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Association Between Climate and Enterobacter Colonization in Swedish Neonatal Units

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 June 2016

Birgitta A. Fryklund ,
Kjell Tullus  and
Lars G. Burman
Birgitta A. Fryklund*
Affiliation:
Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control, Stockholm, Sweden
Kjell Tullus
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, St. Göran's Children's Hospital, Karolinska Znstitute, Stockholm, Sweden
Lars G. Burman
Affiliation:
Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control, Stockholm, Sweden
*
Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control, S-105 21 Stockholm, Sweden
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Abstract

Objective:

To study risk factors for the highly variable local colonization rates with unrelated Enterobacter species strains previously found in 22 Swedish neonatal units (0% to 32.4% of the infants).

Patients and Setting:

The fecal Enterobacter species carriage rates among 953 infants in the 22 special-care neonatal units were correlated with variables related to the ward (size, crowding, staffing, work load, antibiotic usage, level of care, hygienic precautions), and the hospital (temperature of water supplied, geographical location).

Results:

The average Enterobacter species carriage rate was highest at seven days of age (17% of the infants) and then declined to 3%. Only location of the hospital in an area with warmer climate according to horticultural zone showed an association with Enterobacter species carriage in multivariate analysis (P= 0.005).

Conclusion:

Although Enterobacter species mainly cause nosocomially acquired infections, the occurrence of the organism in special-care neonatal units seemed to be determined more by extrahospital than by intrahospital factors.

Type
Brief Report
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 14 , Issue 10 , October 1993 , pp. 579 - 582
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 1993

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