Nursing home patients may be an important reservoir of ESBL-containing multiple antibiotic-resistant E coli and K pneumoniae. Widespread dissemination of a predominant antibiotic resistance plasmid has occurred. Use of broad-spectrum oral antibiotics and probably poor infection control practices may facilitate spread of this plasmid-mediated resistance. Nursing homes should monitor and control antibiotic use and regularly survey antibiotic resistance patterns among pathogens.
Acquisition of VRE was affected by colonization pressure, the use of antibiotics, and the use of enteral feeding. However, once colonization pressure was high, it became the major variable affecting acquisition of VRE.
Universal use of gloves and gowns was no better than universal use of gloves only in preventing rectal colonization by vancomycin-resistant enterococci in a medical intensive care unit of a hospital in which vancomycin-resistant enterococci are endemic. Because the use of gowns and gloves together may be associated with better compliance and may help prevent transmission of other infectious agents, this finding may not be applicable to outbreaks caused by single strains or hospitals in which the prevalence of vancomycin-resistant enterococci is low.
A large unrecognized reservoir of skilled-care-unit residents was colonized by antimicrobial-resistant pathogens, and co-colonization by more than one target species was common. To prevent transmission of antimicrobial-resistant pathogens in long-term care facilities in which residents have high rates of colonization, infection-control strategies may need to be modified. Potential modifications include enhanced infection-control strategies, such as universal gloving for all or high-risk residents, or screening of high-risk residents, such as those with total dependence on HCWs for ADLs or recent antimicrobial receipt, and initiation of contact-isolation precautions for colonized residents.
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