Infection Control Manual, VRE Infection Control Policy

VRE Infection Control Policy
	Introduction
	Epidemiology
	VRE Prevention & Control
	Reservoirs
	Inpatient Control Measures Identification Contact Precautions Patient Care Equipment Patient Transport Cleaning/Disinfection Antibiotic Usage
	Discharge/Transfer/Home Care
	Outpatient Control Measures
	Discontinuation of Isolation Precautions
	Surveillance/Outbreak Control
Return to IC Guidelines

	Select Chapter:

Yale New Haven Hospital
QISS
GB 325
New Haven, CT
06504 USA

Dr. Jeff Topal
688-4634


Epidemiology

The epidemiology of VRE varies from hospital to hospital. The epidemiology of this organism is dependent on the hospital size, characteristics of the patient population served, antibiotic usage patterns, and geographic location. Risk factors which increase the likelihood of VRE colonization or infection can be divided into the following categories: host factors, hospital-specific factors, the use of invasive procedures, and antibiotic use. Important risk factors include prior antibiotic use (the number, intensity, and duration of antibiotic usage), concomitant severe underlying illness, prolonged hospitalization or hospitalization in an ICU, exposure to contaminated equipment or devices, and/or exposure to other patients with VRE colonization/infection.

VRE is spread by both direct and indirect contact. Modes of indirect contact have included transient carriage on healthcare worker hands, contaminated equipment, and/or contaminated environmental surfaces. Thus, to control VRE, one must both interrupt opportunities for the transmission of the organism and decrease the antibiotic selection pressure which provides a niche for its continued growth in the affected host.

Last modified: December 20, 2000.