High Prevalence of Acinetobacter baumannii and Candida auris colonization in Hospitals and Long-Term Care Facilities

Nosocomial infection with multidrug-resistant organisms is a challenge in intensive care units. Colonized patients are a high-risk source of patient-to-patient transmission. Two organisms of particular concern are Acinetobacter baumannii and Candida auris (a highly resistant organism recently identified in the U.S.).

Investigators in Maryland performed a prevalence study of nearly 500 patients in the state's 40 hospitals and 18 ventilator-capable long-term care facilities. On a specified date, each facility obtained cultures of sputum, perianal, and axilla/groin for A. baumannii and arm/leg for C. auris from all patients who were receiving mechanical ventilation.

More than half of the facilities had at least one patient with A. baumannii, inc…