Study: How patient registries could help control spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Editor's Note

This study by Johns Hopkins researchers finds that the spread of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) bacteria that have high levels of resistance to most antibiotics could be reduced if only 25% of large healthcare facilities in a region used a patient registry.

The researchers developed a computer simulation model of 402 healthcare facilities in the Chicago metropolitan area that included virtual representations of patients and simulations of their movements between communities, different healthcare facilities, and within facilities.

Among the findings over a 3-year period:

• When all 402 facilities participated, the registry reduced the number of new CRE carriers by 11.7% and CRE prevalence by 7.6%.
• When 75% of facilities participated, registry use reduced the number of new carriers by 11.6% and CRE prevalence by 5.0%.
• When 50% participated, there was a 10.7% reduction in new carriers and a 5.6% reduction in prevalence.
• When 25% participated, there were 9.1% fewer new carriers and a 2.8% reduction in prevalence.

This study shows the value of data-sharing among healthcare facilities, even those that compete with each other, the researchers say.