JCM Figure table search 04
Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Hacek, D. M.
Right arrow Articles by Peterson, L. R.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Hacek, D. M.
Right arrow Articles by Peterson, L. R.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, March 2001, p. 1152-1154, Vol. 39, No. 3
0095-1137/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/JCM.39.3.1152-1154.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Yield of Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci and Multidrug-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae from Stools Submitted for Clostridium difficile Testing Compared to Results from a Focused Surveillance Program

Donna M. Hacek,1,2,* Patrice Bednarz,3 Gary A. Noskin,1,2,3,4 Teresa Zembower,4 and Lance R. Peterson1,2,4

Department of Pathology, Clinical Microbiology Division,1 Northwestern Prevention EpiCenter,2 Department of Infection Control and Prevention,3 and Department of Medicine, Infectious Disease Division,4 Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, Illinois 60611

Received 5 September 2000/Returned for modification 7 November 2000/Accepted 8 December 2000

It has been suggested that a method of performing surveillance for vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) is to screen specimens submitted for Clostridium difficile testing. We compared this approach to our focused surveillance program of high-risk units during October 1997 to compare the yield of VRE and multidrug-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (MDRE) with both methods. Of the stools submitted for C. difficile testing, 14% were positive for VRE or MDRE, whereas rectal swabs from routine surveillance yielded 11% VRE- or MDRE-positive results. Although stools submitted for C. difficile testing resulted in a higher percentage of positive cultures, 14 VRE- and 2 MDRE-positive patients from our high-risk population were missed because many patients had no stool submitted for C. difficile testing. Therefore, while screening stools submitted for C. difficile testing cannot replace our focused surveillance program, it appears advantageous to assess these stools at various intervals to detect new patient reservoirs of drug-resistant organisms that may benefit from routine surveillance cultures.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Northwestern Prevention EpiCenter, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Galter Carriage House, Suite 701, 251 E. Huron, Chicago, IL 60611. Phone: (312) 926-2885. Fax: (312) 926-4139. E-mail: dhacek{at}nmh.org.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, March 2001, p. 1152-1154, Vol. 39, No. 3
0095-1137/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/JCM.39.3.1152-1154.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


This article has been cited by other articles:



Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]
Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. Clin. Microbiol. Rev.
Clin. Vaccine Immunol. ALL ASM JOURNALS

Copyright © 2001 by the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.