Reducing Intensive Care Multi-resistant Organism (MRO) transmission
Hunter New England Area Health Service
This project was entered in the 2007 NSW Health Awards, Making Prevention Everybody's Business category.
Contact: Tonia Easton
Abstract
The bacterium multi-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (MRAB) causes outbreaks of infection in Intensive Care (ICU) that have proven to be extremely difficult to control.
In August 2000, MRAB was detected from clinical specimens from three patients in the 16 bed Intensive care unit serving a tertiary care hospital and an outbreak was declared.
A multi-disciplinary quality improvement effort commenced with implementation of many changes to patient and unit management. These included enhanced surveillance, cohorting of patients to one area of Intensive Care, extensive environmental cleaning, closer restriction of broad-spectrum antimicrobials, and the implementation of a within-unit hand hygiene campaign (December 2002). The highly motivated staff developed educational tools and embraced the introduction of an alcoholic hand rub.
The outbreak was not completely controlled by these interventions and continued until mid 2003. The air-conditioning system was implicated as an ongoing source, though this could not be proven microbiologically. Following cessation of recycling of air via the air conditioning system (July 02) and a thorough cleaning of the ducts (Nov 02), the outbreak was finally brought under control. The unit has remained free of endemic MRAB since that time.
The full entry document can be downloaded in the formats listed below:
Reducing Intensive Care Multi-resistant Organism (MRO) transmission (99KB)
Reducing Intensive Care Multi-resistant Organism (MRO) transmission (66KB)
Download the Presentation (624KB) from the 2007 NSW Health Expo
