Current Status of Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs in São Paulo Hospitals

OBJECTIVES: Antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) comprise coordinated interventions designed to improve antimicrobial use. Understanding the current structure of ASP hospitals will support interventions for the improvement of these programs. This study aimed to describe the status of ASPs in hospitals in São Paulo, Brazil. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted on the ASPs of hospitals in the state of São Paulo from March to July 2018. Through interviews by telephone or e-mail, we queried which components of the Infectious Diseases Society of America/Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines were implemented. RESULTS: The response rate was 30% (28/93 hospitals), and 26 hospitals (85%) reported having a formal ASP. The most frequently implemented strategies were antimicrobial surgical prophylaxis guidelines (100%), empiric sepsis guidelines (93%), and the presence of ASP team members during bedside rounds (96%). The least commonly implemented strategies included prior authorization for all antimicrobials (11%), pharmacokinetic monitoring, and an adjustment program for patients on IV aminoglycosides (3%). Regarding the metrics of the ASP, the most common indicator was the rate of antimicrobial resistance (77%). Eighteen hospitals evaluated antimicrobial consumption using defined daily dose, and only 29% evaluated the days of therapy; 61% of hospitals reported their results to the hospital administration and 39% to the prescribers. CONCLUSIONS: Most hospitals have a formal and active ASP, but with timely actions. We observed inconsistencies between what program leaders understand as the main objective of ASP and the metrics used to evaluate it. Part of the effort for the next few years should be to improve program evaluation metrics and to provide feedback to physicians and hospital leadership

Indicadores de desempenho sobre uso de antibioticoprofilaxia cirúrgica: construção e validação

The study aims to contribute to hospital infection control practices by the development and validation of performance indicators to evaluate the use of surgical antibiotic prophylaxis. Using a methodology for drawing up measures to evaluate health practices, one basic and five secondary indicators were constructed and submitted to content validation through attributes of operational manual, representativeness and applicability by technical consensus of specialists. All indicators got consensus, although one attribute of applicability of the basic indicator and the secondary indicators were questioned by the specialists. The suggestions of the experts, however, allowed adjustments and therefore validation. Given that different types of evaluation of clinical practices have been built, but not always substantiated and validated, it is believed that methods of construction and validation like in this study are its greatest contribution.O estudo pretende contribuir com práticas de controle de infecção hospitalar, pela elaboração e validação de indicadores de avaliação de desempenho do uso de antibioticoprofilaxia cirúrgica. Por meio de metodologia de elaboração de medidas de avaliação em saúde, foram construídos um indicador básico e cinco secundários, submetidos à validação de construto operacional, representatividade e aplicabilidade, por meio de técnica de consenso de especialistas. Todos os indicadores obtiveram consenso nos atributos dos construtos operacionais e de representatividade. Quanto à aplicabilidade, o indicador básico não obteve consenso somente para o atributo de acessibilidade, e os secundários para o de contextualização. As sugestões dos especialistas, contudo, permitiram ajustes e, portanto, validação. Tendo em vista que diversos tipos de avaliação de práticas assistenciais têm sido construídos,  embora nem sempre sejam fundamentados e validados, acreditase que os modos de construção e validação utilizados neste estudo constituem a sua maior contribuição

Colonization pressure as a risk factor for colonization by multiresistant Acinetobacter spp and carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa in an intensive care unit

OBJECTIVE: To determine factors associated with colonization by carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa and multiresistant Acinetobacter spp. METHODS: Surveillance cultures were collected from patients admitted to the intensive care unit at admission, on the third day after admission and weekly until discharge. The outcome was colonization by these pathogens. Two interventions were implemented: education and the introduction of alcohol rubs. Compliance with hand hygiene, colonization pressure, colonization at admission and risk factors for colonization were evaluated. RESULTS: The probability of becoming colonized increased during the study. The incidence density of colonization by carbapenem-resistant P. aeruginosa and multiresistant Acinetobacter spp. and colonization pressure were different between periods, increasing gradually throughout the study. The increase in colonization pressure was due to patients already colonized at admission. The APACHE II score, colonization pressure in the week before the outcome and male gender were independent risk factors for colonization. Every 1% increase in colonization pressure led to a 2% increase in the risk of being colonized. CONCLUSION: Colonization pressure is a risk factor for carbapenem-resistant P. aeruginosa and multiresistant Acinetobacter spp. colonization. When this pressure reaches critical levels, efforts primarily aimed at hand hygiene may not be sufficient to prevent transmission

