Prevalence and factors associated with rectal vancomycin-resistant enterococci colonization in two intensive care units in São Paulo, Brazil

• Autor(a) principal: Furtado,Guilherme Henrique Campos
• Data de Publicação: 2005
• Outros Autores: Martins,Sinaida Teixeira, Coutinho,Ana Paula, Wey,Sérgio Barsanti, Medeiros,Eduardo Alexandrino Servolo
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Brazilian Journal of Infectious Diseases
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1413-86702005000100011
• topic: Vancomycin-resistant enterococci; rectal colonization; intensive care unit

Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) are important pathogens causing nosocomial infections, and there is reason for concern about their resistance and great ability to spread in hospital environments, especially intensive-care units (ICU). To determine the prevalence of rectal colonization by VRE, and the risk factors associated with their presence, rectal surveillance swabs were taken from patients under treatment in two intensive-care units (one medical and another both medical and surgical) at São Paulo Hospital, over a two-year period. Thirty-three percent of the 147 patients evaluated had VRE. The only significant variable in the logistic regression was the length of stay in the ICU.