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Infection Control in the Intensive Care Unit H K F van Saene L Silvestri M A de la Cal A Gullo • • Editors Infection Control in the Intensive Care Unit Third Edition Foreword by Julian Bion 123 H K F van Saene Institute of Aging and Chronic Diseases University of Liverpool Liverpool UK M A de la Cal Department of Intensive Care Medicine Hospital Universitario de Getafe Getafe, Madrid Spain L Silvestri Department of Emergency and Unit of Anesthesia and Intensive Care Presidio Ospedaliero di Gorizia Gorizia Italy A Gullo Department of Anesthesia and Intensive Care School of Medicine University Hospital Catania Catania Italy ISBN 978-88-470-1600-2 DOI 10.1007/978-88-470-1601-9 e-ISBN 978-88-470-1601-9 Springer Milan Heidelberg Dordrecht London New York Library of Congress Control Number: 2011929635 Ó Springer-Verlag Italia 1998, 2005, 2012 This work is subject to copyright All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilm or in any other way, and storage in data banks Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the Italian Copyright Law in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer Violations are liable to prosecution under the Italian Copyright Law The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, etc in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use Product liability: The publishers cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information about dosage and application contained in this book In every individual case the user must check such information by consulting the relevant literature Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com) The essential of intensive care is the prevention of complications C P Stoutenbeek 1947–1998 Foreword In 1847, Ignatius Semmelweis’s friend and colleague Jakob Kolletschka died of sepsis after his finger had been cut during a post-mortem examination at the Allgemeine Krankenhaus in Vienna Semmelweis made the connection between the process which caused the death of his friend, and that which caused the postpartum deaths of so many of the mothers in his obstetric clinic at the hospital His study of the prevention of puerperal sepsis through effective hand hygiene, and his subsequent career, are classical examples of how inspired insight may fail to be translated into effective action because of defective communication, professional resistance to change, cultural incomprehension that beneficent individuals could also be agents of harm, and lack of an underpinning scientific mechanism No such criticisms can be made of the editors and contributors for this valuable and successful book, now in its third edition, which brings together international experts in infection and infection control to review the most recent scientific evidence in preventing critically ill patients from suffering additional harm through the acquisition of autogenous and exogenous infections during their hospital stay Wider attitudes to one of the components discussed, selective digestive decontamination, bear some comparison with the Semmelweis story in terms of the gap between the scientific evidence and implementation in practice Future editions of this book will no doubt contain additional reflections from the behavioural sciences In the meantime, intensive care and infection control practitioners will find both fact and wisdom in this compendium to guide their practice and improve patient care November 2011 Julian Bion Professor of Intensive Care Medicine University Department of Anaesthesia and ICM Queen Elizabeth Hospital Edgbaston, Birmingham, UK vii Preface A week-long postgraduate course was organised in Trieste, Italy, in 1994 This course was extremely popular Europe wide Participants were so impressed that they asked for copies of the lectures, and as a result of the many requests, lecturers were asked to provide a manuscript of their lecture(s) These manuscripts resulted in the first edition of this book, published in 1998 This first edition contained five sections, each based on a day of the course, which comprised six lectures The five sections Essentials in Clinical