Publication date: Mar 22, 2025
The impact of public health interventions against the COVID-19 pandemic on the occurrence of Enterobacteriaceae outbreaks in hospitals remains unclear. To determine the effect of the COVID-19 national health alert on the secular trend of Enterobacteriaceae outbreaks in Chilean public hospitals while characterizing their antibiotic resistance patterns. Nationwide retrospective ecological study using interrupted time series analysis of monthly outbreak-related cases over three periods: pre-pandemic (January 2017-February 2020), health alert (March 2020-August 2023), and post-pandemic (September-December 2023). A total of 106 outbreaks, 1,131 associated cases, and 254 deaths were identified in 47/196 (24. 0%) hospitals. Cases increased gradually (0. 39 cases-month, 95% CI 0. 02-0. 75; p=0. 040) in the pre-pandemic years. A sudden rise of 33. 42 cases (95% CI 7. 53-59. 31 cases; p=0. 012) in March 2020, followed by a gradual decrease (1. 28 cases-month, 95% CI 0. 38-2. 17; p=0. 006) during the health alert. A rebound of 18. 02 cases (95% CI 2. 89-33. 15; p=0. 020) occurred in September 2023 and preceded a gradual post-pandemic decline (6. 21 cases-month, 95% CI 1. 11-11. 31; p=0. 018). Prevalence of cases caused by carbapenemase-producing enterobacteria rose significantly (p
| Concepts | Keywords |
|---|---|
| Chile | bacterial drug resistance |
| Enterobacteriaceae | COVID-19 |
| Month | disease outbreak |
| Pandemic | Enterobacteriaceae |
| hospitals |
Semantics
| Type | Source | Name |
|---|---|---|
| disease | MESH | COVID-19 |
| disease | IDO | antibiotic resistance |