Clinical practice guideline for screening of patients at risk of colonization by carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales and the treatment of infections caused by these bacteria

Abstract

Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE) infections have increased in recent years. Colombia has become an endemic country for this group of microorganisms, and the infections they cause have a serious impact in terms of morbidity and mortality. The early identification of CPE carriers who are admitted to health care centers as patients is necessary to implement adequate isolation and infection control measures to limit the spread of this type of microorganisms in hospitals. Furthermore, treating these infections is a challenging task due to the limited therapeutic alternatives available and the fact that there are only a few studies proving their effectiveness in this setting. Therefore, the objective of the present work is to develop a clinical practice guideline (CPG) for the screening of patients at risk of CPE colonization and the treatment of inpatients with suspected or confirmed infections caused by this type of bacteria through a CPG adaptation process based on the ADAPTE meth-odology. With this purpose in mind, evidence-informed recommendations for the screening and timely identification of CPE carriers admitted to hospitals are made, as well as for the adequate pharmacological treatment of CPE infections in this context.