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Vertical Versus Horizontal Infection Control Interventions

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Infection Prevention

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 target transmission risks and various organisms including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), and carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB). 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, Virginia Commonwealth University, 1000 E Marshall Street, Suite 205, Richmond, VA, 23298, USA

    Salma Muhammad Abbas & Michelle Doll

  2. Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center, 1300 East Marshall Street, North Hospital, 2nd Floor, Room 2-100, P.O. Box 980019, Richmond, VA, 23298, USA

    Michael P. Stevens

  3. Infectious Diseases/Epidemiology, Virginia Commonwealth University Health System, Richmond, VA, USA

    Michael P. Stevens

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  1. Salma Muhammad Abbas
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  2. Michelle Doll
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Correspondence to Salma Muhammad Abbas .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. VCUHS Epidemiology and Infection Control, North Hospital, Richmond, Virginia, USA

    Gonzalo Bearman

  2. Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

    Silvia Munoz-Price

  3. University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

    Daniel J. Morgan

  4. Department of Medical Affairs and Division of Infectious Diseases, Cedars-Sinai Health System, Los Angeles, California, USA

    Rekha K. Murthy

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Abbas, S.M., Doll, M., Stevens, M.P. (2018). Vertical Versus Horizontal Infection Control Interventions. In: Bearman, G., Munoz-Price, S., Morgan, D., Murthy, R. (eds) Infection Prevention. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60980-5_18

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60980-5_18

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-60978-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-60980-5

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