Infection prevention and control programme and COVID-19 measures : Effects on hospital-acquired infections in patients with cirrhosis

© 2023 The Author(s)..

Background & Aims: Bacterial infections affect survival of patients with cirrhosis. Hospital-acquired bacterial infections present a growing healthcare problem because of the increasing prevalence of multidrug-resistant organisms. This study aimed to investigate the impact of an infection prevention and control programme and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) measures on the incidence of hospital-acquired infections and a set of secondary outcomes, including the prevalence of multidrug-resistant organisms, empiric antibiotic treatment failure, and development of septic states in patients with cirrhosis.

Methods: The infection prevention and control programme was a complex strategy based on antimicrobial stewardship and the reduction of patient's exposure to risk factors. The COVID-19 measures presented further behavioural and hygiene restrictions imposed by the Hospital and Health Italian Sanitary System recommendations. We performed a combined retrospective and prospective study in which we compared the impact of extra measures against the hospital standard.

Results: We analysed data from 941 patients. The infection prevention and control programme was associated with a reduction in the incidence of hospital-acquired infections (17 vs. 8.9%, p <0.01). No further reduction was present after the COVID-19 measures had been imposed. The impact of the infection prevention and control programme remained significant even after controlling for the effects of confounding variables (odds ratio 0.44, 95% CI 0.26-0.73, p = 0.002). Furthermore, the adoption of the programme reduced the prevalence of multidrug-resistant organisms and decreased rates of empiric antibiotic treatment failure and the development of septic states.

Conclusions: The infection prevention and control programme decreased the incidence of hospital-acquired infections by nearly 50%. Furthermore, the programme also reduced the prevalence of most of the secondary outcomes. Based on the results of this study, we encourage other liver centres to adopt infection prevention and control programmes.

Impact and implications: Infections are a life-threatening problem for patients with liver cirrhosis. Moreover, hospital-acquired infections are even more alarming owing to the high prevalence of multidrug-resistant bacteria. This study analysed a large cohort of hospitalised patients with cirrhosis from three different periods. Unlike in the first period, an infection prevention programme was applied in the second period, reducing the number of hospital-acquired infections and containing multidrug-resistant bacteria. In the third period, we imposed even more stringent measures to minimise the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak. However, these measures did not result in a further reduction in hospital-acquired infections.

Medienart:

E-Artikel

Erscheinungsjahr:

2023

Erschienen:

2023

Enthalten in:

Zur Gesamtaufnahme - volume:5

Enthalten in:

JHEP reports : innovation in hepatology - 5(2023), 5 vom: 17. Mai, Seite 100703

Sprache:

Englisch

Beteiligte Personen:

Di Cola, Simone [VerfasserIn]
Gazda, Jakub [VerfasserIn]
Lapenna, Lucia [VerfasserIn]
Ceccarelli, Giancarlo [VerfasserIn]
Merli, Manuela [VerfasserIn]

Links:

Volltext

Themen:

ALD, alcoholic liver disease
Antibiotic resistance
Antimicrobial stewardship
BB, beta-blockers
Bacterial infections
C19MC, COVID-19 measures cohort
CA, community acquired
COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019
CRP, C-reactive protein
EATF, empiric antibiotic treatment failure
Empiric antibiotic failure
HAI, hospital-acquired infection
HCA, healthcare-associated
IPCC, infection prevention and control cohort
IPCP, infection prevention and control programme
Journal Article
Liver cirrhosis
MAP, mean arterial pressure
MDR, multidrug-resistant
MELD, model for end-stage liver disease
Multidrug-resistant bacteria
NASH, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis
Nosocomial infections
OR, odds ratio
PDR, pandrug-resistant
PPI, proton pump inhibitor
SARS-CoV-2
SBP, spontaneous bacterial peritonitis
SMC, standard measures cohort
UTI, urinary tract infection
WBC, white blood cell
XDR, extensively drug-resistant

Anmerkungen:

Date Revised 28.03.2023

published: Print-Electronic

Citation Status PubMed-not-MEDLINE

doi:

10.1016/j.jhepr.2023.100703

funding:

Förderinstitution / Projekttitel:

PPN (Katalog-ID):

NLM353510653