Microbiology, Antimicrobials, Infection Control, Infections on ICU, and Special Topics The format remains the same today There are two previous editions to this 2011 edition: 1998 and 2005 The differences between the first edition and this latest one are in the first and last sections Two chapters from the first edition are merged in the first section: Carriage, and Colonisation and Infection This occurred because 85% of all infections are endogenous and characterised by these three stages The other difference is a chapter on microcirculation and infection in Section Perhaps the most important difference between the previous editions and this most recent edition is pictured on the front cover: 15% of all infections are exogenous, and research over the years since the last edition has shown that topically applied antimicrobials are able to control exogenous infections However, topically applied antimicrobials should only be part of the prophylactic protocol when exogenous infections are endemic This third edition is current, with references to publications from 2011 We regard it as important that all statements are justified by the best available evidence All authors have made efforts to avoid unsubstantiated expert opinion Although prevention is not entirely separate from therapy, prevention rather than cure is pivotal in this publication ix x Preface We are grateful to Donatella Rizza, Catherine Mazars and Hilde Haala for the their superb assistance We hope that this third edition is instructive, and helpful in your daily practice and that you enjoy it November 2011 H K F van Saene L Silvestri M A de la Cal A Gullo Contents Part I Essentials in Clinical Microbiology Glossary of Terms and Definitions R E Sarginson, N Taylor, M A de la Cal and H K F van Saene Carriage, Colonization and Infection L Silvestri, H K F van Saene and J J M van Saene 17 Classification of Microorganisms According to Their Pathogenicity M A de la Cal, E Cerdà, A Abella and P Garcia-Hierro Classification of ICU Infections L Silvestri, H K F van Saene and A J Petros Gut Microbiology: Surveillance Samples for Detecting the Abnormal Carrier State in Overgrowth H K F van Saene, G Riepi, P Garcia-Hierro, B Ramos and A Budimir Part II 29 41 53 Antimicrobials Systemic Antibiotics A R De Gaudio, S Rinaldi and C Adembri 67 Systemic Antifungals C J Collins and Th R Rogers 99 xi xii Contents Enteral Antimicrobials M Sánchez García, M Nieto Cabrera, M A González Gallego and F Martínez Sagasti Part III 123 Infection Control Evidence-Based Infection Control in the Intensive Care Unit J Hughes and R P Cooke 145 10 Device Policies A R De Gaudio, A Casini and A Di Filippo 159 11 Antibiotic Policies in the Intensive Care Unit H K F van Saene, N J Reilly, A de Silvestre and F Rios 173 12 Outbreaks of Infection in the ICU: What’s up at the Beginning of the Twenty-First Century? V Damjanovic, N Taylor, T Williets and H K F van Saene 189 Preventing Infection Using Selective Decontamination of the Digestive Tract L Silvestri, H K F van Saene and D F Zandstra 203 13 Part IV Infections on ICU 14 Lower Airway Infection J Almirall, A Liapikou, M Ferrer and A Torres 219 15 Bloodstream Infection in the ICU Patient J Vallés and R Ferrer 233 16 Infections of Peritoneum, Mediastinum, Pleura, Wounds, and Urinary Tract G Sganga, G Brisinda, V Cozza and M Castagneto 251 17 Infection in the NICU and PICU A J Petros, V Damjanovic, A Pigna and J Farias 289 18 Early Adequate Antibiotic Therapy R Reina and M A de la Cal 305 Contents xiii 19 ICU Patients Following Transplantation A Martinez-Pellus and I Cortés Puch 315 20 Clinical Virology in NICU, PICU and AICU C Y W Tong and S Schelenz 333 21 AIDS Patients in the ICU F E Arancibia and M A Aguayo 353 22 Therapy of Infection in the ICU J H Rommes, N Taylor and L Silvestri 373 Part V 23 24 25 26 27 28 Special Topics The Gut in the Critically Ill: Central Organ in Abnormal Microbiological Carriage, Infections, Systemic Inflammation, Microcirculatory Failure, and MODS D F Zandstra, H K F van Saene and R E Sarginson 391 Nonantibiotic Measures to Control Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia A Gullo, A Paratore and C M Celestre 401 Impact