IMPACTO-MR: a Brazilian nationwide platform study to assess infections and multidrug resistance in intensive care...

Area of Science:

• Infectious Diseases
• Critical Care Medicine
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Health care-associated infections (HAIs) caused by multidrug-resistant bacteria (MDRB) pose a significant threat in intensive care units (ICUs).
• Effective surveillance and research platforms are crucial for understanding and mitigating the impact of MDRB in critical care settings.
• Brazil lacks a comprehensive nationwide ICU database to specifically address MDRB-related HAIs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce the IMPACTO-MR platform, a Brazilian nationwide intensive care unit (ICU) clinical database.
• To detail the platform's development, ICU selection criteria, data collection methods, and research objectives.
• To highlight the platform's utility for individual ICU improvement and multicenter research on MDRB-related HAIs.

Main Methods:

• Description of the IMPACTO-MR platform's design and implementation.
• Criteria for selecting participating intensive care units across Brazil.
• Characterization of the core data collection process using the Epimed Monitor System®.

Main Results:

• The IMPACTO-MR platform successfully established a nationwide ICU clinical database.
• Data collection encompassed demographic, clinical, microbiological, and organ support information.
• Between October 2019 and December 2020, 33,983 patients from 51 ICUs were included.

Conclusions:

• The IMPACTO-MR platform serves as a vital national resource for studying health care-associated infections caused by multidrug-resistant bacteria in Brazilian ICUs.
• The platform facilitates data-driven improvements for individual ICUs and supports multicenter observational and prospective research.
• It provides a foundation for future research projects aimed at combating MDRB in critical care environments.