Abstract
Postdischarge risks of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) infection among carriers are unknown. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 199 patients newly detected as VRE carriers. Fifteen patients (8%) developed 27 VRE infections in the 18 months after detection. Among 10 postdischarge infections, 2 involved bacteremia and 3 resulted in readmission.
Highlights
As hospital length of stay shortens, it is increasingly important to evaluate postdischarge risks of healthcare-associated infection
We identified a retrospective cohort of all adult patients from a 750-bed academic medical center in Boston, Massachusetts, who were newly detected with vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) colonization or infection during the period from September 1, 2003, through December 31, 2004
We assessed the risk of VRE infection within 18 months after initial detection using in-patient and outpatient medical records at the same institution
Summary
As hospital length of stay shortens, it is increasingly important to evaluate postdischarge risks of healthcare-associated infection. Of the estimated 35 million hospital discharges in the United States in 2006, 58% involved hospitalizations of 3 days or less.[1] Vancomycinresistant Enterococcus (VRE) is an important source of healthcare-associated infections and causes substantial morbidity and mortality among immunosuppressed patients.[2,3,4,5] Because VRE carriage is often prolonged,[6,7] studies assessing postdischarge risks of VRE infection are needed. We sought to assess the risk of VRE infection among all newly detected carriers both during hospitalization in and after discharge from an academic medical center
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