Clinical microbiology and infection : the official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
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Clin. Microbiol. Infect. · Aug 2014
Multicenter StudyA multinational study of colonization with extended spectrum β-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae in healthcare personnel and family members of carrier patients hospitalized in rehabilitation centres.
The study aims were: (i) to define the prevalence of and risk factors for colonization by extended spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) -producing Enterobacteriaceae (EPE) among healthcare workers (HCWs) and family members (FMs) of EPE-colonized patients in rehabilitation units and (ii) to compare EPE isolates from these three groups. The study included 286 FMs of 194 EPE-carrying patients identified in five rehabilitation units located in Israel, Italy, France and Spain. The EPE were detected in rectal swabs from 26 (9%) of 286 FMs screened. ⋯ Only 7 of 23 E. coli subclones cultured from HCWs were also represented among 376 patient-derived ESBL-producing E. coli isolates from the same rehabilitation units. In Spain, a higher proportion of HCWs and FMs were ESBL carriers than elsewhere (p <0.05). In conclusion, the molecular and epidemiological data suggest that FMs are at higher risk of EPE acquisition from their relative patients than HCWs.