• María Inés Staneloni, Laura Alonso, Silvia Ilari, María Paula Herrera, Carlota López, and Ángel Colque.
• Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina. E-mail: maria.staneloni@hospitalitaliano.org.ar.
• Medicina (B Aires). 2022 Jan 1; 82 (5): 722-731.

IntroductionThe problem of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic in countries with a previous high incidence, such as Argentina. This study describes the development and results of a CPE prevention program, mainly carbapenemase-producing Klebsiellas (KPC), in three critical units of two public hospitals during 6 months of the pandemic.MethodsThe objective was to reduce the incidence of KPC in clinical and colonization samples. This quasi-experimental study was based on a cycle of improvement and implementation of three measures: hand hygiene, environmental hygiene, and periodic surveillance with rectal swabs.ResultsRegarding the measures, all the units optimized active surveillance, and two of these also improved hand and environmental hygiene. Comparing the pre- and post-intervention periods in the three units, no significant change was observed in the rate of KPC positive clinical samples. KPC colonization was significantly reduced in two units (unit 2: 51.6-18.5 p 0.0004, unit 3: 62.5-5.2 p < 0.0000001). All units showed a downtrend in both rates towards the end of the study.ConclusionContaining or reducing the advance of the KPC in our region is possible even in difficult scenarios such as the pandemic. More studies are needed in low- and middle-income countries to demonstrate the impact of KPC prevention programs in these situations.

15 keywords...

hide…