudomembrane formation and cervical lymphadenopathy, cutaneous infection, or as an asymptomatic carrier. Corynebacterium (C.) diphtheriae is not an invasive organism and it remains in the superficial layers of skin lesions and respiratory mucosa. Systemic complications, such as bacteremia, are rare. We report a case of toxigenic C. diphtheriae detected from blood culture of a 1-year-old male patient with burns, who succumbed to the infection after 8 days of stay in the hospital. Patient did not have specific clinical features suggestive of diphtheria. Initial identification of C. diphtheriae was done based on culture, Albert stain findings, biochemical tests and subsequently toxigenicity testing was done by polymerase chain reaction. Although diphtheria vaccination in infancy is universally recommended since the creation of the Expanded Program on Immunization in the 1970s, there have been reports of toxigenic strains of C. diphtheriae in a considerable number of cases. Rapid and accurate identification of C. diphtheriae infection is crucial to prevent mortality. Continued surveillance for diphtheria is needed to reduce transmission and mortality rates.

Effectiveness of Multimodal Intervention to Improve Blood Culture Collection in the Emergency Department.

Introduction: The blood culture (BC) contamination was a significant problem in our hospital, especially in the emergency department (ED). The study, therefore, was undertaken to improve the BC collection in the ED. Methods: The study was conducted for 1 year divided into two phases of 6 months each: Preintervention phase and intervention phase (regular and phlebotomist groups). The interventions comprised implementing standard protocol for BC collection and conducting educational sessions. In preintervention and regular groups, the BCs were collected by interns and technicians, while dedicated phlebotomist did so in the phlebotomist group. Data were analyzed and interpreted for the contamination rate as well as compliance in adequate filling of the requisition form. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22. A value of P < 0.005 was considered statistically significant, and P < 0.01 was considered statistically significant. Results: In the preintervention group, 13.7% of specimens were reported as contaminated which was reduced to 4.2% and 3.2% in the regular and phlebotomist group, respectively, after intervention. Compliance of health-care workers to various elements of BC collection protocol was also found to be significantly improved in the intervention phase compared to the preintervention phase (P < 0.001). Conclusions: Implementation of this multimodal intervention resulted in a drastic reduction in BC contamination and improvement in compliance to BC collection protocol and filling of various parameters in the BC requisition form, thus improving the overall effectiveness of BC testing. It was also noted that the contamination rate was further reduced by implementing dedicated phlebotomist.

Bacteremia due to obligate anaerobes following large bowel surgery in a tertiary care hospital in South India.

In view of the rising incidence of Anaerobic bacteremia(AB), the use of anaerobic blood culture bottles have been recommended in addition to the aerobic blood culture bottles. The need to perform antimicrobial susceptibility testing(AST) for anaerobes has become mandatory owing to increasing metronidazole resistance. The frequency of AB following large bowel surgery and the metronidazole susceptibility for members of the Bacteroides fragilis group were determined. The incidence of AB was found to be 16%. Seventeen obligate anaerobes were isolated in total, of which B. fragilis was the most common. Two of twelve isolates of B. fragilis were resistant to metronidazole.

Rare isolation of Nocardia farcinica in a fatal case of disseminated nocardiosis in an immunocompetent person.

Nocardia species can cause various types of infections including, pulmonary, cutaneous, disseminated & CNS diseases. Here, we report a case of disseminated nocardiosis, probably secondary to pulmonary foci, in an immunocompetent patient. Blood culture showed gram-positive bacilli, which on culture grew aerial chalky white growth showed the acid-fast, gram-positive filamentous bacteria. The culture was identified as Nocardia farcinica by MALDI-TOF. Unfortunately, the patient succumbed to the infection on the 5th day after admission.

Effect of combined colistin and meropenem against meropenem resistant Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa by checkerboard method: A cross sectional analytical study.

BACKGROUND: Meropenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa are the two most common nosocomial pathogens causing ventilator-associated pneumonia. To combat this resistance, different combinations of antibiotics have been evaluated for their efficacy in laboratories as well as in clinical situations. AIM: The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of combined colistin and meropenem against meropenem-resistant isolates of A. baumannii and P. aeruginosa by checkerboard method. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty meropenem-resistant isolates of A. baumannii (n = 25) and P. aeruginosa (n = 25) from endotracheal aspirates were studied. The MIC of colistin and meropenem was found using the microbroth dilution method. The fractional inhibitory concentration was calculated for the combination of antibiotics by checkerboard assay and the antibiotic interactions were assessed. Fisher's exact test was carried out for statistical comparison of categorical variables. RESULTS: A synergistic effect between colistin and meropenem was observed in 18/25 (72%) and 6/25 (24%) isolates of Acinetobacter baumannnii and P. Aeruginosa, respectively, with fractional inhibitory concentration indices of ≤0.5. None of the tested isolates exhibited antagonism. CONCLUSION: Our results showed that combinations of colistin and meropenem are associated with improvement in minimum inhibitory concentration and may be a promising strategy in treating meropenem-resistant A. baumannii respiratory tract infections.

