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Vertical Versus Horizontal Infection Control Interventions

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Infection Prevention

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Abstract

Healthcare-associated infections are a major burden on a nation’s healthcare system and prevention has been an area of major focus. Several strategies have been used to minimize transmission of organisms including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE), carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB), and Candida auris. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has recently emerged as organism of epidemiologic importance, causing a pandemic and overwhelming healthcare facilities worldwide. Vertical strategies target a specific organism and include measures such as active surveillance cultures which may be followed by isolation or decolonization. In contrast, horizontal strategies aim to reduce infections caused by all microorganisms sharing a common means of transmission. Examples of horizontal measures include implementation of hand hygiene, universal decolonization, selective digestive tract decolonization, antimicrobial stewardship, and environmental cleaning. While there is no clear consensus over which strategies are most optimal in different settings, horizontal strategies are more likely to have a broader impact and are more cost-effective.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Internal Medicine, Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Center, Lahore, Pakistan

    Salma Muhammad Abbas

  2. Division of Infectious Diseases, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Richmond, VA, USA

    Michael P. Stevens

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  1. Salma Muhammad Abbas
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Salma Muhammad Abbas .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. VCUHS Epidemiology and Infection Control, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA

    Gonzalo Bearman

  2. Baltimore VA Medical Center, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Daniel J. Morgan

  3. Division of Infectious Diseases, Cedars-Sinai, UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Rekha K. Murthy

  4. Infection Prevention and Control Department, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Susy Hota

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Abbas, S.M., Stevens, M.P. (2022). Vertical Versus Horizontal Infection Control Interventions. In: Bearman, G., Morgan, D.J., K. Murthy, R., Hota, S. (eds) Infection Prevention. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-98427-4_18

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-98427-4_18

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-98426-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-98427-4

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