학술논문

Concurrent transmission of multiple carbapenemases in a long-term acute-care hospital
Document Type
Article
Source
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology; March 2024, Vol. 45 Issue: 3 p292-301, 10p
Subject
Language
ISSN
0899823X; 15596834
Abstract
AbstractObjective:We investigated concurrent outbreaks of Pseudomonas aeruginosacarrying blaVIM(VIM-CRPA) and Enterobacterales carrying blaKPC(KPC-CRE) at a long-term acute-care hospital (LTACH A).Methods:We defined an incident case as the first detection of blaKPCor blaVIMfrom a patient’s clinical cultures or colonization screening test. We reviewed medical records and performed infection control assessments, colonization screening, environmental sampling, and molecular characterization of carbapenemase-producing organisms from clinical and environmental sources by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and whole-genome sequencing.Results:From July 2017 to December 2018, 76 incident cases were identified from 69 case patients: 51 had blaKPC,11 had blaVIM,and 7 had blaVIMand blaKPC. Also, blaKPCwere identified from 7 Enterobacterales, and all blaVIMwere P. aeruginosa. We observed gaps in hand hygiene, and we recovered KPC-CRE and VIM-CRPA from drains and toilets. We identified 4 KPC alleles and 2 VIM alleles; 2 KPC alleles were located on plasmids that were identified across multiple Enterobacterales and in both clinical and environmental isolates.Conclusions:Our response to a single patient colonized with VIM-CRPA and KPC-CRE identified concurrent CPO outbreaks at LTACH A. Epidemiologic and genomic investigations indicated that the observed diversity was due to a combination of multiple introductions of VIM-CRPA and KPC-CRE and to the transfer of carbapenemase genes across different bacteria species and strains. Improved infection control, including interventions that minimized potential spread from wastewater premise plumbing, stopped transmission.