TY - JOUR
T1 - Enterococcus faecium
T2 - From microbiological insights to practical recommendations for infection control and diagnostics
AU - Zhou, Xuewei
AU - Willems, Rob J.L.
AU - Friedrich, Alexander W.
AU - Rossen, John W.A.
AU - Bathoorn, Erik
PY - 2020/8/10
Y1 - 2020/8/10
N2 - Early in its evolution, Enterococcus faecium acquired traits that allowed it to become a successful nosocomial pathogen. E. faecium inherent tenacity to build resistance to antibiotics and environmental stressors that allows the species to thrive in hospital environments. The continual wide use of antibiotics in medicine has been an important driver in the evolution of E. faecium becoming a highly proficient hospital pathogen. For successful prevention and reduction of nosocomial infections with vancomycin resistant E. faecium (VREfm), it is essential to focus on reducing VREfm carriage and spread. The aim of this review is to incorporate microbiological insights of E. faecium into practical infection control recommendations, to reduce the spread of hospital-acquired VREfm (carriage and infections). The spread of VREfm can be controlled by intensified cleaning procedures, antibiotic stewardship, rapid screening of VREfm carriage focused on high-risk populations, and identification of transmission routes through accurate detection and typing methods in outbreak situations. Further, for successful management of E. faecium, continual innovation in the fields of diagnostics, treatment, and eradication is necessary.
AB - Early in its evolution, Enterococcus faecium acquired traits that allowed it to become a successful nosocomial pathogen. E. faecium inherent tenacity to build resistance to antibiotics and environmental stressors that allows the species to thrive in hospital environments. The continual wide use of antibiotics in medicine has been an important driver in the evolution of E. faecium becoming a highly proficient hospital pathogen. For successful prevention and reduction of nosocomial infections with vancomycin resistant E. faecium (VREfm), it is essential to focus on reducing VREfm carriage and spread. The aim of this review is to incorporate microbiological insights of E. faecium into practical infection control recommendations, to reduce the spread of hospital-acquired VREfm (carriage and infections). The spread of VREfm can be controlled by intensified cleaning procedures, antibiotic stewardship, rapid screening of VREfm carriage focused on high-risk populations, and identification of transmission routes through accurate detection and typing methods in outbreak situations. Further, for successful management of E. faecium, continual innovation in the fields of diagnostics, treatment, and eradication is necessary.
KW - Diagnostics
KW - Enterococcus faecium
KW - Evolution
KW - Infection control
KW - VRE
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85089323713&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1186/s13756-020-00770-1
DO - 10.1186/s13756-020-00770-1
M3 - Review article
C2 - 32778149
AN - SCOPUS:85089323713
SN - 2047-2994
VL - 9
JO - Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control
JF - Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control
IS - 1
M1 - 130
ER -