About the project
National guidelines recommend a risk-based implementation of measures to prevent VRE infections in VRE-colonised patients. Due to the limited data available on the definition of risk populations for VRE infections (especially bloodstream infections [BSI]), infection prevention measures are implemented very heterogeneously in German hospitals. The planned analyses as part of the PREVENT project are therefore intended to generate additional evidence.
PREVENT comprises a multicentre pilot case-control study and a prospective multicentre cohort study. The aim is to determine the incidence of VRE-BSI at university hospitals and to identify associated risk factors that influence the development and progression of VRE-BSI. In addition to clinical and demographic factors, a strong focus is placed on the role of hygiene infrastructures. In addition, pathogen-associated molecular factors for the prognosis of VRE-BSI will be analysed using bioinformatic methods.
The most important facts at a glance
Within the NUM network, PREVENT aims to generate up-to-date evidence on the incidence, development and prognosis of AER bloodstream infections (BSI).
The most important goals are
- Recording the incidence of nosocomial VRE-BSI at German university hospitals
- Identification of patient-, pathogen- and hospital structure-related influencing factors (including infection prevention and control measures and antibiotic stewardship interventions) on the development of VRE-BSI
- Investigation of prognostic factors in affected patients
The results of the PREVENT study should provide more evidence for the development of national recommendations for the hygienic handling of VRE in hospitals and healthcare facilities.
VRE-BSI is usually the result of a nosocomial, i.e. hospital-acquired, infection. It is therefore well suited for investigating risk factors for the development of VRE infections. The role of patient-, pathogen- and hospital structure-associated factors is not yet sufficiently understood. VRE-BSI is relatively rare and its occurrence also depends on a variety of clinical and demographic risk factors. In order to obtain a solid data basis, a multi-centre study design with the most diverse hygiene infrastructures and patient populations possible is therefore necessary. For this reason, university hospitals from all over Germany are cooperating with each other in PREVENT.
PREVENT builds specifically on existing infrastructures and communities of the Network University Medicine (NUM) and actively contributes to their further development.
The implementation takes place in the following steps:
- Building on existing NUM infrastructures, in particular the NUM Study Network (NUM SN), its Specialised Network Infections (SNID) and the NUM Method and Biosample Hub (NUM-MB)
- Implementation of PREVENT as part of the SNID and expansion of the bloodstream infection module by recruiting patients with VRE-BSI
- Expansion of the NUM-SAR infrastructure through PREVENT as a use case and through the integration of VRE-BSI isolates as the basis for the Monitoring and Surveillance Unit (MuSE)