Clinical outcomes of suspected Catheter Related Blood Stream Infection at a tertiary care center in south India.

BACKGROUND: Catheter related blood stream infection (CRBSI) makes up a significant proportion of Hospital acquired infection and increases the morbidity and mortality of those affected. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: Primary aim was to study the clinical outcomes of patients with suspected Catheter Related Blood Stream Infection (CRBSI). RESULTS: Of the 150 participants suspected of having CRBSI, 100(67%) had CRBSI, 26(16%) patients were colonizers and 24(17%) patients had BSI from another source. Gram negative microbes were predominant. Clinical outcomes were studied with respect to mortality, complications and length of hospital stay. CRBSI participants had a significantly prolonged hospital stay. However no specific factors related to the host or the pathogen influenced this outcome. CONCLUSION: CRBSI prolongs the hospital stay for patients who would have otherwise been discharged, hence increases the burden on hospital and human resources.

In-vitro synergistic activity of colistin and meropenem against clinical isolates of carbapenem resistant E.coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae by checkerboard method.

CONTEXT: The emergence of drug resistant pathogens pose major threat to hospitalized patients as well as to the community associated with increased mortality and morbidity. The treatment of carbapenem resistant enterobacteriaceae, one of the top WHO priority pathogen remains a global issue. Combination therapy with different classes of antibiotics have been tried with the aim to reduce toxicity, to increase the efficacy of the drugs and to reduce resistance. The in-vitro synergy methods have to be carried out to determine whether the combination of those antibiotics are synergistic, antagonistic or additive. AIMS: We have performed in-vitro synergy testing by checkerboard method for colistin -meropenem combination to determine whether the combination of the two antibiotics were synergistic or antagonistic. METHODS AND MATERIAL: All the consecutive twenty five blood isolates of Escherichia coli and twenty five blood isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae which were showing resistance to carbapenems by either disc diffusion or vitek 2 were collected over a period of 6 months and checkerboard method was performed. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: The reduction of MIC of colisin on combination with meropenem compared to MIC of colistin alone is analyzed by McNemar's chisquare test with the help of software Stata version 14 and p value < 0.05 is considered as significant. RESULTS: 56% of K. pneumoniae showed synergy and 44% showed additive/indifference results. For E. coli 40% showed synergy and 60% showed additive/indifference. None of the isolates of E. coli and K. pneumoniae showed antagonism. There was more than two fold reduction in MIC of colistin (significant) on combining withmeropenem. CONCLUSIONS: The study results support the combination therapy to treat infections by multi-drug-resistant Klebsiela pneumoniae and Escherichia coli by in-vitro checkerboard testing method which inturn will be helpful for clinicians for judicious use of antimicrobials.

Evaluation of the Performance of Direct Susceptibility Test by VITEK-2 from Positively Flagged Blood Culture Broth for Gram-Negative Bacilli.

Background Timely initiation of antimicrobial therapy in patients with blood stream infection is absolutely necessary to reduce mortality and morbidity. Most clinical microbiology laboratories use conventional methods for identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) that involve biochemical methods for identification followed by AST by disk diffusion. The aim of the current study is to assess the various errors associated with direct susceptibility testing done from blood culture broth using automated AST system-Vitek-2 compact compared with the reference method of AST done from bacterial colonies. Materials and Methods The study was conducted in a tertiary care public sector 2,200-bedded hospital in South India for a period of 6 months. The study involved positively flagged blood culture bottles that yielded single morphotype of Gram-negative organism by Gram stain. A total of 120 bacterial isolates were collected that consisted of consecutively obtained first 60 isolates of Enterobacteriaceae family (30 Escherichia coli and 30 Klebsiella pneumoniae ) and consecutively obtained first 60 nonfermenters (30 Pseudomonas aeruginosa and 30 Acinetobacter baumannii). Vitek-2 AST was done from these 120 blood culture broth, following the protocol by Biomerieux, and results were obtained. Then, Vitek-2 was done from colonies (reference method) using appropriate panel for Enterobacteriaceae and nonfermenters, and results were obtained. Both the results were compared. Results Nonfermenters showed a better categorical agreement of 97.6%, as compared to Enterobacteriaceae, which showed 97%. Among Enterobacteriaceae, both E. coli and K. pneumoniae showed categorical agreement of 97% each. Conclusion The procedure of AST directly from blood culture broth represents a simple and effective technique that can reduce the turnaround time by 24 hours, which in turn benefits the clinician in appropriate utilization of antimicrobials for better patient care.