Statewide evaluation of infection control measures for preventing coronavirus disease 2019 in hemodialysis facilities

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the occurrence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in hemodialysis facilities and the occurrence of and risk factors for clustering of COVID-19 cases. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional online survey between March and July 2020, in all dialysis facilities in São Paulo state, using Google Forms. The online questionnaire contained questions addressing specific components of infection prevention and control practices and the number of cases during the COVID-19 pandemic. RESULTS: A total of 1,093 (5%) COVID-19 cases were reported among 20,984 patients; approximately 56% of the facilities had ≥1 cluster. Most facilities implemented various measures (such as allocation of dedicated COVID-19 areas/shifts, symptom screening, environmental disinfection, and maintenance of adequate ventilation) to prevent the transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Clustering of COVID-19 cases was suspected in only 7% of dialysis facilities. The only variable associated with this event was the performance of aerosol-generating procedures (odds ratio: 4.74; 95% confidence interval: 1.75-12.86). CONCLUSION: Attention should be paid to avoiding the performance of aerosol-generating procedures in dialysis facilities and monitoring the clustering of cases

Frequency and factors associated with hospital readmission after COVID-19 hospitalization: the importance of post-COVID diarrhea

Purpose: The aim of this study was to describe the incidence and risk factors for hospital readmission and infection during the months after COVID-19 hospital admission. Methods: This prospective study included adult patients who were hospitalized due to COVID-19 and had been discharged from April 2020 to August 2020. All patients had a medical evaluation with a structured questionnaire 6 to 11 months after hospital admission. The authors included only patients with confirmed COVID-19 by RT-PCR. Patients with pregnant/postpartum women, with a proven COVID-19 reinfection or incapable of answering the questionnaire were excluded. Results: A total of 822 patients completed the follow-up assessment, and 68% reported at least one recurrent symptom related to COVID-19. The most frequent symptom was myalgia (42%). Thirty-two percent of patients visited an emergency room after COVID-19 hospitalization, and 80 (10%) patients required re-hospitalization. Risk factors for hospital readmission were orotracheal intubation during COVID-19 hospitalization (p = 0.003, OR = 2.14), Charlson score (p = 0.002, OR = 1.21), congestive heart failure (p = 0.005, OR = 2.34), peripheral artery disease (p = 0.06, OR = 2.06) and persistent diarrhea after COVID-19 hospitalization discharge (p = 0.02, OR = 1.91). The main cause of hospital readmission was an infection, 43 (54%). Pneumonia was the most frequent infection (29%). Conclusions: The presence of symptoms after six months of COVID-19 diagnosis was frequent, and hospital readmission was relatively high

Impact of COVID-19 on healthcare-associated infections: Antimicrobial consumption does not follow antimicrobial resistance

Background: This study aimed to analyze the Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAI) rates and antimicrobial consumption in Intensive Care Units (ICU) in São Paulo city during the COVID-19 pandemic and compare them with the pre-pandemic period. Methods: This cohort included all hospitals that reported HAI rates (Central-Line-Associated Bloodstream Infection ‒ CLABSI and Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia ‒ VAP), the proportion of microorganisms that caused CLABSI, the proportion of resistant microorganisms, and antimicrobial consumption from January 2017 ‒ December 2020. Hospitals were stratified by the number of beds, Central Venous Catheter (CVC) utilization rate, Mechanical-Ventilation (MV) utilization rate, and type of funding. Statistical analyses were based on time-series plots and regression models. Results: 220 ICUs were included. The authors observed an abrupt increase in CLABSI rates after the pandemic onset. High CLABSI rates during the pandemic were associated with hospital size, funding (public and non-profit private), and low CVC use (≤ 50%). An increase in VAP rates was associated with public hospitals, and high MV use (> 35%). The susceptibility profile of microorganisms did not differ from that of the pre-pandemic period. polymyxin, glycopeptides, and antifungal use increased, especially in COVID-19 ICUs. Conclusions: HAI increased during COVID-19. The microorganisms’ susceptibility profile did not change with the pandemic, but the authors observed a disproportionate increase in large-spectrum antimicrobial drug use