of Nutritional Route on Infections: Parenteral Versus Enteral A Gullo, C M Celestre and A Paratore 411 Gut Mucosal Protection in the Critically Ill Patient: Toward an Integrated Clinical Strategy D F Zandstra, P H J van der Voort, K Thorburn and H K F van Saene Selective Decontamination of the Digestive Tract: Role of the Pharmacist N J Reilly, A J Nunn and K Pollock Antimicrobial Resistance N Taylor, I Cortés Puch, L Silvestri, D F Zandstra and H K F van Saene 423 433 451 12 Outbreaks of Infection in the ICU 201 de la Cal MA, Cerda E, van Saene HKF et al (2004) Effectiveness and safety of enteral vancomycin to control endemicity of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in a medical/surgical intensive care unit J Hosp Infect 56:175–183 Weese JS, Faires M, Rousseau J et al (2007) Cluster of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus colonisation in a small animal intensive care unit JAMA 231:1361–1364 10 Yap FH, Gomersall CD, Fung KS et al (2004) Increase in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus acquisition rate and change in pathogen pattern associated with an outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome Clin Infect Dis 39:511–516 11 Khan E, Sarwari A, Hasan R et al (2002) Emergence of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium at a tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan J Hosp Infect 52:292–296 12 Peta M, Carretto E, Bdbarini D et al (2006) Outbreak of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus spp on an Italian general intensive care unit Clin Microbiol Infect 12:163–169 13 Pearman JW (2006) 2004 Lowbury lecture: the Western Australian experience with vancomycin-resistant enterococci—from disaster to ongoing control J Hosp Infect 63:14–26 14 Delamare C, Lameloise V, Lozniewski A et al (2008) Glycopeptide-resistant Enterococcus outbreak in an ICU with simultaneous circulation of two different clones Pathol Biol 56:454–460 15 Zhu X, Zeng B, Wang S et al (2009) Molecular characterization of outbreak-related strains of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium from an intensive care unit in Beijing, China J Hosp Infect 72:147–154 16 Se BY, Chun HJ, Yi HJ et al (2009) Incidence and risk factors of infections caused by vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus colonization in neurosurgical intensive care unit patients J Korean Neurosurg Soc 46:123–129 17 Gomez-Gil R, Romero-Gomez MP, Garcia-Arias A et al (2009) Nosocomial outbreak of linezolid-resistant Enterococcus faecalis infection in a tertiary care hospital Diag Microb Infect Dis 65:175–179 18 Brinas L, Lantero M, Zarazaga M et al (2004) Outbreak of SHV-5 beta-lactamase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae in a neonatal–pediatric intensive care unit in Spain Microb Drug Res 10:354–358 19 van’t Veen A, van der Zee A, Nelson J et al (2005) Outbreak of infection with a multiresistant Klebsiella pneumoniae strain associated with contaminated roll boards in operating rooms J Clin Microbiol 43:4961–4967 20 Laurent C, Rodriguez-Villalobos H, Rost F et al (2008) Intensive care unit outbreak of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae controlled by cohorting patients and reinforcing infection control measures Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 29: 517–524 21 Manzur A, Tubau F, Pujol M et al (2007) Nosocomial outbreak due to extended-spectrumbeta-lactamase-producing Enterobacter cloacae in a cardiothoracic intensive care unit J Clin Microbiol 45:2365–2369 22 Steppberger K, Walter S, Claros MC et al (2002) Nosocomial neonatal outbreak of Serratia marcescens–analysis of pathogens by pulsed field gel electrophoresis and polymerase chain reaction Infection 30:277–281 23 Alfizah H, Nordiah AJ, Rozaidi WS (2004) Using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis in the molecular investigation of an outbreak of Serratia marcescens infection in an intensive care unit Singap Med J 45:214–218 24 de Vries JJ, Bass WH, van der Ploeg K et al (2006) Outbreak of Serratia marcescens colonization and infection traced to a healthcare worker with long-term carriage on the hands Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 