Long-term intensive care unit outbreak of carbapenemase-producing organisms associated with contaminated sink drains.
J Hosp Infect
; 143: 38-47, 2024 01.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38295006
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Between 2018 and 2022, a Belgian tertiary care hospital faced a growing issue with acquiring carbapenemase-producing organisms (CPO), mainly VIM-producing P. aeruginosa (PA-VIM) and NDM-producing Enterobacterales (CPE-NDM) among hospitalized patients in the adult intensive care unit (ICU).AIM:
To investigate this ICU long-term CPO outbreak involving multiple species and a persistent environmental reservoir.METHODS:
Active case finding, environmental sampling, whole-genome sequencing (WGS) analysis of patient and environmental strains, and implemented control strategies were described in this study.FINDINGS:
From 2018 to 2022, 37 patients became colonized or infected with PA-VIM and/or CPE-NDM during their ICU stay. WGS confirmed the epidemiological link between clinical and environmental strains collected from the sink drains with clonal strain dissemination and horizontal gene transfer mediated by plasmid conjugation and/or transposon jumps. Environmental disinfection by quaternary ammonium-based disinfectant and replacement of contaminated equipment failed to eradicate environmental sources. Interestingly, efflux pump genes conferring resistance to quaternary ammonium compounds were widespread in the isolates. As removing sinks was not feasible, a combination of a foaming product degrading the biofilm and foaming disinfectant based on peracetic acid and hydrogen peroxide has been evaluated and has so far prevented recolonization of the proximal sink drain by CPO.CONCLUSION:
The persistence in the hospital environment of antibiotic- and disinfectant-resistant bacteria with the ability to transfer mobile genetic elements poses a serious threat to ICU patients with a risk of shifting towards an endemicity scenario. Innovative strategies are needed to address persistent environmental reservoirs and prevent CPO transmission.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Infecção Hospitalar
/
Desinfetantes
Tipo de estudo:
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Adult
/
Humans
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2024
Tipo de documento:
Article