Becker's Clinical Quality & Infection Control

7 INFECTION CONTROL C. auris growing more drug-resistant, experts say By Erica Carbajal I nfections caused by the fungi Candida auris and Aspergillus are becoming harder to treat with medication, experts told NBC News in an Aug. 13 report. e fungi are becoming more resistant to the class of drugs, known as azoles, frequently used to treat infections. ere is now growing con- cern among health experts that current treatments could stop work- ing before new ones are available. "If we lose that drug class because of resistance, we're in big trouble," Dr. Darius Armstrong-James, an infectious disease physician at Royal Brompton Hospital in the U.K., told the news outlet. C. auris infections have been on the rise in healthcare settings since 2017, CDC data shows. In 2017, there were 170 clinical cases reported, compared to 1,465 in 2021. e pandemic gave C. auris more oppor- tunities to spread, as many severe COVID-19 patients received central line catheters and workforce shortages hampered routine infection pre- vention protocols. Meanwhile, Aspergillus is a common mold found in the environment that most oen affects those with weakened immune systems and chronic lung conditions. A CDC study cited an estimate that more than 14,000 people are hospitalized for invasive aspergillosis, which causes severe infection, each year. Several antifungal drugs are in late-stage studies with results expected in the next few years, though experts say the fungi could still develop resistance to new treatments over time if overused. "If we don't manage resistance right now and if we don't boost the pipeline for the antifungals, we may very easily end up in a place in five to 10 years where you're having end-of-life discussions with a pa- tient that has an invasive Candida infection," Luis Ostrosky, MD, chief of infectious diseases at UT Health Houston and Memorial Hospital, told NBC. Researchers estimate more than 90 percent of known C. auris strains are resistant to fluconazole, an antifungal commonly used to treat se- rious infections, and 73 percent are resistant to voriconazole. n Glove misuse's effect on patient safety during COVID-19: 3 report notes By Cailey Gleeson M isuse of gloves may have increased rates of hospital-acquired infections during COVID-19, a report published Aug. 29 in Nursing Times found. Researchers combed through dozens of studies on infection control and patient safety to compile the article. "Glove misuse and inadequate hand hygiene are commonplace in healthcare settings. It is a complex issue and has been linked to multiple factors," they wrote. Three key takeaways: • Frequent media coverage regarding staff shortages and limited personal protective equipment may have led clinicians' fear about contracting COVID-19 to dominate decision-making process around glove use and its appropriateness. • Inappropriate glove-wearing has been found to increase cross-contamination risks due to "missed moments" of overall hand hygiene. • Numerous studies have concluded that clinicians' hands are the most common method of carrying microorganisms. n 5 states with highest, lowest CAUTI rates By Cailey Gleeson V ermont hospitals have the highest catheter- associated urinary tract infection rate in the country, while hospitals in Washington, D.C., have the lowest, CDC data shows. The CDC's healthcare-associated infections dataset, updated July 27, includes performance data for five types of infections collected through the National Healthcare Safety Network. The measures show how often patients in a particular hospital contract certain infections during an inpatient stay compared to similar hospitals. Data was collected from Oct. 1, 2020, to Sept. 30, 2021. The agency calculates and publishes standardized infection ratios for each measure by state. The measures apply to all patients treated in acute care hospitals, including adult, pediatric, neonatal, Medicare and non- Medicare patients, according to the CMS data dictionary. Five states with the highest CAUTI rates: 1. Vermont – 1.631 2. Alaska – 1.272 3. New Mexico – 1.241 4. Oregon – 1.202 5. Maine – 1.136 Five states with the lowest CAUTI rates: 1. Washington, D.C. – 0.508 2. North Dakota – 0.512 3. Connecticut – 0.558 4. Louisiana – 0.650 5. Florida – 0.655 n

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