The impact of antimicrobial stewardship programme on regulating the policy adherence and antimicrobial usage in selected intensive care units in a tertiary care center - A prospective interventional study.

Purpose: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) presents a significant threat to human health. The root cause for this global problem is irrational antimicrobial usage. Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) emphasises on the appropriate use of antibiotics and ensures strict implementation of antimicrobial policy guidelines. This study was conducted to evaluate the impact of auditing of AMS programme on regulating the antimicrobial policy adherence and antimicrobial usage in hospital intensive care units. Materials and Methods: This was a prospective interventional study. It consisted of pre-implementation and implementation phases 6 months each. Two hundred and eighty patients were enrolled. Details of antibiotic consumption, surgical prophylaxis, culture/sensitivity patterns, de-escalation rates, etc., were collected in both phases. The implementation phase, in addition, included stewardship audit rounds. Results: In pre-implementation phase and implementation phases: policy adherence rates were 23.7% and 41.8%, respectively, de-escalation rates were 22.73% and 43.48%, respectively. Cultures were sent before the initiation of antimicrobials in 36.73% cases during the pre-implementation phase, which improved to 60.41% during the implementation phase. Defined daily dose (DDD) for the antibiotics was 98.66 DDD 100BD during the pre-implementation phase, which reduced to 91.62 DDD 100BD in the implementation phase. Total days of therapy (DOT) in the pre-implementation phase were 561 DOT1000BD, which reduced to 463 DOT1000BD during the implementation phase. Conclusions: Implementation of continuous monitoring of the AMS programme, therefore, has a definite role in reducing the antimicrobial consumption and improving the compliance to the policy guidelines. A more robust study for a prolonged period is, however, necessary to have a better analysis of the outcome.

A multimodal intervention to improve hand hygiene compliance in a tertiary care center.

BACKGROUND: Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are a major threat to patient safety worldwide. HAIs are mainly transmitted via the hands of healthcare workers (HCWs), and HCW compliance with hand hygiene (HH) practices is reportedly low. Therefore, multimodal interventions are needed to develop effective HH improvement strategies. In this study, we assessed the effect of multimodal interventions on improvement of HH compliance. METHODS: This study was conducted in 2 intensive care units from August 2016 to October 2016. It encompassed 3 phases: pre-intervention (20 days), intervention (1 month), and post-intervention (20 days). A total of 53 HCWs, including physicians, nurses, and housekeeping staff, were included in the HH audit. The audit was analyzed by direct observation and by a completed knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) questionnaire. RESULTS: A total of 6350 HH opportunities were recorded; the results were 34.7%, 35%, and 69.7% for hand hygiene complete adherence rate (HHCAR), hand hygiene partial adherence rate (HHPAR), and hand hygiene adherence rate (HHAR), respectively. The HHCAR in the pre-intervention and post-intervention phases were 3% and 70.1%, respectively. HHCAR was highest among nurses (3.6% in the pre-intervention phase and 80.7% in the post-intervention phase). Other findings were that senior physicians had better HH compliance than junior physicians; in the pre-intervention phase, the HHCAR was better in the evening (4.8%); in the post-intervention phase, the HHCAR was better in the morning (72.1%); women had a higher HHCAR than men; and in the pre-intervention phase, good compliance was seen with Moments 2 and 3 of the World Health Organization's (WHO) Five Moments for Hand Hygiene, whereas in the post-intervention phase, good compliance was seen with Moments 3, 4, and 5. Questionnaire-based data were also analyzed to assess KAP of HH. We found that only 55%-82% of HCWs were aware of the WHO's Five Moments for Hand Hygiene. In the post-intervention phase, we observed a significant improvement in KAP of the study group. CONCLUSION: Significant improvement in HH compliance can be achieved through a systematic, multidimensional intervention involving all types of HCWs.

Care bundle approach to reduce device-associated infections in a tertiary care teaching hospital, South India.

