Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae in patients admitted to the emergency department: prevalence, risk factors, and acquisition rate.

BACKGROUND: Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) have been reported worldwide and are associated with high mortality rates. Intestinal colonization acts as a reservoir and fosters exchange of resistance mechanisms.

AIM: To investigate the prevalence of patients harbouring CRE on hospital admission, risk factors associated, and the acquisition rate within the emergency department (ED).

METHODS: This was a cross-sectional survey with 676 patients consecutively admitted to the ED study during the months of May to July 2016. A questionnaire was performed and rectal swabs were collected from patients on admission, for culture and for multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). If the patient was hospitalized for more than one week in the ED, samples were taken again to determine the acquisition rate of CRE.

FINDINGS: Forty-six patients were colonized; all positive PCR were Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase. The acquisition rate was 18%. Previous exposure to healthcare in the last year, liver disease, and use of antibiotics in the last month were risk factors for colonization. Six patients with no previous exposure to healthcare were CRE-colonized on admission, suggesting transmission of CRE within the community.

CONCLUSION: Screening of high-risk patients on admission to the ED is a strategy to early identify CRE carriage and may contribute to control CRE dissemination.