Cohort Study of German Hematological / Oncological Wards to Assess the Effect of Contact Precautions on Nosocomial Colonization With Vancomycin Resistant Enterococci

The study aims to evaluate the impact of contact precautions on the rate of VRE- the rate of colonization and infection aand hospital-acquired VRE transmissions.

Hematological and oncological wards in hospitals with a non-outbreak setting for VRE and adhering to at least the following standard of care are eligible for study participation:

Fecal screening for the presence of VRE of all patients within 72 hours of each admission by use of a rectal swab or stool sample Follow-up fecal screening once a week and within 72 hours of discharge Implementation of clinical standards aimed at VRE decolonization is not allowed on wards participating in this study, including in the context of clinical studies.

Sites will be grouped according to their approach regarding contact isolation (see group description).

As a control for external factors a hand hygiene program, including training and adherence assessments, will be implemented.

This observational study prospectively compares wards with different approaches to isolation. All screening and isolation measures are already in place on participating wards (i.e. constituted a site selection criterion) and are exclusively implemented as part of the standard of care. Sites are free to adjust their standard of care as they see fit. No intervention will be performed.