27:1153–1158 25 Dorsey G, Borneo HT, Sun SJ et al (2000) A heterogeneous outbreak of Enterobacter cloacae and Serratia marcescens infections in a surgical intensive care unit Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 21:465–469 26 Bukholm G, Tannaes T, Kjelsberg AB et al (2002) An outbreak of multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa associated with increased risk of patient death in an intensive care unit Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 23:441–446 202 V Damjanovic et al 27 Thuong M, Arvaniti K, Ruimy R et al (2003) Epidemiology of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and risk factors for carriage acquisition in an intensive care unit J Hosp Infect 53:274–282 28 Alvarez-Lerma F, Maull E, Terradas R et al (2008) Mosturizing body milk as a reservoir of Burkholderia cepacia: outbreak of nosocomial infection in a multidisciplinary intensive care unit Crit Care 12:R10 29 Menichetti F, Tascini C, Ferranti S et al (2000) Clinical and molecular epidemiology of an outbreak of infusion-related Acinetobacter baumannii bacteremia in an intensive care unit Le Infezioni Medicina 1:24–29 30 Podnos YD, Cinat ME, Wilson SE et al (2001) Eradication of multi-drug resistant Acinetobacter from an intensive care unit Surg Infect 2:297–301 31 Valenzuela JK, Thomas L, Partridge SR et al (2007) Hospital gene transfer in a polyclonal outbreak of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii J Clin Microbiol 45:453–460 32 Jamal W, Salama M, Dehrab N et al (2009) Role of tigecycline in the control of carbapenemresistant Acinetobacter baumannii outbreak in an intensive care unit J Hosp Infect 72: 234–242 33 Damjanovic V, Taylor N, van Saene HKF (2009) Origin of epidemic clones of Acinetobacter in the critically ill J Hosp Infect 73:285–286 34 Rotimi VO, Jamal W, Salama M (2009) Control of Acinetobacter outbreaks in the intensive care unit J Hosp Infect 73:286–287 35 Murphy N, Damjanovic V, Hart CA et al (1986) Infection and colonisation of neonates by Hansenula anomala Lancet 1:291–293 36 Kalenic S, Jandrlic M, Vegar V et al (2001) Hansenula anomala outbreak at a surgical intensive care unit: a search for risk factors Eur J Epidemiol 17:491–496 37 Pasqualotto AC, Sukiennik TC, Severo LC et al (2005) An outbreak of Pichia anomala fungaemia in a Brazilian pediatric intensive care unit Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 26:553–558 38 Maravi-Poma E, Rodriguez-Tudela JL, de Jalon JG et al (2004) Outbreak of gastric mucormycosis associated with the use of wooden tongue depressors in critically ill patients Intensive Care Med 30:724–728 39 Eroz G, Otag F, Erturan Z et al (2004) An outbreak of Dipodascus capitatus infection in the ICU: three case reports and review of the literature Jpn J Infect Dis 57:248–252 40 Munoz P, Bouza E, Cuenca-Estrella M et al (2005) Saccharomyces cerevisiae fungemia: an emerging infectious disease Clin Infect Dis 40:1625–1634 41 D’Agata EMC, Venkataraman L, De Girolami P et al (1999) Colonization with broadspectrum cephalosporin-resistant Gram-negative bacilli in intensive care units during a nonoutbreak period: prevalence, risk factors, and rate of infection Crit Care Med 27: 1090–1095 42 van Saene HK, Taylor N, Damjanovic V et al (2008) Microbial gut overgrowth guarantees increased spontaneous mutation leading to polyclonality and antibiotic resistance in the critically ill Curr Drug Targets 9:419–421 43 Damjanovic V, Connolly CM, van Saene HKF et al (1993) Selective decontamination with nystatin for control of a Candida outbreak in a neonatal intensive care unit J Hosp Infect 24:245–259 44 Miranda LN, van der Heijden IM, Costa SF et al (2009) Candida colonisation as a source of candaemia J Hosp Infect 72:9–16 45 Damjanovic V, van Saene HKF, Weindling AM et al (1994) The multiple value of surveillance cultures: an alternative view J Hosp Infect 28:71–75 Preventing Infection Using Selective Decontamination of the Digestive Tract 13 L Silvestri, H K F van Saene and D F Zandstra 13.1 Introduction Selective decontamination of the digestive tract (SDD) is an antimicrobial prophylaxis designed to prevent or