Evaluation of existing and desired antimicrobial stewardship activities and strategies in Swiss hospitals.

Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) is an important component in the fight against antimicrobial resistance. Currently, few hospitals have an ongoing institutional AMS programme. Swissnoso - the national centre for infection prevention - has launched a national Swiss AMS initiative supported by the office of public health. To guide AMS priorities and resources, current AMS activities in Switzerland were assessed. We distributed an internet-based questionnaire directed mainly to board-certified infectious diseases specialists and, if not available, senior internal medicine staff. Responses were received from 63/134 hospitals surveyed. More than 90% were in favour of national treatment guidelines currently in development under the umbrella of the Swiss society for infectious diseases. Many AMS activities - such as antimicrobial formulary restrictions and approval systems, review of antimicrobial prescriptions with point of care intervention, and direct feedback or therapeutic drug monitoring - are currently lacking in the majority of Swiss hospitals surveyed. Development of a modular formal AMS standard for Swiss hospitals may aid in advancing current AMS strategies and in introducing AMS programmes in Switzerland. In combination with the surveillance of antimicrobial use and resistance by ANRESIS, the national antimicrobial resistance surveillance system, this approach may reduce the use of antimicrobial agents and consequently the risk of emergence of multi-resistant pathogens

Emergence of vancomycin-resistant enterococci in Switzerland: a nation-wide survey.

This nation-wide survey on the epidemiology of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) included 142 healthcare institutions and showed an increasing number of VRE colonizations and infections in Switzerland, probably for the most part due to nosocomial dissemination. The introduction and spread of a new clone, gaps in VRE screening policies as well as heterogeneity regarding the management of VRE clusters may be possible explanations

Increasing proportion of vancomycin resistance among enterococcal bacteraemias in Switzerland: a 6-year nation-wide surveillance, 2013 to 2018

BackgroundVancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), mostly Enterococcus faecium, are multidrug-resistant microorganisms that can cause nosocomial infections. VRE has increased throughout many European countries, but data from Switzerland are scarce.AimThe aim of this work was to characterise the epidemiology of enterococcal bacteraemias in Switzerland with a focus on VRE.MethodsIn this observational study, we retrospectively investigated bacteraemias from 81 healthcare institutions from January 2013 to December 2018 using data from the Swiss Centre for Antibiotic Resistance. Only the first blood isolate with E. faecalis or E. faecium from an individual patient was considered. We analysed the annual incidences of enterococcal bacteraemias and determined the proportion of VRE over time. We also assessed epidemiological factors potentially associated with VRE bacteraemia.ResultsWe identified 5,369 enterococcal bacteraemias, of which 3,196 (59.5%) were due to E. faecalis and 2,173 (40.5%) to E. faecium. The incidence of enterococcal bacteraemias increased by 3.2% per year (95% confidential interval (CI): 1.6-4.8%), predominantly due to a substantial increase in E. faecalis bacteraemic episodes. Vancomycin resistance affected 30 (1.4%) E. faecium and one E. faecalis bacteraemic episodes. Among all E. faecium bacteraemias, the proportion of vancomycin-resistant isolates increased steadily from 2013 to 2018 (2% per year; 95% CI: 1.5-2.9%). No independent epidemiological factor for higher prevalence of vancomycin-resistant E. faecium bacteraemias was identified.ConclusionsVancomycin-resistant E. faecium bacteraemias remain infrequent in Switzerland. However, an important increase was observed between 2013 and 2018, highlighting the need for implementing active surveillance and targeted prevention strategies in the country

High adherence to national IPC guidelines as key to sustainable VRE control in Swiss hospitals: a cross-sectional survey.

