Review of the scientific evidence of the clinical and economic implications of resistance of enterococcus to vancomycin

Aymerich M, Garcia-Altes A, Jovell A J
Record ID 31999008361
Catalan, English, Spanish
Authors' objectives:

Recently, the advent and extension of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) has raised the awareness of the professional community, given that this antimicrobial is used as first-choice therapy for multirresistant gram-positive bacteria. The objectives are:

1) To know the prevalence of VRE.

2) To identify the risk factors of the appearance of VRE.

3) To study, by means of a review of economic studies, the economic impact implied by the appearance of resistances to antibiotic, either at hospital, health care, and society level.

Authors' recommendations: Due to the world-wide extension of the problem of bacterial resistances Catalonia is one of the areas where vancomycin resistant enterococcus strains have been found and the potential of transmission to meticilin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a multiresistant organism which poses a hard-to-solve therapeutical challenge (actually, low-sensitivity strains have been found in Japan and the USA), it is necessaryto control both multiresistant organisms and to prevent the appearance of new resistant strains. The task of making the professional community aware of the crisis implied by the bacterial resistance should not be ended. Continued training may play a very important role in it. In order to control nosocomial infections of resistant organisms, certain isolation measures should be diffused and fulfilled. As regards the prevention of the appearance of new resistant strains, professionals should develop clinical practice guidelines based on the available evidence, mainly at hospital level, but also in primary care.
Authors' methods: Systematic review
Details
Project Status: Completed
Year Published: 1998
English language abstract: An English language summary is available
Publication Type: Not Assigned
Country: Spain
MeSH Terms
  • Costs and Cost Analysis
  • Drug Resistance, Microbial
  • Enterococcus
  • Vancomycin
Contact
Organisation Name: Agencia de Qualitat i Avaluacio Sanitries de Catalunya
Contact Address: Antoni Parada, CAHTA, Roc Boronat, 81-95 (2nd floor), 08005 Barcelona, Spain, Tel. +34 935 513 928, Fax: +34 935 517 510
Contact Name: direccio@aatrm.catsalut.net / aparada@aatrm.catsalut.net
Contact Email: direccio@aatrm.catsalut.net / aparada@aatrm.catsalut.net
Copyright: Catalan Agency for Health Technology Assessment and Research
This is a bibliographic record of a published health technology assessment from a member of INAHTA or other HTA producer. No evaluation of the quality of this assessment has been made for the HTA database.