title: Healthcare-associated outbreak due to pan-drug resistant Acinetobacter baumannii in a surgical intensive care unit.
abstract: Acinetobacter baumannii is ubiquitous and has recently become one of the most important healthcare-associated (HA) pathogens in hospitals. Infection caused by this organism often leads to significant morbidity and mortality. Outbreaks of pan-drug resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (PDRAB) have rarely been reported. During a two-month period, an outbreak of PDRAB colonization and infection affecting 7 patients occurred in our surgical intensive care unit (SICU). The colonized sites were respiratory tract (N = 7) and central venous catheter (N = 2). One of the patients had a surgical wound infection. Extensive environmental contamination was identified, including sites such as bed rails, bedside tables, surface of ventilators and infusion pump, water for nasogastric feeding and ventilator rinsing and sinks. All of the isolates were analysed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and showed an identical pattern. After use of strict cohort nursing, hand hygiene environmental cleaning, and replacement of a dysfunctional high-efficiency particulate air filter (HEPA), the outbreak was controlled.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: S H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: W H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Sheng
authors.forename: Y Y
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: L H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: H C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.forename: W J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Ko
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: F Y
authors.initials: FY
authors.lastname: Lin
mesh_terms: D000151:Acinetobacter Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D040981:Acinetobacter baumannii / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002405:Catheterization, Central Venous / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field; D004866:Equipment Contamination; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D008297:Male; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008875:Middle Aged; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology