title: Surgical Infection Society position on vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus.
abstract: The risk of transfer of vancomycin resistance to staphylococci is a real possibility and has been achieved in the laboratory. Prolonged colonization occurs with vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE), and many more patients are colonized than infected. The failure to identify, isolate, and adhere to infection control measures when caring for VRE-colonized patients dooms to failure any means to control its spread. Control of vancomycin use alone is unlikely to greatly affect the number of patients at risk for VRE colonization. The global spread of VRE may be impossible to stop, but infection control measures are the most important line of defense inside hospitals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Cornell University Medical College, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Huycke
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Wells
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Bohnen
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gadaleta
authors.forename: R E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Fichtl
authors.forename: P S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Barie
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000517:prevention & control; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D016983:Enterococcus / Q000187:drug effects*; D016908:Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D017053:Infection Control; D014640:Vancomycin / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D014640:Vancomycin