Transmission of Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacterales in an Overcrowded Emergency Department: Controlling the Spread to the Hospital.

Background: Overcrowded emergency departments (EDs) may increase the risk of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) transmission.
Methods: We conducted a quasi-experimental study divided into 2 phases (baseline and intervention) to investigate the impact of an intervention on the acquisition rate and identify risk factors for CRE colonization in an ED of a tertiary academic hospital in Brazil. In both phases, we did universal screening with rapid molecular test (blaKPC, blaNDM, blaOXA48, blaOXA23, and blaIMP) and culture. At baseline, both screening test results were not reported, and patients were put under contact precautions (CP) based on previous colonization or infection by multidrug-resistant organisms. During the intervention, all patients hospitalized in the ED were placed in empiric CP and the result of CRE screening was reported; if negative, patients were released from CP. Patients were rescreened if they stayed >7 days in the ED or were transferred to an intensive care unit.
Results: A total of 845 patients were included: 342 in baseline and 503 in intervention. Colonization at admission was 3.4% by culture and molecular test. Acquisition rates during ED stay dropped from 4.6% (11/241) to 1% (5/416) during intervention (P = .06). The aggregated antimicrobial use in the ED decreased from phase 1 to phase 2 (804 defined daily doses [DDD]/1000 patients to 394 DDD/1000 patients, respectively). Length of stay >2 days in the ED was a risk factor for CRE acquisition (adjusted odds ratio, 4.58 [95% confidence interval, 1.44-14.58]; P = .01).
Conclusions: Early empiric CP and rapid identification of CRE-colonized patients reduce cross-transmission in ED. Nevertheless, staying >2 days in ED compromised efforts.
Competing Interests: Potential conflicts of interest. M. C. S. received research funding from FAPESP, CDC, and JHPiego; grants from Cepheid as a speaker; and holds stocks with Petrobras and Vale do Rio Doce. I. B. received funding from FAPESP to support this study and additional funding from the CDC and JHPiego. All other authors report no potential conflicts. All authors have submitted the ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest. Conflicts that the editors consider relevant to the content of the manuscript have been disclosed.
(© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Infectious Diseases Society of America.)