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SDD for the Prevention and Control of Outbreaks

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Selective Digestive Tract Decontamination in Intensive Care Medicine: a Practical Guide to Controlling Infection

Abstract

Outbreaks of infection with multi-resistant microorganisms are an increasing problem in intensive care units. Such outbreaks lead to increased mortality, longer duration of stay, higher costs and reduced availability of ICU beds [1, 2]. Many guidelines advocate strict adherence to hygiene measures, patient isolation and antibiotic restriction, but in spite of good and sometimes even supervised adherence to these measures, they often fail to contain the outbreak [3, 4]. An outbreak sometimes results in the temporary closure of the ICU [5, 6]. The normal measures taken to control an outbreak cause a lot of extra work for the medical and nursing staff. It is therefore important to control outbreaks as soon as possible when they occur, and even more important to apply measures to prevent outbreaks.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Intensive Care, Onze Lieve Vrouwe Gasthuis, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Hans I. van der Spoel MD (Intensivist)

  2. Department of Intensive Care, Medical Centre Leeuwarden, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands

    Rik T. Gerritsen MD (Internist-intensivist)

Authors
  1. Hans I. van der Spoel MD
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  2. Rik T. Gerritsen MD
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Intensive Care, Onze Lieve Vrouwe Gasthuis, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Peter H. J. van der Voort (Internist-intensivist) (Internist-intensivist)

  2. Department of Clinical Microbiology and Infection Control, Royal Liverpool Children’s NHS Trust of Alder Hey, Liverpool, UK

    Hendrick K. F. van Saene

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van der Spoel, H.I., Gerritsen, R.T. (2008). SDD for the Prevention and Control of Outbreaks. In: van der Voort, P.H.J., van Saene, H.K.F. (eds) Selective Digestive Tract Decontamination in Intensive Care Medicine: a Practical Guide to Controlling Infection. Springer, Milano. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-0653-9_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-0653-9_11

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Milano

  • Print ISBN: 978-88-470-0652-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-88-470-0653-9

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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