From infections to preventive actions monitoring in health facilities: an experience on MDROs

Abstract

Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs) and Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) involve high costs both in health and economic terms for patients and health systems. Implementing Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) programs is critical to decrease infectious agents' transmission in healthcare settings. The aim of this study is to assess if the monitoring of Contact Precautions could decrease the incidence of Multi-Drug Resistant Organisms (MRDOs) infections. This pilot study was conducted in a teaching hospital in Rome. A checklist of 16 items was developed to assess the compliance to Contact Precautions in 11 hospital wards in which MRDOs were detected between November and December 2020. It was administered on-site both interviewing healthcare professionals and through direct observation. A paired t-test with a = 5% was used to compare the number of alert organisms in the first quarter of 2020 respect to the first quarter of 2021 before and after implementing the surveillance checklist)