Antibiotic impregnated catheters and intrathecal antibiotics for CSF shunt infection prevention in children undergoing low-risk CSF shunt surgery.

BACKGROUND: Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunts allow children with hydrocephalus to survive and avoid brain injury (J Neurosurg 107:345-57, 2007; Childs Nerv Syst 12:192-9, 1996). The Hydrocephalus Clinical Research Network implemented non-randomized quality improvement protocols that were shown to decrease infection rates compared to pre-operative prophylactic intravenous antibiotics alone (standard care): initially with intrathecal (IT) antibiotics between 2007-2009 (J Neurosurg Pediatr 8:22-9, 2011), followed by antibiotic impregnated catheters (AIC) in 2012-2013 (J Neurosurg Pediatr 17:391-6, 2016). No large scale studies have compared infection prevention between the techniques in children. Our objectives were to compare the risk of infection following the use of IT antibiotics, AIC, and standard care during low-risk CSF shunt surgery (i.e., initial CSF shunt placement and revisions) in children. METHODS: A retrospective observational cohort study at 6 tertiary care children's hospitals was conducted using Pediatric Health Information System + (PHIS +) data augmented with manual chart review. The study population included children ≤ 18 years who underwent initial shunt placement between 01/2007 and 12/2012. Infection and subsequent CSF shunt surgery data were collected through 12/2015. Propensity score adjustment for regression analysis was developed based on site, procedure type, and year; surgeon was treated as a random effect. RESULTS: A total of 1723 children underwent initial shunt placement between 2007-2012, with 1371 subsequent shunt revisions and 138 shunt infections. Propensity adjusted regression demonstrated no statistically significant difference in odds of shunt infection between IT antibiotics (OR 1.22, 95% CI 0.82-1.81, p = 0.3) and AICs (OR 0.91, 95% CI 0.56-1.49, p = 0.7) compared to standard care. CONCLUSION: In a large, observational multicenter cohort, IT antibiotics and AICs do not confer a statistically significant risk reduction compared to standard care for pediatric patients undergoing low-risk (i.e., initial or revision) shunt surgeries.

Utilization trends in cerebrospinal fluid shunt infection prevention techniques in the United States from 2007 to 2015.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to describe trends in the utilization of infection prevention techniques (standard care, intrathecal [IT] antibiotics, antibiotic-impregnated catheters [AICs], and combination of IT antibiotics and AICs) among participating hospitals over time. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study at six large children's hospitals between 2007 and 2015 included children ≤ 18 years of age who underwent initial shunt placement between 2007 and 2012. Pediatric Health Information System + (PHIS+) data were augmented with chart review data for all shunt surgeries that occurred prior to the first shunt infection. The Pearson chi-square test was used to test for differences in outcomes. RESULTS: In total, 1723 eligible children had initial shunt placement between 2007 and 2012, with 3094 shunt surgeries through 2015. Differences were noted between hospitals in gestational age, etiology of hydrocephalus, and race and ethnicity, but not sex, weight at surgery, and previous surgeries. Utilization of infection prevention techniques varied across participating hospitals. Hydrocephalus Clinical Research Network hospitals used more IT antibiotics in 2007-2011; after 2012, increasing adoption of AICs was observed in most hospitals. CONCLUSIONS: A consistent trend of decreasing IT antibiotic use and increased AIC utilization was observed after 2012, except for hospital B, which consistently used AICs.

Introduction to A Compendium of Strategies to Prevent Healthcare-Associated Infections In Acute-Care Hospitals: 2022 Updates.

Since the initial publication of A Compendium of Strategies to Prevent Healthcare-Associated Infections in Acute Care Hospitals in 2008, the prevention of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) has continued to be a national priority. Progress in healthcare epidemiology, infection prevention, antimicrobial stewardship, and implementation science research has led to improvements in our understanding of effective strategies for HAI prevention. Despite these advances, HAIs continue to affect ∼1 of every 31 hospitalized patients, leading to substantial morbidity, mortality, and excess healthcare expenditures, and persistent gaps remain between what is recommended and what is practiced.The widespread impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on HAI outcomes in acute-care hospitals has further highlighted the essential role of infection prevention programs and the critical importance of prioritizing efforts that can be sustained even in the face of resource requirements from COVID-19 and future infectious diseases crises.The Compendium: 2022 Updates document provides acute-care hospitals with up-to-date, practical expert guidance to assist in prioritizing and implementing HAI prevention efforts. It is the product of a highly collaborative effort led by the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA), the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA), the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC), the American Hospital Association (AHA), and The Joint Commission, with major contributions from representatives of organizations and societies with content expertise, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Pediatric Infectious Disease Society (PIDS), the Society for Critical Care Medicine (SCCM), the Society for Hospital Medicine (SHM), the Surgical Infection Society (SIS), and others.

Associations of Standard Care, Intrathecal Antibiotics, and Antibiotic-Impregnated Catheters With Cerebrospinal Fluid Shunt Infection Organisms and Resistance.

BACKGROUND: Infection prevention techniques used during cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunt surgery include: (1) standard perioperative intravenous antibiotics, (2) intrathecal (IT) antibiotics, (3) antibiotic-impregnated catheter (AIC) shunt tubing, or (4) Both IT and AIC. These techniques have not been assessed against one another for their impact on the infecting organisms and patterns of antimicrobial resistance. METHODS: We performed a retrospective longitudinal observational cohort study of children with initial CSF shunt placement between January 2007 and December 2012 at 6 US hospitals. Data were collected electronically from the Pediatric Health Information Systems+ (PHIS+) database, and augmented with standardized chart review. Only subjects with positive CSF cultures were included in this study. RESULTS: Of 1,723 children whose initial shunt placement occurred during the study period, 196 (11%) developed infection, with 157 (80%) having positive CSF cultures. Of these 157 subjects, 69 (44%) received standard care, 28 (18%) received AIC, 55 (35%) received IT antibiotics, and 5 (3%) received Both at the preceding surgery. The most common organisms involved in monomicrobial infections were Staphylococcus aureus (38, 24%), coagulase-negative staphylococci (36, 23%), and Cutibacterium acnes (6, 4%). Compared with standard care, the other infection prevention techniques were not significantly associated with changes to infecting organisms; AIC was associated with decreased odds of methicillin resistance among coagulase-negative staphylococci. CONCLUSIONS: Because no association was found between infection prevention technique and infecting organisms when compared to standard care, other considerations such as tolerability, availability, and cost should inform decisions about infection prevention during CSF shunt placement surgery.

Implementing strategies to prevent infections in acute-care settings.

This document introduces and explains common implementation concepts and frameworks relevant to healthcare epidemiology and infection prevention and control and can serve as a stand-alone guide or be paired with the "SHEA/IDSA/APIC Compendium of Strategies to Prevent Healthcare-Associated Infections in Acute Care Hospitals: 2022 Updates," which contain technical implementation guidance for specific healthcare-associated infections. This Compendium article focuses on broad behavioral and socio-adaptive concepts and suggests ways that infection prevention and control teams, healthcare epidemiologists, infection preventionists, and specialty groups may utilize them to deliver high-quality care. Implementation concepts, frameworks, and models can help bridge the "knowing-doing" gap, a term used to describe why practices in healthcare may diverge from those recommended according to evidence. It aims to guide the reader to think about implementation and to find resources suited for a specific setting and circumstances by describing strategies for implementation, including determinants and measurement, as well as the conceptual models and frameworks: 4Es, Behavior Change Wheel, CUSP, European and Mixed Methods, Getting to Outcomes, Model for Improvement, RE-AIM, REP, and Theoretical Domains.

Strategies to prevent surgical site infections in acute-care hospitals: 2022 Update.