CONTEXT: The care bundle approach is a set of evidence-based practices that when performed collectively and reliably have been shown to improve the patient outcome. AIMS: To evaluate the impact of the bundle care approach on reducing device-associated infections (DAIs). SETTINGS AND DESIGN: The study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital, South India. The study period was from January 2016 to September 2016 which was divided into three phases, each comprising 3 months. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: During the implementation phase, bundle care forms were implemented in all Intensive Care Units (ICUs) and the ICU staff were given a basic education on the importance of bundle care approach. The DAI rates (ventilator-associated pneumonia [VAP] rates, central line-associated bloodstream infection [CLABSI] rate, and catheter-associated urinary tract infection [CAUTI] rate) were calculated throughout the study period. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 19 software. RESULTS: During preimplementation phase, the VAP rate, CLABSI rate, and CAUTI rate were 14.79, 4.98, and 4.86 per 1000 device days, respectively. Rates were reduced to 13.03, 3.98, and 3.39 per 1000 device days, respectively, during the implementation phase and further reduced into 11.91, 3.49, and 2.36 per 1000 device days during the postimplementation phase. The month-wise decreasing trend of DAI rates was significant for medical ICUs as compared to surgical and pediatric ICUs. CONCLUSIONS: The month-wise decreasing trend of VAP rate, CLABSI rate, and CAUTI rate was noted, which signifies that the use of care bundle approach has a great impact on reducing DAIs.

Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance among Intensive Care Units of a Tertiary Care Hospital in Southern India.

INTRODUCTION: Hospital Acquired Infections (HAIs) are the rising threat in the health care facilities across the globe. As most Intesive Care Unit (ICU) patients are frequently on broad spectrum antimicrobials, this induces selective antibiotic pressure which leads to development of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) among the microorganisms of ICUs. AIM: To study the occurrence of different types of HAIs in patients admitted to various ICUs of JIPMER and the AMR pattern of the bacterial pathogens isolated from them. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The record based retrospective data of culture reports of the patients admitted to all the ICUs of JIPMER during the period from April 2015 to March 2016 were collected. A total of 3,090 isolates were obtained from the clinical specimens of 1,244 patients. Data on various factors like demographic characters, type of ICU, infecting organism, site of infection, type of HAI's and AMR including co-resistance were collected and analysed using Microsoft Excel. RESULTS: Most common culture positive clinical specimen received was tracheal aspirate (29.9%) followed by exudate (22.7%). Acinetobacter spp from tracheal aspirate and Pseudomonas spp from blood specimens were the most common organisms isolated; whereas Escherichia coli was the predominant organism found in urine, exudate and sterile fluid specimens. About 22.2% infections were HAIs, out of which pneumonia (6.24%) was the most common. Analysis of antimicrobial susceptibility pattern revealed that most of Gram-Negative Bacilli (GNB) was Multi Drug Resistant (MDR) i.e., resistant to three or more class of antibiotics such as cephalosporins, carbapenems, aminoglycosides, tetracyclines and fluoroquinolones. The prevalence of Methicillin- resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Vancomycin- resistant Enterococci (VRE) were found to be 40.6% and 11.9% respectively. CONCLUSION: The increasing trend AMR among the hospital acquired pathogens such as MDR-GNBs, MRSA and VRE pose a great threat to HCWs as well as to the other critically ill patients of the ICUs. Study on AMR surveillance is the need of the hour as it helps the centers to generate local antibiogram which further helps in formulating the national data. It also guides the clinicians to choose appropriate empirical therapy and assist escalation and de-escalation wherever possible. Hence, such studies will be a stepping stone in establishing antimicrobial stewardship and regulate the antimicrobial use.

Impact of a hand hygiene audit on hand hygiene compliance in a tertiary care public sector teaching hospital in South India.

BACKGROUND: Hand hygiene (HH) practice is considered the most simple, cost-effective, and efficient way to prevent device-associated infections. Continuous auditing plays a vital role in the conversion of HH knowledge into practice. METHODS: An HH audit was carried out October 2015-September 2016 in 18 locations for a total of 1,080 observation periods and 64,800 minutes of observation. HH complete adherence rate (HHCAR) and HH partial adherence rate were analyzed. RESULTS: The HHCAR, HH partial adherence rate, and nonadherence rate were 45.5%, 21.17%, and 33.3%, respectively. There was gradual statistically significant increase in monthly HHCAR during the study period from 37.5%-51.7% (P = .001). HHCAR was found to be highest among nurses (58.9%) followed by other staff (46.7%) and doctors (46.6%). World Health Organization Moments 3 and 4 had statistically significant compliance (78.5% and 71.8%, respectively; P < .001) compared with Moments 1, 2, and 5. As the HHCAR increases there is statistically significant decrease in device-associated infection rate from 10.6-3.9 per 1,000 device days (P = .042). CONCLUSIONS: HH audit has a significant influence on HH compliance. More emphasis needs to be given on compliance with HH practice by doctors and with the World Health Organization "before" Moments, especially. HH audits should be a part of the infection control manual of every hospital.