Efforts at a large public teaching hospital to stop the spread of infections caused by highly drug resistant bacteria, carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, proved ineffective until weekly emails from the medical director of infection control were sent to hospital executives, according to a study published in the American Journal of Infection Control.
Infections from A. baumannii occur mainly in intensive care units. The germ can stay on wet or dry surfaces longer than most organisms, and the bacteria has become one of the most frequent organisms causing healthcare-associated infections in U.S. facilities.
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Endemic rates of A. baumannii had been present in the hospital in question for roughly two decades. The organization implemented a bundle of infection prevention interventions that had little effect on its rates. However, when the hospital started sending weekly reports to physician, nursing and administrative leadership, in combination with the bundle, transmission of the bacteria decreased 63 percent.
The emails described surveillance results from the previous week, including the number and location of newly discovered isolates, results of environmental cultures obtained from various surfaces and a map showing the location of patients and objects positive with A. baumannii. "Additionally, these communications advised the hospital and each ICU's leaders about the infection control data and provided action plans based on the findings," the study author's wrote.
"Weekly electronic communications were associated with a striking decrease in the rate of new acquisitions of A. baumannii at our institution probably because of a combination of education, communication, feedback and peer pressure," they concluded.
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