Effectiveness of Antiepidemic Measures Aimed to Reduce Carbapenemase-Producing Enterobacteriaceae in the Hospital Environment

PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of hospital-based antiepidemic measures aimed at limiting the spread of symptomatic infections and colonization with carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CPE), mainly NDM-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae, with particular emphasis on microbiological screening tests. METHODS: This retrospective study was based on data from 168 hospitals under the supervision of the Provincial Sanitary and Epidemiological Station in Warsaw, Poland, in 2016–2017. Analysis of the effectiveness of antiepidemic procedures focused on the type of implemented antiepidemic procedures, the number of microbiological screening tests per year, the geographic location of the hospitals (inside or outside Warsaw), the timing of the screening tests (on admission to hospital or 48 hours later), and the results of the screening tests. RESULTS: Rates of proper isolation of patients infected or colonized with an alarm pathogen including NDM-producing K. pneumoniae increased from 38.0% in 2016 to 49.5% in 2017 (p > 0.05). The number of screening tests performed increased by 88% from 68319 in 2016 to 128373 in 2017. The number of epidemic outbreaks of symptomatic infections caused by NDM-producing K. pneumoniae decreased from 11 in 2016 to 7 in 2017 in hospitals in Warsaw, where microbiological screening tests were performed. The number of outbreaks in hospitals outside Warsaw, where the screening tests were not performed or were limited, increased from 8 in 2016 to 24 in 2017. CONCLUSION: Screening tests increase the chance of detecting colonization by CPE. The implementation of microbiological screening decreased the risk of epidemic outbreaks of symptomatic infections caused by CPE.