Epidemiology of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae in hospitals of a large healthcare system in Miami, Florida from 2012 to 2016: Five years of experience with an internal registry.

Background: Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) is an urgent public health threat globally. Limited data are available regarding the epidemiology of CRE in South Florida. We describe the epidemiology of CRE within a large public healthcare system in Miami, FL, the experience with an internal registry, active surveillance testing, and the impact of infection prevention practices.

Improving patients' hand hygiene in the acute care setting: Is staff education enough?

Patients' hand hygiene (PHH) has been associated with reduction of healthcare-associated infections. We compared staff education about the importance of PHH versus providing patients with alcohol wipes for PHH. Our study found that staff education increased the percentage of patients reporting that they had been educated/encouraged to perform PHH but this intervention alone did not resulted in a statistically significant increase of the average frequency of PHH per day.

Outbreak of Klebsiella pneumoniae Carbapenemase-Producing Citrobacter freundii at a Tertiary Acute Care Facility in Miami, Florida.

OBJECTIVE To describe the investigation and control of a rare cluster of Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase-producing Citrobacter freundii in a hospital in southern Florida. METHODS An epidemiologic investigation, review of infection prevention procedures, and molecular studies including whole genome sequencing were conducted. RESULTS An outbreak of K.

Carbapenem-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii: Concomitant Contamination of Air and Environmental Surfaces.

OBJECTIVE To concomitantly determine the differential degrees of air and environmental contamination by Acinetobacter baumannii based on anatomic source of colonization and type of ICU layout (single-occupancy vs open layout). DESIGN Longitudinal prospective surveillance study of air and environmental surfaces in patient rooms. SETTING A 1,500-bed public teaching hospital in Miami, Florida.

Contamination of Ambient Air with Acinetobacter baumannii on Consecutive Inpatient Days.

Acinetobacter-positive patients had their ambient air tested for up to 10 consecutive days. The air was Acinetobacter positive for an average of 21% of the days; the rate of contamination was higher among patients colonized in the rectum than in the airways (relative risk [RR], 2.35; P = 0.

Control of a two-decade endemic situation with carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii: electronic dissemination of a bundle of interventions.

Background: Our institution continued to experience a hyperendemic situation with carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii despite a bundle of interventions. We aim to describe the effect of the subsequent implementation of electronic dissemination of the weekly findings of a bundle of interventions.

Methods: This was a quasiexperimental study performed at a 1,500-bed, public, teaching hospital.

Aerosolization of Acinetobacter baumannii in a trauma ICU*.

Objective: To establish the presence of air contamination with Acinetobacter baumannii in the trauma ICU.

Design: Point prevalence microbiological surveillances.

Settings: A 1,500-bed public teaching hospital in the Miami metro area.