minimize endogenous and exogenous infections in critically ill patients The purpose of SDD is to prevent—or eradicate if initially present— the oropharyngeal and intestinal abnormal carrier state of potentially pathogenic microorganisms (PPMs), mainly aerobic Gram-negative microorganisms, but also methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA), and yeasts, leaving the indigenous flora predominately undisturbed The practice of SDD has four fundamental features, termed the classic Stoutenbeek’s tetralogy [1, 2] (Fig 13.1, Table 13.1): parenteral antibiotics given immediately on admission for days to control primary endogenous infections due to PPMs already present in the admission flora; enteral antimicrobials [polymyxin E, tobramycin, and amphotericin B (PTA)] given throughout treatment in the intensive care unit (ICU) to control secondary carriage and subsequent endogenous infections due to PPMs acquired in the unit; health care workers’ hand hygiene throughout treatment in the ICU to control exogenous infections due to transmission of ICU-associated microorganisms; surveillance cultures of patients’ throat and rectum on admission and twice weekly to monitor the efficacy of the maneuver SDD selectively targets the 15 PPMs and the high-level pathogens, such as Streptococcus pyogenes By design, SDD does not cover low-level pathogens, including anaerobes, viridans streptococci, enterococci and coagulase-negative L Silvestri (&) Department of Emergency, Unit of Anesthesia and Intensive Care, Presidio Ospedaliero di Gorizia, Gorizia, Italy e-mail: lucianosilvestri@yahoo.it H K F van Saene et al (eds.), Infection Control in the Intensive Care Unit, DOI: 10.1007/978-88-470-1601-9_13, Ó Springer-Verlag Italia 2012 203 204 L Silvestri et al The four components of SDD Parenteral antibiotic Enteral antimicrobials Types of infection prevented by SDD Primary endogenous Secondary endogenous Definitions of infection according to the criterion of carriage Caused by normal and abnormal PPMs carried by patients in throat and/or gut on admission to the ICU Caused by abnormal PPMs not carried by patients in throat and/or gut on ICU admission PPM is acquired during ICU stay, causing secondary carriage To control the efficacy of enteral antimicrobials Hygiene Surveillance cultures Exogenous Causative abnormal PPM is not carried by the patient’s digestive tract and is introduced directly into the sterile internal organ To classify infections according to the carrier state To identify a resistance problem Fig 13.1 Stoutenbeek’s tetralogy of SDD and type of infection prevented/controlled by each component SDD selective decontamination of the digestive tract; PPM potentially pathogenic microorganism; ICU intensive care unit 13 Preventing Infection Using Selective Decontamination of the Digestive Tract 205 Table 13.1 The full four-component protocol of selective decontamination of the digestive tract Target PPMs and antimicrobials Parenteral antimicrobials: normal PPMs: cefotaxime (mg) Enteral antimicrobials: abnormal PPMs A Oropharynx AGNB: polymyxin E with tobramycin Yeasts: amphotericin B or nystatin MRSA: vancomycin B Gut AGNB: polymyxin E (mg) with tobramycin (mg) Yeasts: amphotericin B (mg) or nystatin units MRSA: vancomycin (mg) Total daily dose (divided daily) \5 years 5–12 years [12 years 150/kg 200/kg 4,000 g of 2% paste or gel g of 2% paste or gel g of 4% paste or gel 100 80 500 106 20–40/kg 200 160 1,000 106 20–40/kg 400 320 2,000 106 500–2,000 Hygiene with topical antimicrobials Surveillance swabs of throat and rectum on admission, Monday, Thursday PPMs potentially pathogenic microorganisms; AGNB aerobic Gram-negative bacilli; MRSA methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus staphylococci The most important feature of SDD is the enteral administration of nonabsorbable polymyxin E/tobramycin to eradicate the abnormal aerobic Gram negative bacilli (AGNB) This results in decontamination of the digestive tract Critically ill patients are unable to clear these pathogens due to their underlying disease Intestinal overgrowth with AGNB causes systemic immunoparalysis [2] The reason for the enteral administration