Multidrug-Resistant Organisms Flashcards

According to CDC guidance, CRE cases should be reported to which entity?

Answer: The local or state health department per jurisdictional requirements

CRE reporting requirements vary by state, but most jurisdictions require facilities to report CRE cases to local or state health departments to enable public health surveillance.

Enhanced Barrier Precautions (EBP), as recommended by the CDC for nursing homes, require gown and gloves during:

Answer: High-contact resident care activities for residents with specific MDROs

Enhanced Barrier Precautions call for gown and gloves during high-contact care activities (e.g., wound care, bathing) for residents with targeted MDROs, even without active infection.

Which of the following mechanisms BEST explains carbapenem resistance in Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC)-producing organisms?

Answer: Production of a carbapenemase enzyme that hydrolyzes carbapenem antibiotics

KPC-producing organisms produce a serine carbapenemase enzyme encoded by the blaKPC gene that hydrolyzes and inactivates carbapenem antibiotics.

Long-term care facility (LTCF) residents with MDROs who do not have uncontrolled secretions or draining wounds generally:

Answer: May participate in common activities without special precautions beyond standard precautions

LTC residents with MDROs who have no uncontrolled secretions or wounds can participate in communal activities; isolation should be based on hygiene and behavior, not MDRO status alone.

Which surveillance method uses automated extraction of microbiology data to identify MDRO trends in real time?

Answer: Laboratory-based electronic surveillance

Laboratory-based electronic surveillance uses automated extraction from the laboratory information system (LIS) to continuously monitor MDRO incidence rates without manual chart review.

Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) of MDRO isolates during an outbreak investigation PRIMARILY helps to:

Answer: Confirm or refute epidemiologic links by comparing bacterial relatedness

WGS provides high-resolution genomic fingerprinting that can confirm whether isolates from different patients share a common source, supporting or refuting epidemiologic linkages.

The 'search and destroy' strategy for MDRO control, used most aggressively in some European countries, refers to:

Answer: Aggressive active surveillance cultures combined with strict contact precautions and decolonization

The 'search and destroy' approach combines universal active surveillance cultures to find all carriers with strict contact precautions and decolonization to eliminate MDROs from the facility.