Use of a medical alert tool is associated with faster time to placement in contact precautions in patients with multidrug-resistant organism colonization/infection history.

BACKGROUND

Placing patients on contact precautions (CP) reduces the spread of infection. VA Bug Alert (VABA) was developed to notify VA infection control staff of new patients with multidrug-resistant organism (MDRO) colonization or infection. This study examined the link between VABA use and CP initiation.

METHODS

Patients who had an MDRO-positive culture were included. Medical chart reviews were conducted on 660 admissions for evidence of a CP order. Logistic regression determined the likelihood of patients being placed into CP within 24 hours of admission. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis assessed whether VABA utilization was associated with a shorter time to CP.

RESULTS

The final analysis included 659 admissions. Half of the patients were placed into CP within 24 hours of admission. High VABA use had a 69% increased likelihood of being placed into CPs within 24 hours compared to low. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that patients at facilities in the highest tertile of VABA use had faster time to CP (median 2.1 h) than those in the lower tertiles (median 6.3 hours) (P = .036).

CONCLUSIONS

VABA use is associated with earlier and more rapid placement into CP, demonstrating the alert system's effectiveness in rapidly identifying MDRO patients to reduce the spread of infection.