of polymyxin E/tobramycin is that it promotes recovery of systemic immunity and because preventing or eradicating abnormal AGNB in throat and gut effectively controls aspiration and translocation of these microorganisms into the lower airways and blood stream, respectively Enterally administered antimicrobials have been shown to be effective in controlling secondary endogenous infections However, their use does not affect primary endogenous and exogenous infections The second component is adequate parenteral administration of an antimicrobial to control primary endogenous infections Cefotaxime has been used in most trials to cover both normal and abnormal pathogens In adding enterally to parenterally administered antibiotics, the original pre-1980s antibiotics remain useful, without the development of antimicrobial resistance Third, high standards of hygiene are indispensable for reducing hand contamination and subsequent transmission from external sources Finally, surveillance samples of the throat and rectum are an integral component of the SDD protocol Knowledge of the carrier state allows compliance and efficacy of this prophylactic protocol to be monitored 206 13.2 L Silvestri et al Efficacy After 25 five years of clinical research, SDD has been assessed in 63 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) [3–65] and ten meta-analyses of RCTs only (Table 13.2) [66–75] 13.2.1 Carriage SDD significantly reduced oropharyngeal carriage by 87% [odds ratio (OR) 0.13, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.07–0.2] and rectal carriage due to Gram-negative PPMs by 85% (OR 0.15; 95% CI 0.07–0.31) [72] Gram-positive carriage was also reduced, but not significantly Additionally, fungal carriage was significantly reduced by 68% (OR 0.32, 95% CI 0.19–0.53) [70] 13.2.2 Lower Airway Infection All meta-analyses showed a significant reduction of lower respiratory tract infection The meta-analysis from the Italian Cochrane Centre demonstrated that enteral and parenteral administration of antimicrobials for SDD reduced lower airway infections by 82% (OR 0.28; 95% CI 0.20–0.38) [74] Only four patients needed to be treated with SDD to prevent one case of pneumonia Moreover, lower airway infection due to Gram-negative bacteria was reduced by 89% (OR 0.11, 95% CI (0.05–0.20) and that due to Gram-positives by 48% (OR 0.52 95% CI 0.34–0.78) [72] 13.2.3 Bloodstream Infection SDD significantly reduced bloodstream infections by 27% (OR 0.73, 95% CI 0.59–0.90), particularly those due to Gram-negative bacteria (OR 0.39; 95% CI 0.24–0.63) [71] 13.2.4 Fungal Infection SDD including polyene, either amphotericin B or nystatin, significantly reduced fungal infections by 70% (OR 0.30, 95% CI 0.17–0.53) Fungemia was reduced, albeit not significantly, mainly due to the low event rates in test and control groups (OR 0.89, 95% CI 0.16–4.95) [70] 13 Preventing Infection Using Selective Decontamination of the Digestive Tract 207 Table 13.2 Efficacy of selective decontamination of the digestive tract assessed in ten metaanalyses of randomized controlled trials only First author Year Lower airway infection: OR (95% CI) Bloodstream infection: OR (95% CI) MODS: OR Mortality: (95% CI) OR (95% CI) VandenbrouckeGrauls [66] 1991 0.12 (0.08–0.19) 0.92 (0.45–1.84) D’Amico [67] 1998 0.35 (0.29–0.41) 0.80 (0.69–0.93) Liberati [68] 2004 0.35 (0.29–0.41) 0.78 (0.68–0.89) Safdar [69] 2004 0.82 (0.22–2.45) Silvestri [70] 2005 0.89 (0.16–4.95) Silvestri [71] 2007 0.63 (0.46–0.87) Silvestri [72] 2008 Gram negative 0.07 (0.04–0.13) Gram positive 0.52 (0.34–0.78) 0.36 (0.22–0.60) 1.03 (0.75–1.41) 0.74 (0.61–0.91) Silvestri [73] 2009 0.71 (0.61–0.82) Liberati [74] 2009 0.28 (0.20–0.38) 0.75 (0.65–0.87) Silvestri [75] 2010 0.50 0.82 (0.34–0.74) (0.51–1.32) OR odds ratio; CI confidence interval; MODS multiple organ dysfunction syndrome 13.2.5 Mortality Mortality rate was an outcome measure in eight of the ten meta-analyses [66–69, 71, 73–75] There was a consistent survival benefit in all meta-analyses that assessed the full four-component SDD protocol providing the sample size was large enough [67, 68, 71, 73, 74] The Italian meta-analysis, which