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Targeted surveillance to identify children colonized with vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus in the pediatric

Aaron M Milstone1, Lisa L Maragakis, Karen C Carroll

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21287, USA. amilsto1@jhmi.edu

Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology
|November 26, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Targeted surveillance cultures effectively identify most vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) carriers in pediatric intensive care units. This approach aids in preventing VRE infections among vulnerable children.

Area of Science:

  • Infectious Diseases
  • Pediatric Critical Care
  • Healthcare Epidemiology

Background:

  • Admission surveillance cultures are resource-intensive for detecting asymptomatic vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) colonization.
  • Identifying VRE carriers is crucial for effective infection prevention in healthcare settings.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the effectiveness of targeted surveillance cultures in identifying VRE colonization in pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) admissions.
  • To assess VRE prevalence among children admitted to the PICU.

Main Methods:

  • A study was conducted to measure VRE prevalence in children admitted to a PICU.
  • Targeted surveillance strategies were employed to identify VRE carriers.

Main Results:

  • Targeted surveillance successfully identified 94% of VRE-colonized children.
  • This indicates a high capture rate for VRE carriers using the targeted approach.

Conclusions:

  • Targeted surveillance cultures are an effective strategy for identifying VRE carriers in PICU settings.
  • This method can facilitate pediatric infection prevention strategies by enabling early detection and isolation of VRE-colonized patients.

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