Elise M. Martin, MD, MS, and Graham M. Snyder, MD, MS, have been awarded funding in the amount of $358,252 for a three-year R01 grant by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) through The Miriam Hospital, entitled, “The INFECTADO study: INFECTions Acquired by persons on maintenance hemoDialysis during hOspitalizations.” Drs. Martin and Snyder will serve as Site PIs for this study.
More than 500,000 persons require maintenance hemodialysis (pMHD) per year in the United States, disproportionately affecting persons who are Black or Hispanic. pMHD are an Agency of Healthcare Research and Quality priority population. Infections are the second most common cause of mortality among pMHD due to a uremia-induced immunocompromised state and multiple co- morbidities. pMHD are also at substantial risk of hospital-acquired infections (HAI) as they are admitted to the hospital on average twice per year. Compared to the general hospitalized population, pMHD have a 2.4-fold higher risk of developing an HAI. There is a tremendous paucity of data pertaining to the epidemiology of HAI among pMHD, including potential racial and ethnic disparities.
Under Aim 3 of this study, Drs. Martin and Snyder will use Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Healthcare Safety Network infection surveillance from 31 hospitals within the UPMC hospital network to characterize hospital-acquired infections (HAI) epidemiology, including causative pathogens
and antimicrobial resistance profiles. Quantifying and characterizing the epidemiology of HAI among persons requiring maintenance hemodialysis will result in increased understanding of this epidemiology among the high-risk groups and health disparities within this population providing important information to guide future prevention strategies aimed at reducing HAI and improving patient outcomes.
Please join us in congratulating Elise and Graham!