assessed only RCTs in which the full SDD protocol was used, showed a mortality rate reduction of 29% (OR 0.71, 95% CI 0.61–0.82) [73] This effect achieved a 42% mortality rate reduction in studies where SDD eradicated the carrier state (OR 0.58, 95% CI 0.45–0.77) [73] Eighteen patients need to be treated with the full SDD protocol to prevent one death [73, 74] The meta-analyses of Vandenbroucke-Grauls and Vandenbroucke [66], Safdar et al [69], and Silvestri et al [75] showed an impact on mortality rate that was not significant due to the small sample size Two Dutch RCTs with the primary endpoint of mortality have been published In the first [17], the randomization unit was the ICU and not the patient and included about 1,000 208 L Silvestri et al patients The risk of mortality was significantly reduced by 40% in the unit in which SDD was administered to all patients (OR 0.6; 95% CI 0.4–0.8) The second [19] is the largest study on SDD ever published and included about 6,000 patients The primary endpoint was mortality, whereas resistance was among the secondary endpoints The study compared SDD, selective oropharyngeal decontamination (SOD), a modified SDD protocol without the gut component and the parenterally administered antibiotic, and standard care Both SDD and SOD significantly reduced the odds of death compared with standard care [OR 0.83 (p = 0.02), and 0.86 (p = 0.045), respectively] However, mortality rate reduction was higher, albeit not significantly, in the SDD group than in the SOD group These results regarding SOD have been confirmed by a recent meta-analysis of the nine RCTs using SOD and including 4,733 patients [76] Although SOD has been shown to significantly reduce the odds of pneumonia, the meta-analysis failed to demonstrate any significant impact on survival (OR 0.93; 95% CI 0.81–1.07) Additionally, SOD has been shown to be associated with a 33% and SDD with a 45% reduction in ICU-acquired Gram-negative bacteremia [77], explaining why SDD, and not SOD, is associated with a significant mortality rate reduction 13.2.6 Miscellaneous One meta-analysis explored the efficacy of SDD in preventing multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) [75] Seven RCTs involving 1,270 patients reported available information and demonstrated that SDD reduces MODS by 50% (OR 0.50, 95% CI 0.34–0.74) Overall mortality rates for SDD versus control patients were 18.7 and 22.9%, respectively, demonstrating a nonsignificant reduction in the odds of death (OR 0.82, 95% CI 0.51–1.32), due to the small sample size Another meta-analysis verified whether SDD reduced ventilator-associated tracheobronchitis (VAT) [78] Twelve RCTs involving 2,252 patients (1,102 SDD; 1,150 controls) provided useful information on VAT There were 135 (12.25%) patients with VAT in the SDD group and 234 (20.34%) in controls, indicating a 46% VAT reduction in the group receiving SDD (OR 0.54; 95% CI 0.42–0.69) The efficacy of SDD in selected patient groups, such as burn patients and patients receiving esophageal surgery, has been explored The meta-analysis on mortality rates in burn patients assessed three RCTs recruiting 440 patients [79] There were 48 deaths: 15 (5.2%) in the SDD group and 33 (21.8%) in controls SDD significantly reduced the odds of death by 78% (OR 0.22; 95% CI 0.12–0.43) Three RCTs investigating gastroesophageal surgery were pooled in a meta-analysis of 410 patients (198 SDD, 212 controls) [80] Fifty-six patients developed pneumonia: 15 (7.65%) in the SDD group and 41 (19.34%) in controls SDD significantly reduced the odds for pneumonia by 64% (OR 0.36; 95% CI 0.19–0.69; p = 0.0018) Interestingly, anastomotic leakage was significantly reduced by SDD 13 Preventing Infection Using Selective Decontamination of the Digestive Tract 13.3 209 Safety The use of parenterally administered antibiotics has been shown to lead to the emergence of antimicrobial resistance, which has not been shown in RCTs of SDD [81] This may be explained by the fact that the addition of enterally administered antibiotics to the parenterally administered antibiotics may have kept the systemic agents useful An intriguing aspect of 25 years of clinical