FUNGAL OUTBREAK BLAMED ON REUSABLE THERMOMETERS

Hospital's Fungal Outbreak Blamed on Reusable Thermometers

Candida auris superbugs found on skin-surface axillary probes

• October 03, 2018 A Candida auris outbreak at a neuroscience intensive care unit in England's Oxford University Hospitals appeared to step from reusable probes used to take patient temperatures, researchers said, despite efforts to sanitize them between uses.Seventy patients were found to harbor C. auris from early February 2015 to late August 2017, with seven patients developing invasive infections. Exposure to reusable skin-surface axillary temperature probes was associated with an almost 7-fold greater risk of C. auris colonization (OR 6.80, 95% CI 2.96-15.63; P<0 .001="" according="" adjusting="" after="" among="" and="" colleagues="" david="" dphil="" eyre="" factors="" for="" icu="" in="" neuroscience="" other="" patients="" risk="" several="" span="" the="" to="" treated="" w.="" writing=""> New England Journal of Medicine.

• By Salynn Boyles, Contributing WriterOctober 03, 2018
  C. auris is an emerging multidrug-resistant fungus that has recently been linked to outbreaks across the globe, often in ICUs. Healthcare facilities in New York City recently suffered a citywide outbreak of the pathogen that is known to survive on hospital surfaces for extended periods. According to the CDC, most C. auris cases in the U.S. have been detected in New York City, New Jersey, and the Chicago area, and are largely traced to strains linked to other parts of the world introduced by patients who recently received healthcare overseas.Eyre and colleagues employed multivariable logistic regression to identify predictors of C. auris colonization and infection following implementation of an intensive patient screening and infection control program.Of the 70 patients identified as being colonized with C. auris during the study period, 66 (94%) had been admitted to the neurosciences ICU before diagnosis.With adjustments for length of stay in the neurosciences ICU and patient vital signs and laboratory results, predictors of C. auriscolonization or infection also included systemic fluconazole exposure (multivariable OR 10.34; 95% CI 1.64-65.18; P=0.01) as well as use of reusable skin-surface axillary temperature probes."C. auris was rarely detected in the general environment. However, it was detected in isolates from reusable equipment, including multiple axillary skin-surface temperature probes," Eyre and colleagues wrote. "Despite a bundle of infection-control interventions (which included enhanced cleaning with chlorine-based products, removal of unnecessary bedside equipment, fans and forced-air convection blankets), the incidence of new cases was reduced only after removal of the temperature probes.”
  Full article here.