The intent of this document is to highlight practical recommendations in a concise format designed to assist acute-care hospitals in implementing and prioritizing their surgical-site infection (SSI) prevention efforts. This document updates the Strategies to Prevent Surgical Site Infections in Acute Care Hospitals published in 2014. This expert guidance document is sponsored by the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA). It is the product of a collaborative effort led by SHEA, the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC), the American Hospital Association (AHA), and The Joint Commission, with major contributions from representatives of a number of organizations and societies with content expertise.

Nosocomial exposure of health care workers to a visitor with active pulmonary tuberculosis in a pediatric intensive care unit: A contact investigation.

Visitors with active tuberculosis (TB) can lead to uncontrolled introductions in health care settings, even in facilities with robust TB control programs. We report a pediatric case of TB meningitis who had an adult visitor with active pulmonary TB. We identified 96 contacts from the index case. One high-risk contact had a positive follow-up TB test with no clinical symptoms. TB control programs should incorporate the risk of TB exposure from adult visitors, especially in pediatric settings.

Beta-Lactam Allergy Association with Surgical Site Infections in Pediatric Procedures: A Matched Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about surgical site infection (SSI) risk among pediatric patients with reported beta-lactam allergy (BLA). METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort study at a quaternary children's hospital and compared procedures in patients ages 1-19 years old with and without BLA that required antimicrobial prophylaxis (AMP) during 2010-2017. Procedures were matched 1:1 by patient age, complex chronic conditions, year of surgery, and National Surgical Quality Improvement Program current procedural terminology category. The primary outcome was SSI as defined by National Healthcare Safety Network. The secondary outcome was AMP protocol compliance as per American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. RESULTS: Of the 11 878 procedures identified, 1021 (9%) had a reported BLA. There were 35 (1.8%) SSIs in the matched cohort of 1944 procedures with no significant difference in SSI rates in BLA procedures (1.8%) compared to no-BLA (1.9%) procedures. Tier 3 AMP was chosen more frequently among BLA procedures (P < .01). Unmatched analysis of all procedures showed that 23.7% of BLA procedures received beta-lactam-AMP (vs. 93.7% of procedures without BLA). There were no major differences in SSI on sensitivity analysis of BLA procedures that did not receive beta-lactam AMP (1.4%) compared to no-BLA procedures with beta-lactam AMP (1.6%). CONCLUSIONS: Our retrospective matched analysis of 1944 pediatric procedures found no increase in SSIs in procedures with reported BLA, which differs from studies in adults. We observed that the choice of beta-lactam-AMP was common, even in BLA procedures. More data are needed to delineate an association between non-beta-lactam AMP and SSI in children.

An initiative to improve effluent culture detection among pediatric patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis through process improvement.

BACKGROUND: Peritonitis is a significant cause of morbidity and healthcare cost among pediatric patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis. Culture-negative peritonitis has been associated with an increased risk of technique failure. Known risk factors for culture-negative peritonitis are related to the process of collection and sample processing for culture, but additional studies are needed. A culture detection rate of 16.7% was identified among our patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis, which is below the national benchmark of ≥ 85%. Our primary objective of this quality improvement project was to improve culture detection rates. METHODS: Interventions were developed aimed at standardizing the process of effluent collection and laboratory processing, timely collection and processing of samples, and addressing other modifying risk factors for lack of bacterial growth from culture. These interventions included direct inoculation of effluent into blood culture bottles at bedside and use of an automated blood culture system. Two Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles were completed prior to moving to the sustain phase. RESULTS: The culture detection rate improved from 16.7% (pre-intervention) to 100% (post-intervention). A decrease in the median process time also occurred from 83 min (pre-intervention) to 53 min (post-intervention). An individual and moving range chart identified a decrease in both the centerline (mean) and upper control limit, indicating that the process became more reliable during the sustain phase. CONCLUSIONS: An improvement in process time and culture positivity rate occurred following standardization of our PD fluid culture process. Future studies should be aimed at the impact of the components of collection and processing methods on the effluent culture yield. A higher resolution version of the Graphical abstract is available as Supplementary information.

