Enhancing Candida auris Surveillance in High-Risk Settings by Implementing a High-Throughput Molecular Assay on the Hologic Fusion Open Access Platform.

Candida auris, a resilient pathogenic yeast with frequent multidrug resistance, presents a persistent challenge in healthcare settings. The timely identification of C. auris is crucial for infection control and prevention, especially in facilities facing unique hurdles, such as our institution, which serves four major hospitals and approximately 80% of the Texas inmate population. Understaffing, communal living, and financial constraints exacerbate infection control issues. To address common staff shortages, streamline testing services, and enhance testing efficiency, there was a pressing need for rapid and high-throughput detection of C. auris. This study presents the validation and utility of an assay implemented on the Hologic Fusion Open Access platform using samples collected from high-risk patients' axilla and groin areas, as well as environmental swab samples from patient rooms. Our assay complemented efforts to control C. auris outbreaks within our healthcare system, providing valuable insights into its presence within surveillance samples. This assay demonstrated the value of high-throughput molecular detection platforms in challenging healthcare environments by aiding infection preventionists in containing the spread of C. auris and preventing nosocomial infections. Our research contributes essential data on the suitability and performance of the Hologic Fusion Open Access platform for C. auris detection. These findings hold significant implications for enhancing surveillance and control measures in high-risk settings, making a significant impact on the field of infection control and prevention.

Single-center investigation on central-line-associated bloodstream infections and blood-culture contamination during the early months of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

In this retrospective cohort study, we assessed central-line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) and blood-culture contamination frequency during the first pandemic wave. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was significantly associated with CLABSI and blood-culture contamination. In the COVID-19 cohort, malignancy was associated with CLABSI. Black race, end-stage renal disease, and obesity were associated with blood-culture contamination.

A cluster investigation of Candida auris among hospitalized incarcerated patients.

Objective: Investigate and mitigate a cluster of Candida auris cases among incarcerated patients in a maximum-security prison hospital utilizing contact tracing, screening, whole genome sequencing, and environmental sampling and decontamination. Design: Outbreak investigation. Setting: Inpatient prison hospital affiliated with an academic tertiary referral center. Patients: Inmates of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Methods: Epidemiologic and environmental investigations were conducted including contact tracing, point prevalence surveys, and environmental sampling. Whole genome sequencing was performed on positive patient isolates. Results: Following a clinical case of C. auris fungemia, 344 patients underwent C. auris surveillance screening. Eight (2.3%) patients were identified with C. auris colonization. All patients were male. Our index patient was the only clinical case and death. Whole genome sequencing was performed on the nine patient isolates. All isolates were clade III (Africa) and clustered together with the largest SNP difference being 21. Environmental cultures from 7 of 61 rooms (11.5%) were positive following terminal disinfection with bleach. Sites nearest to the patient were most often positive including the hospital bed rails and bedside table. The transmission cluster was successfully mitigated within 60 days of identification. Conclusions: Implementation of an aggressive surveillance and decontamination program resulted in mitigation of a C. auris transmission cluster among our incarcerated patients. This investigation provides valuable insight into C. auris transmission in the incarcerated population, which is not considered a classic high-risk population as well as the challenges faced to stop transmission in a facility that requires the use of shared patient environments.

Design, Implementation, and Evaluation of an N95 Respirator Decontamination and Reuse Program for Healthcare Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, substantial disruptions in personal protective equipment (PPE) supply chains forced healthcare systems to become resourceful to ensure PPE availability for healthcare workers. Most worrisome was the global shortage of N95 respirators. In response, a collaboration between the Department of Infection Control and Healthcare Epidemiology and the Department of Biosafety at the University of Texas Medical Branch developed a PPE recycling program guaranteeing an adequate supply of respirators for frontline staff. The team successfully developed and implemented a novel workflow that included validated decontamination procedures, education, and training programs as well as transportation, labeling, and storage logistics. In total, 15,995 respirators of various types and sizes were received for recycling. Of these, 12,752 (80%) were recycled. Following the program's implementation, we surveyed 134 frontline healthcare workers who overwhelmingly graded our institution's culture of safety positively. Overall impressions of the N95 respirator recycling program were mixed, although interpretation of those results was limited by a lower survey response rate. In an era of increasing health security threats, innovative recycling programs like this one may serve as a model for other health systems to respond to future PPE supply chain disruptions.

Resolution of Cryptosporidiosis in Transplant Recipients: Review of the Literature and Presentation of a Renal Transplant Patient Treated With Nitazoxanide, Azithromycin, and Rifaximin.

BACKGROUND: Cryptosporidium is a major cause of diarrheal disease worldwide, including chronic disease in malnourished children and patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome. There are increasing reports of cryptosporidiosis in transplant patients, especially from middle-income countries. METHODS: The literature on treatment of cryptosporidiosis in transplant patients was reviewed and included no controlled trials but only small case series. Nitazoxanide, azithromycin, spiramycin, and combination therapies have been used, but none are consistently efficacious. RESULTS: We present a case of chronic diarrhea from cryptosporidiosis in a renal transplant patient. His illness resolved with decreasing immunosuppression and treatment with the 3-drug combination of nitazoxanide, azithromycin, and rifaximin. CONCLUSIONS: Although current therapies are not reliably effective in the absence of an effective cellular immune response, combination therapies hold promise for improved responses.

Outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among operating room staff of a tertiary referral center: An epidemiologic and environmental investigation.

OBJECTIVE: Investigate an outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among operating room staff utilizing contact tracing, mass testing for severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and environmental sampling. DESIGN: Outbreak investigation. SETTING: University-affiliated tertiary-care referral center. PATIENTS: Operating room staff with positive SARS-CoV-2 molecular testing. METHODS: Epidemiologic and environmental investigations were conducted including contact tracing, environmental surveys, and sampling and review of the operating room schedule for staff-to-staff, staff-to-patient, and patient-to-staff SARS-CoV-2 transmission. RESULTS: In total, 24 healthcare personnel (HCP) tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, including nurses (29%), surgical technologists (25%), and surgical residents (16%). Moreover, 19 HCP (79%) reported having used a communal area, most commonly break rooms (75%). Overall, 20 HCP (83%) reported symptomatic disease. In total, 72 environmental samples were collected from communal areas for SARS-CoV-2 genomic testing; none was positive. Furthermore, 236 surgical cases were reviewed for transmission: 213 (90%) had negative preoperative SARS-CoV-2 testing, 21 (9%) had a positive test on or before the date of surgery, and 2 (<1%) did not have a preoperative test performed. In addition, 40 patients underwent postoperative testing (mean, 13 days to postoperative testing), and 2 returned positive results. Neither of these 2 cases was linked to our outbreak. CONCLUSIONS: Complacency in infection control practices among staff during peak community transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is believed to have driven staff-to-staff transmission. Prompt identification of the outbreak led to rapid interventions, ultimately allowing for uninterrupted surgical service.