Impact seen in lower use of antibiotics, costs tied to health care-associated infections
THURSDAY, March 7, 2019 (HealthDay News) — An environmental intervention of probiotic sanitation can effectively alter hospital microbiota, helping to limit the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in health care-associated infections (HAIs), according to a study published online Feb. 27 in Infection and Drug Resistance.
Elisabetta Caselli, Ph.D., from University of Ferrara in Italy, and colleagues analyzed the impact of a microbial-based sanitation strategy (Probiotic Cleaning Hygiene System [PCHS]) versus conventional sanitation methods. Impact was measured through surface microbiota AMR testing, as well as HAI-related antimicrobial drug consumption and costs.
The researchers found that PCHS use was associated with up to a 99 percent decrease of the AMR genes detected on surface hospital microbiota. These findings were independent of the resistance types originally present in each individual setting. These molecular data were confirmed by functional assays, which demonstrated a decrease in resistant strains (33 to 100 percent depending on the antibiotic type). There was a global 60.3 percent decrease in antimicrobial drug consumption due to HAI onset and an associated 75.4 percent decrease in costs.
“The spread of AMR in the hospital environment can be limited by the use of sanitation methods to remodulate the hospital microbiota, leading to lower antimicrobial consumption and costs,” the authors write.
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