BACKGROUND Vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE) are on the rise in many European hospitals. In 2018, Switzerland experienced its largest nosocomial VRE outbreak. The national center for infection prevention (Swissnoso) elaborated recommendations for controlling this outbreak and published guidelines to prevent epidemic and endemic VRE spread. The primary goal of this study was to evaluate adherence to this new guideline and its potential impact on the VRE epidemiology in Swiss acute care hospitals. METHODS In March 2020, Swissnoso distributed a survey among all Swiss acute care hospitals. The level of adherence as well as changes of infection prevention and control (IPC) strategies in the years 2018 and 2019 after publication of the national guidelines were asked along with an inventory on VRE surveillance and outbreaks. RESULTS Data of 97/146 (66%) participants were available, representing 81.6% of all acute care beds operated in Switzerland in 2019. The vast majority-72/81 (88%) responding hospitals-have entirely or largely adopted our new national guideline. 38/51 (74.5%) hospitals which experienced VRE cases were significantly more likely to have changed their IPC strategies than those 19/38 (50%) hospitals without VRE cases p = 0.017). The new IPC guidelines included (1) introduction of targeted admission screening in 89.5%, (2) screening of close contacts of VRE cases in 56%, and (3) contact precaution for suspected VRE cases 58% of these hospitals. 52 (54%) hospitals reported 569 new VRE cases in 2018 including 14 bacteremia, and 472 new cases in 2019 with 10 bacteremia. The ten largest outbreaks encountered between 2018 and 2019 included 671 VRE cases, of which most (93.4%) consisted of colonization events, 29 (4.3%) infections and 15 (2.2%) bacteremia. CONCLUSION Wide adoption of this VRE control guideline seemed to have a positive effect on VRE containment in Swiss acute care hospitals over two years, even if its long-term impact on the VRE epidemiology remains to be evaluated. Broad dissemination and strict implementation of a uniform national guideline may therefore serve as model for other countries to fight VRE epidemics on a national level

Association between the introduction of a national targeted intervention program and the incidence of surgical site infections in Swiss acute care hospitals

Abstract Background In Switzerland, the national surgical site infection (SSI) surveillance program showed a modest decrease in SSI rates for different procedures over the last decade. The study aimed to determine whether a multimodal, targeted intervention program in addition to existing SSI surveillance is associated with decreased SSI rates in the participating hospitals. Methods Prospective multicenter pre- and postintervention study conducted in eight Swiss acute care hospitals between 2013 and 2020. All consecutive patients > 18 years undergoing cardiac, colon, or hip/knee replacement surgery were included. The follow-up period was 30 days and one year for implant-related surgery. Patients with at least one follow-up were included. The intervention was to optimize three elements of preoperative management: (i) hair removal; (ii) skin disinfection; and (iii) perioperative antimicrobial prophylaxis. We compared SSI incidence rates (main outcome measure) pre- and postintervention (three years each) adjusted for potential confounders. Poisson generalized linear mixed models fitted to quarter-yearly confirmed SSIs and adjusted for baseline differences between hospitals and procedures. Adherence was routinely monitored through on-site visits. Results A total of 10 151 patients were included, with a similar median age pre- and postintervention (69.6 and IQR 60.9, 76.8 years, vs 69.5 and IQR 60.4, 76.8 years, respectively; P = 0.55) and similar proportions of females (44.8% vs. 46.1%, respectively; P = 0.227). Preintervention, 309 SSIs occurred in 5 489 patients (5.6%), compared to 226 infections in 4 662 cases (4.8%, P = 0.09) postintervention. The adjusted incidence rate ratio (aIRR) for overall SSI after intervention implementation was 0.81 (95% CI, 0.68 to 0.96, P = 0.02). For cardiac surgery (n = 2 927), the aIRR of SSI was 0.48 (95% CI, 0.32 to 0.72, P < 0.001). For hip/knee replacement surgery (n = 4 522), the aIRR was 0.88 (95% CI, 0.52 to 1.48, P = 0.63), and for colon surgery (n = 2 702), the aIRR was 0.92 (95% CI, 0.75 to 1.14, P = 0.49). Conclusions The SSI intervention bundle was associated with a statistically significant decrease in SSI cases. A significant association was observed for cardiac surgery. Adding a specific intervention program can add value compared to routine surveillance only. Further prevention modules might be necessary for colon and orthopedic surgery