Evaluation of eleven immunochromatographic assays for SARS-CoV-2 detection: investigating the dengue cross-reaction

COVID-19 disease is spread worldwide and diagnostic techniques have been studied in order to contain the pandemic. Immunochromatographic (IC) assays are feasible and a low-cost alternative especially in low and middle-income countries, which lack structure to perform certain diagnostic techniques. Here we evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of eleven different IC tests in 145 serum samples from confirmed cases of COVID-19 using RT-PCR and 100 negative serum samples from blood donors collected in February 2019. We also evaluated the cross-reactivity with dengue using 20 serum samples from patients with confirmed diagnosis for dengue collected in early 2019 through four different tests. We found high sensitivity (92%), specificity (100%) and an almost perfect agreement (Kappa 0.92) of IC assay, especially when we evaluated IgG and IgM combined after 10 days from the onset of symptoms with RT-PCR. However, we detected cross-reactivity between dengue and COVID-19 mainly with IgM antibodies (5 to 20% of cross-reaction) and demonstrated the need for better studies about diagnostic techniques for these diseases

Treatment of infections caused by multi-drug resistant Acinetobacter spp.

O gênero Acinetobacter tem sido implicado em grande variedade de infecções hospitalares, principalmente em Unidades de Terapia Intensiva. O tratamento de infecções por Acinetobacter spp. é geralmente realizado com imipenem embora não haja ensaios clínicos randomizados que embasem esta recomendação. No caso de resistência a esta classe, situação cada vez mais freqüente, as opções mais estudadas são as polimixinas e ampicilinasulbactam. Diante da escassez de dados sobre o assunto, estudos que avaliem o tratamento de infecções por Acinetobacter spp resistente a carbapenem são necessários. Realizou-se um estudo de coorte retrospectivo de pacientes com infecção causada por Acinetobacter spp. resistente a carbapenem, internados no Instituto Central do Hospital das Clínicas (HC-FMUSP) e no Hospital do Servidor Público Estadual (HSPE) no período de 1996 a 2004. Foram considerados como casos os pacientes com diagnóstico de infecção hospitalar baseado em critérios estabelecido pelo Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) somado ao isolamento de Acinetobacter spp. resistente a carbapenem obtidos de materiais estéreis ou lavado bronco-alveolar.Não foram incluídos casos de infecção do trato urinário. Foi realizada a análise dos prontuários dos pacientes e foram coletadas informações clínico-demográficas, tratamento utilizado, sinais, sintomas e exames auxiliares no diagnóstico da infecção e no decorrer do tratamento. Foram avaliados três desfechos: mortalidade até o final do tratamento, mortalidade até o final da internação e evolução clínica. Oitenta e dois pacientes (30%) receberam polimixina B ou E, oitenta e cinco (31%) foram tratados com ampicilina-sulbactam, 99 (36%) não receberam tratamento específico. As características clínico-demográficas dos grupos foram semelhantes. A mortalidade durante a internação foi de 78% e boa resposta clínica foi observada em 50% dos pacientes tratados. Na análise multivariada de fatores associados à má evolução clínica, início do tratamento após 72 horas do isolamento e piora da função renal durante o tratamento foram estatisticamente significativos. Pontuação de Apache II >= 15, início do tratamento após 72 horas do isolamento; piora da função renal durante o tratamento; presença de choque séptico e uso de polimixina foram variáveis associadas com óbito até o final do tratamento. As variáveis independentemente associadas com óbito durante a internação foram: idade >= 58 anos, presença de choque séptico no dia do início do tratamento e pontuação de Apache II >=15. Concluiu-se que para o tratamento de infecções causadas por Acinetobacter spp. resistente a carbapenem, ampicilinasulbactam foi superior a polimixinas considerando mortalidade durante o tratamento.Acinetobacter spp. is a cause of a number of infections, mainly in the ICU setting. Antimicrobials drugs frequently reported as active against Acinetobacter spp include carbapenems, colistin, ampicillin/sulbactam, amikacin, rifampin and tetracyclines and currently carbapenens are considered the main antimicrobial treatment. Unfortunately, over the past years there has been a worldwide increase in infections caused by carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter. This poses a therapeutic challenge as few treatment options are avaible. We performed a retrospective review of the case records of patients from 1996 to 2004 who had nosocomial infections caused by carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter spp. from 2 large teaching hospitals. Diagnosis of infection was based on CDC criteria plus the isolation of Acinetobacter from a usually sterile site or from broncoalvelolar lavage. Urinary tract infections were not included. We collected data on demographic and clinical features, treatment, signs and symptoms from medical records. We evaluate 3 outcomes: mortality until the end of treatment, in-hospital mortality and clinical outcome. Eighty two patients received polymyxins (30%), 85 were treated with ampicilin-sulbactam (31%) and 99 (36%) did not receive any of these antibiotics. The demographic and clinical characteristics of the groups were similar. Multivariate analysis showed that treatment with polymyxins, Apache II score >= 15; septic shock; treatment delay and renal failure were independent predictors of mortality. On multivariate analysis, age >= 58 years, presence of septic shock and Apache II score >=15 were prognosis factors for mortality during hospitalization. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that Apache II >=15 and renal failure during treatment were associated with treatment failure. In conclusion, ampicillin-sulbactam was superior to polymyxin considering mortality during treatment

Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of vancomycin and meropenem in critically ill patients submitted to sustained low-efficiency dialysis

INTRODUÇÃO: A combinação de sepse e insuficiência renal com necessidade de diálise é bastante comum nas Unidades de Terapia Intensiva e esta situação tem elevada mortalidade. Um desafio neste cenário é prescrever a dose correta dos antimicrobianos para o tratamento destas infecções. Em pacientes críticos e hemodinamicamente instáveis que necessitam de terapia renal substitutiva, um dos métodos mais utilizados é a diálise contínua, entretanto, recentemente, tem-se utilizado a diálise de baixa eficiência - conhecida como SLED, da abreviação do inglês \"sustained low-efficiency dialysis\". Esta modalidade de terapia renal substitutiva combina características da hemodiálise contínua com a intermitente, utilizando o equipamento da diálise intermitente, com menores fluxos sanguíneos e de dialisato, e com vantagem de menor custo. Apesar do fluxo mais baixo, por ser utilizado tempo mais prolongado, a SLED frequentemente resulta em maior clearance e especula-se que a remoção dos fármacos seria maior. Há escassez de estudos que avaliaram a farmacocinética e farmacodinâmica de antimicrobianos em pacientes submetidos à SLED.OBJETIVOS: Avaliar adequação farmacodinâmica de meropenem e vancomicina em pacientes submetidos a diálise estendida de baixa eficiência. Avaliar a depuração paramêtros farmacocinéticos durante a sessão de SLED. MÉTODOS: Foi realizado estudo prospectivo descritivo observacional com coleta de material biológico julho de 2012 a julho de 2014 HC-FMUSP. Foram incluídos pacientes submetidos à SLED em uso de vancomicina e/ou meropenem. Foram coletadas amostras de sangue seriadas (tempos: imediatamente antes do início da sessão de diálise, 0,5h, 1h, 2h, 4h após o início do tratamento e ao final da sessão). A quantificação dos antimicrobianos foi realizada através dos métodos analíticos de quantificação em Cromatografia Líquida de Alta Eficiência (CLAE). Os parâmetros farmacocinéticos foram calculados apenas durante a sessão de diálise utilizando-se o software WinNonlin. A área sob a curva foi determinada para a vancomicina. Para o meropenem, calculou-se o tempo acima da MIC. Resultados: Foram incluídos 24 pacientes tratados com vancomicina e 21 com meropenem eforam obtidas 170 amostras de plasma. As concentrações médias de vancomicina sérica e meropenem: antes da sessão de SLED foram 24,5 e 28,0 ?g / ml, respectivamente; e após SLED 14 e 6 ?g / ml, respectivamente. A depuração média foi de 41% para a vancomicina e 78% para o meropenem. Para vancomicina, 22 (96%), 19 (83%) e 16 (70%) pacientes teriam atingido o alvo (AUC0-24 > 400) considerando-se MIC 0,5; 400) considering MIC 0.5; <= 1mg/l and <= 2 mg/l, respectively. For meropenem, 19 (95%), 18 (90%) and 11(55%) patients would have achieved the target (70% of time above MIC) if infected with isolates with MIC <= 1, <= 4 and <= 8mg/l, respectively. Conclusions: In critically ill patients, meropenem and vancomycin were removed during SLED. Despite this, overall high PK/PD target attainment was obtained, except for higher MICs. We suggest maintenance doses of 1g tid or bid for meropenem. For vancomycin, more individualized approach using therapeutic drug monitoring should be used, as commercial assays are availabl

