| | NOVEMBER 20238UTLOOKHealthcare Tech IN MY OPINIONBy Tracey Odachowski, MSN, BABA, RNRN, CIC, CCRN, NE-BC,System Director, Infection Prevention and Control, Sentara HealthBack to the Future: Getting Back on Track with Infection Prevention in a Post-Pandemic WorldAs the country adapts to the `new normal' of infection prevention and control after the height of the COVID pandemic and its ongoing impact, more focus is necessary on the negative impacts of antibiotic use, antimicrobial resistance, and healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). Advances in prevention prior to the pandemic, with reductions in antimicrobial-resistant infections and deaths related to them, have seen a setback since 2020. The world was unprepared for the onset of COVID-19, and responses during that time included antibiotic administration in a `try anything' approach to improve patient outcomes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report `COVID-19: US Impact on Antimicrobial Resistance, Special Report 2022' confirmed that antimicrobial-resistant infections have worsened in recent years, showing more infections and increased antibiotic use. The surge of antifungal-resistant infections, such as Candida auris, in hospitals, confirms the need to reverse this trend. CDC also reported similar increases in HAIs during the first two years of the pandemic, including central-line associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI), catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI), ventilator-associated events (VAE), and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteremia. Patients were sicker and required more devices, and staffing and supply shortages led to practices contrary to our typical infection prevention techniques. So, how do we alter the course back to pre-pandemic improvements?Tracey Odachowski
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