An outbreak of Burkholderia contaminans at a quaternary children's hospital linked to equipment reprocessing.

Burkholderia cepacia complex (BCC) has been increasingly implicated in local and multistate outbreaks in both adult and pediatric healthcare settings. However, a lack of source identification may be common for BCC outbreak investigations. We describe, in detail, the investigation of an outbreak of BCC (B. contaminans) among pediatric patients at a large quaternary-care children's hospital and our system-level changes and outcomes.

Comparison of Early-Onset Sepsis Risk-Stratification Algorithms in Neonates in a Kenyan Nursery.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Risk stratification algorithms (RSAs) can reduce antibiotic duration (AD) and length of stay (LOS) for early-onset sepsis (EOS). Because of higher EOS and antibiotic resistance rates and limited laboratory capacity, RSA implementation may benefit low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). Our objective was to compare the impact of 4 RSAs on AD and LOS in an LMIC nursery. METHODS: Neonates <5 days of age admitted for presumed sepsis to a Kenyan referral hospital in 2019 (n = 262) were evaluated by using 4 RSAs, including the current local sepsis protocol ("local RSA"), a simplified local protocol ("simple RSA"), an existing categorical RSA that uses infant clinical examination and maternal risk factors (CE-M RSA) clinical assessment, and the World Health Organization's Integrated Management of Childhood Illness guideline. For each RSA, a neonate was classified as at high, moderate, or low EOS risk. We used к coefficients to evaluate the agreement between RSAs and McNemar's test for the direction of disagreement. We used the Wilcoxon rank test for differences in observed and predicted median AD and LOS. RESULTS: Local and simple RSAs overestimated EOS risk compared with CE-M RSA and the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness guideline. Compared with the observed value, CE-M RSA shortened AD by 2 days and simple RSA lengthened AD by 2 days. LOS was shortened by 4 days by using CE-M RSA and by 2 days by using the local RSA. CONCLUSIONS: The local RSA overestimated EOS risk compared with CE-M RSA. If implemented fully, the local RSA may reduce LOS. Future studies will evaluate the prospective use of RSAs in LMICs with other interventions such as observation off antibiotics, biomarkers, and bundled implementation.

Sustained Reduction in Intravenous Pump Turnaround Time Using Lean Methodology.

Intravenous pumps provide essential, life-sustaining medications to patients. Pumps must be in working order and available on short notice to be effective. We identified inefficiencies in our pump management process that inflated the cost and time to complete repairs. Methods: Our multidisciplinary team completed a 60-day before-after trial that followed the Toyota Production System Lean methodology and evaluated the sustainability of our improvements for the following 48 months. We used value stream mapping and manual time studies to identify areas for improvement. Device turnaround time (TAT) was the number of days from receiving a device for repair to its return to service. Interventions included: establishing a reliable system to receive and track repair requests, creating a better organized, more efficient workroom, streamlining the inventory of repair parts, and tracking delivery systems reliably. Results: We reduced mean intravenous pump TAT by 89% and sustained TAT at 74%-97% below baseline for 4 years, including during the COVID pandemic. Conclusions: We used Lean methodology to create a system to receive, track, and provide safe, functional equipment to providers promptly. Both clinical and nonclinical healthcare professionals can use Lean to produce a sustainable improved system.

Invasive Malassezia pachydermatis Infection in an 8-Year-Old Child on Lipid Parenteral Nutrition.

Invasive disease due to Malassezia pachydermatis infection is uncommon but increasingly recognized in children, especially neonates on parenteral nutrition or immunocompromised children. We describe a case of Malassezia pachydermatis fungemia in a demographically distinct patient and discuss the workup and current strategies for managing this infection in the setting of a central venous catheter.