Long-term care facilities as sources of antibiotic-resistant nosocomial pathogens.
Long-term care facilities house individuals that have usually been transferred from acute-care institutions. For this reason, carriage of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), resistant Gram-negative bacilli and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) is relatively frequent. As these patients are readmitted to acute-care institutions, they reintroduce these organisms into those settings. It is notable that studies of these resistant organisms in long-term care facilities demonstrate little transfer between patients. Transmission of these bacteria and the development of infection in nursing homes are both uncommon events. Resources are best devoted to infection-control basics than to isolation of patients colonized or infected with these organisms.
Crossley
K
K
Department of Medicine, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and the University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. cross006@tc.umn.edu
D003428:Cross Infection / Q000382:microbiology*; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D016983:Enterococcus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D008134:Long-Term Care; D016106:Methicillin Resistance; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D013296:Streptococcus pneumoniae / Q000302:isolation & purification; D020713:Vancomycin Resistance