Antibiotic Awareness Week 2024

Infection Preventionist, Healthcare Epidemiology and Infection Prevention, Northwestern Memorial Hospital 

Infection Preventionists (IPs) serve to improve patient safety and the quality of care by working to reduce the incidence of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) including, but not limited to catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs), central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs), and surgical site infections (SSIs). These infections can present significant challenges to patients, healthcare teams, and institutions. In recent years, there has been an increase in rates of hospital-onset infections caused by multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) such as carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE), carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB), and echinocandin-resistant Candida auris.^1,2 Infections caused by these MDROs are associated with substantial morbidity and mortality, particularly among vulnerable patient populations such as intensive care unit patients and immunocompromised hosts.

Efforts to curtail nosocomial acquisition and transmission of MDROs require a multidisciplinary approach and are at the forefront of an Infection Prevention program amidst a transforming landscape in healthcare. IPs collect and analyze healthcare data to develop and implement programs to protect patients and reduce the risk of healthcare-associated infections in the hospital, particularly those transmitted from patient to patient. These include closely collaborating with the microbiology laboratory to develop a MDRO surveillance program and partnering with the antimicrobial and diagnostic stewardship team to optimize blood and urine culture practices through diagnostic stewardship. IPs also frequently work side-by-side with Infectious Diseases and Antimicrobial Stewardship teams on educational efforts for MDRO prevention geared towards clinical stakeholders, highlighting its clinical and epidemiologic significance.

Sustained and integrated IP and antimicrobial stewardship practices are essential elements of a MDRO prevention bundle. The current and projected MDRO landscape underscores the importance of adopting a unified approach across multiple teams to design innovative interventions and raise awareness to combat a rapidly evolving threat.