Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus colonization before admission to the intensive care unit: A clinico-epidemiologic analysis
published online 02 February 2009.
Background
Asymptomatic vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) colonization is known to precede actual infection. Since VRE was first isolated in Korea in 1992, the VRE isolation rate has rapidly increased in tertiary hospitals.
Methods
We performed a prospective observational study to estimate the prevalence of VRE colonization among inpatients at the time of intensive care unit (ICU) admission. From March through December 2007, rectal swab cultures were taken in all patients admitted to the ICU. We aimed to identify the risk factors for VRE colonization on admission.
Results
During the study period, 34 (4.4%) out of 780 patients were already colonized with VRE before ICU admission: 21 out of 323 patients from general wards (6.5%) and 13 out of 437 patients from outside the hospital (2.97%). VRE-colonized patients were more likely than uncolonized patients to have infectious diseases and to have been referred from outside hospitals (P < .01). Previous hospitalization (P = .01) and antibiotic exposure (P < .01) were risk factors for VRE colonization before ICU admission. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis patterns were diverse. Initial VRE colonization correlated to poor prognosis.
Conclusion
VRE colonization rate was not negligible among newly admitted ICU patients, suggesting that an active surveillance program focusing on high-risk groups may be helpful.
Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Internal Medicine, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
Address correspondence to Hee-Jin Cheong, MD, PhD, Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Internal Medicine, Korea University Guro Hospital, Korea University College of Medicine, 97 Guro Dong-gil, Guro-gu, Seoul, 152-703, Korea.
Conflict of interest: All authors report no conflicts of interest.
ABSTRACT