Factors associated with vanA VRE acquisition in Cardiothoracic Surgery patients during an acute outbreak

Abstract

Background: There was an acute outbreak of vanA Enterococcus faecium (VREfm) in a tertiary Melbourne teaching hospital between 2015 and 2016 amongst Cardiothoracic Surgery (CTS) ward and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients. Prior to this outbreak vanB VRE had been the predominate genotype encountered. Methods: A retrospective, matched (1:2), case–control study was conducted on CTS patients between 1 August 2015 and 31 May 2016 admitted to a hospital in Melbourne, during an outbreak of vanA VREfm to identify factors associated with colonisation or infection. Factors assessed included undergoing surgery and type of procedure, exposure to antibiotics and admission to ICU. Results: During the out..