research in SDD is the experience that the pre-1980s antibiotics, such as cefotaxime, are still active as long they are combined with successful eradication of AGNB from the gut Resistance was the endpoint of three RCTs of SDD [13, 17, 19] A Klebsiella pneumoniae—producing extended-spectrum beta-lactamase was endemic in a French hospital [13]: carriage and infection rates were 19.6 and 9%, respectively Once enterally administered antimicrobials were added to those administered parenterally, there was a significant reduction in both carriage and infection (19.6 vs 1%; vs 0%) A Dutch single-center RCT of about 1,000 patients reported that carriage of AGNB resistant to imipenem, ceftazidime, ciprofloxacin, tobramycin, and polymyxins occurred in 16% of patients receiving parenterally and enterally administered antimicrobials compared with 26% of control patients who received antibiotics parenterally only, with a relative risk of 0.6 (95% CI 0.5–0.8) [17] The largest multicenter RCT to date is also from The Netherlands and comprised about 6,000 patients [19] The proportion of patients with AGNB shown in rectal swabs that were not susceptible to the marker antibiotics was lower with SDD than with standard care or SOD For example, carriage of multi-drug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa was 0.4% in SDD versus 0.8% in SOD and 1.3% in the group receiving standard care (p \ 0.005) Moreover, the study authors reported in a separate analysis of the same RCT results on bacteremia and lower respiratory tract colonization due to highly resistant microorganisms (HRMO), namely aerobic Gramnegative bacilli [82] Bacteremia due to HRMO was significantly reduced by SDD compared with SOD (OR 0.37; 95% CI 0.16–0.85) Lower respiratory tract colonization due to HRMO was less with SDD (OR 0.58; 95% CI 0.43–0.78) than with SOD (OR 0.65; 95% CI 0.49–0.87) compared with standard care Therefore, SDD was superior to SOD and to standard care in preventing antimicrobial resistance In an ecological study [83] conducted during the study periods of the Dutch RCT [19], an increase in resistance after discontinuation of SOD and SDD was observed, which seems to contradict the reduction in resistance However, that ecological analysis has an important limitation, i.e., the use of a point-prevalence survey in which all patients in the unit (whether enrolled in the SDD or SOD trial) were included Moreover, the average prevalence of AGNB resistant to ceftazidime, tobramycin, and ciprofloxacin in the respiratory tract was significantly lower during SDD/SOD than the pre- and post-intervention periods, and AGNB resistance to ciprofloxacin and tobramycin in rectal swabs was significantly reduced during SDD compared with standard care/SOD [84, 85] 210 L Silvestri et al The target microorganisms of SDD include PPMs belonging to the normal flora, including S pneumoniae and MSSA, as well as the opportunistic aerobic Gramnegative bacilli, including Klebsiella, Acinetobacter, and Pseudomonas spp Methicillin-resistant S aureus (MRSA), by design, is not covered by the original SDD protocol, and hence, six randomized trials conducted in ICUs in which MRSA was endemic at the time of the study showed a trend toward higher MRSA infection rates in patients receiving SDD These observations suggest that the parenterally and enterally administered antimicrobials of the SDD protocol, i.e., cefotaxime, polymyxin, tobramycin, and amphotericin B, may select for and promote MRSA Under these circumstances, SDD requires the addition of oropharyngeally and intestinally administered vancomycin Two studies showed that adding vancomycin to SDD is an effective and safe maneuver [86, 87] SDD is not active against vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) All SDD randomized trials were undertaken in ICU and hospital settings without VRE experience SDD was evaluated in two observational studies undertaken in ICU with a low VRE prevalence [87, 88] In the Spanish study, VRE was imported into the unit, but no change in policy was required, as extensive spread did not occur [87] In the American study, SDD 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