Hospitals could do better prevent the spread of Candida auris by expanding screening protocols to include all patients admitted to skilled nursing facilities, according to a new study led by researchers at New York-based Mount Sinai.

As part of an expanded screening protocol, Mount Sinai Brooklyn screened all 591 patients admitted from a nursing home between January 2022 and September 2023. Under the previous protocol, patients were only screened if they had been transferred from a health care facility known to have cared for patients. residents infected with the multidrug-resistant fungus.

The expanded screening criteria allowed the team to identify eight cases that would have been underdiagnosed under previous protocols, according to results published October 31 in the American Journal of Infection Control.

In total, experts identified 14 cases, or 2.4% of patients screened according to the expanded criteria, who tested positive for C. auris. Upon screening, nine of these cases were considered high risk while five were considered low risk.

“Broader screening not only helps identify cases early, but also allows for targeted precautions, reducing the risk of hospital outbreaks,” said Scott Lorin, MD, author of the study. study and president of Mount Sinai Brooklyn, in a press release about the results. “Implementing proactive protocols, based on community prevalence rates, can be a key tool in controlling the spread of this emerging global health threat.”