Project details

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Cost-analysis of an outbreak with a multi-resistant organism

Keywords:
antibiotics costs health economics

Researchers:
Prof. dr. A.W. Friedrich
Dr. J.R. Lo Ten Foe
drs. J.W.H. Dik

Nature of the research:
Retrospective cost-analysis

Fields of study:
health sciences microbiology

Background / introduction
Due to increasing resistance against antibiotics, infections caused by organisms, such as Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, are becoming more and more difficult to treat. Especially in a hospital setting, where many patients are immune compromised and immune suppressed, this is a major challenge. Guidelines and regulations are there to help control these organisms and prevent spread among patients and staff. However, once in a while, a multi-resistant organism gets the chance to spread among patients causing an outbreak situation, infecting many more patients and sometimes even staff. To control and eliminate this pathogen extensive man power and resources are used. This costs money. The question is how much. Because so many people and departments are involved in controlling an outbreak, there is no clear answer to this question.

This project is a collaboration of the sections Infection Prevention and Genomics for Infection Prevention both part of the department of Medical Microbiology.
Research question / problem definition
What are the costs associated with an outbreak of a multi-resistant organism.
Workplan
To answer it a process analysis should be made of an outbreak in the UMCG. The start of the project should focus on the outbreak that occurred in rehabilitation center of the UMCG in 2012. People that were involved in this outbreak should to be interviewed and data needs to be analyzed. From there on other outbreaks can be investigated. Ultimately this should lead to a generalized cost per patient outcome from a hospital (UMCG) perspective.
References
Tacconelli E, Cataldo MA, Dancer SJ, De Angelis G, Falcone M, Frank U, Kahlmeter G, Pan A, Petrosillo N, Rodríguez-Baño J, Singh N, Venditti M, Yokoe DS, Cookson B. ESCMID guidelines for the management of the infection control measures to reduce transmission of multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria in hospitalized patients. Clin Microbiol Infect. 2014 Jan;20 Suppl 1:1-55.

Gandra S, Barter DM, Laxminarayan R. Economic burden of antibiotic resistance: how much do we really know? Clin Microbiol Infect. 2014 Oct;20(10):973-80.

Lemstra. Oog voor het onzichtbare. Onderzoek naar de uitbraak van de Klebsiella Oxa-48 bacterie in het Maasstad Ziekenhuis Rotterdam. 2012.
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