Evaluación del efecto Hawthorne durante la manipulación del catéter venoso central

Objetivos: Descrever o cumprimento das práticas de higienização das mãos e desinfecção dos conectores antes da manipulação do cateter venoso central antes e após intervenção educativa. A adesão à higienização das mãos foi avaliada por observação direta e câmera de vídeo. Métodos: Estudo antes e depois realizado com a equipe de enfermagem em unidade de terapia intensiva para adultos, em São Paulo, Brasil, com 180 observações com câmeras de vídeo e observação direta. A adesão à higienização das mãos antes da manipulação do cateter e à técnica correta e desinfecção do conector por cinco segundos foram observadas. Resultados: Quando as câmeras de vídeo foram observadas, a adesão à higiene das mãos aumentou de 46% para 66% e o uso da técnica adequada aumentou de 23% para 46% (p &lt; 0,05). Em relação à adesão à desinfecção do conector, não foi observada diferença entre os períodos. A adesão à higienização das mãos na observação direta aumentou de 83% para 87% e na indireta, de 46% para 66% após a intervenção. Conclusão Após a intervenção educativa, houve melhora na adesão à higienização das mãos antes da manipulação do cateter venoso central e no uso da técnica correta. Quando observada indiretamente, a adesão a essas práticas foi menor, reforçando o efeito Hawthorne.Objetivo: Describir el cumplimiento de las prácticas de higiene de manos y desinfección del hub antes de la manipulación del catéter venoso central en dos momentos: antes y después de la intervención educativa. La adherencia a la higiene de manos se evaluó con dos métodos: observación directa y cámara de video. Métodos: Estudio antes-después realizado con el equipo de enfermería en una unidad de cuidados intensivos de adultos, en São Paulo, Brasil, que incluye 180 observaciones utilizando cámaras de video y observación directa. Se observaron el cumplimiento de la higiene de manos antes de la manipulación del catéter y el cumplimiento de la técnica correcta y la desinfección del hub durante cinco segundos. Resultados: Cuando se observó la grabación de cámaras de video, el cumplimiento de la higiene de manos aumentó del 46% al 66% y el uso de la técnica adecuada aumentó del 23% al 46% (p&lt;0,05). En cuanto al cumplimiento de la desinfección de hubs, no se observó diferencia entre los períodos. El cumplimiento de la higiene de manos en observación directa aumentó del 83% al 87% y en observación indirecta del 46% al 66% tras la intervención. Conclusión: Después de la intervención educativa mejoró el cumplimiento de la higiene de manos antes de la manipulación del CVC y el uso de la técnica correcta. Cuando se observó indirectamente, la adherencia a estas prácticas fue menor, reforzando el efecto Hawthorne.Objectives: To describe the compliance to the practices of hand hygiene and hub disinfection before manipulation of the central venous catheter in two moments: before and after educational intervention. Adherence to hand hygiene was assessed with two methods: direct observation and video camera. Methods: Before and after study conducted with the nursing team in an adult intensive care unit, in São Paulo, Brazil, including 180 observations using video cameras and direct observation. Hand hygiene compliance before catheter manipulation and compliance with the correct technique and the hub disinfection for five seconds were observed. Results: When video cameras recording was observed, hand hygiene compliance increased from 46% to 66% and the use of the proper technique increased from 23% to 46% (p &lt; 0.05). Regarding hub disinfection compliance, no difference was observed between the periods. Hand hygiene compliance in direct observation increased from 83% to 87% and in indirect observation, from 46% to 66% after the intervention. Conclusion: After the educational intervention, hand hygiene compliance before CVC manipulation and the use of the correct technique improved. When observed indirectly, the adherence to these practices was lower, reinforcing the Hawthorne effect