How can I prevent passing Klebsiella pneumonia to someone else?

Preventing Transmission of Klebsiella Pneumoniae

To prevent passing Klebsiella pneumoniae to others, strict hand hygiene is the most important measure, including thorough handwashing with soap and water or using alcohol-based hand rubs, especially after contact with respiratory secretions or contaminated objects. 1

Key Prevention Strategies

Hand Hygiene

• Decontaminate hands by washing with antimicrobial soap and water if visibly soiled, or use alcohol-based waterless antiseptic hand rub if hands are not visibly soiled 1
• Perform hand hygiene before and after contact with patients who have respiratory devices or tubes in place 1
• Hand hygiene should be performed after contact with mucous membranes, respiratory secretions, or objects contaminated with respiratory secretions 1
• Alcohol-based hand gels have been shown to significantly reduce Klebsiella pneumoniae infection rates, particularly bacteremias 2

Personal Protective Equipment

• Wear gloves when handling respiratory secretions or objects contaminated with respiratory secretions 1
• Change gloves between patients and after handling respiratory secretions before touching other surfaces 1
• Wear a gown if soiling with respiratory secretions is anticipated, and change it after such contact and before providing care to another patient 1

Environmental Cleaning

• Implement thorough environmental cleaning procedures with appropriate disinfectants 1
• Dedicate non-critical patient-care equipment to a single patient or cohort of patients infected or colonized with Klebsiella pneumoniae 1
• Specify in protocols which items need disinfection, which disinfectant to use, and how often items should be disinfected 1
• Monitor cleaning performance to ensure consistency 1

Respiratory Equipment Management

• If using open-system suction, use only sterile, single-use catheters 1
• Use only sterile fluid to remove secretions from suction catheters if they will be re-entered into the patient's respiratory tract 1
• Change the entire length of suction-collection tubing between uses on different patients 1
• Do not use large-volume room-air humidifiers that create aerosols unless they can be sterilized or subjected to high-level disinfection daily and filled only with sterile water 1

Additional Precautions

• Sterilize or subject to high-level disinfection reusable respiratory equipment between uses on different patients 1
• Change the mouthpiece of peak flow meters or spirometers between uses on different patients 1
• Avoid sharing personal items that may be contaminated with respiratory secretions 3

Special Considerations

Healthcare Settings

• Implement active screening cultures for high-risk patients in healthcare settings 1
• Consider contact precautions for colonized patients in healthcare environments 1
• Healthcare workers should avoid wearing artificial nails, as these can harbor pathogens 1

Food Safety

• Practice proper food handling hygiene, as K. pneumoniae can spread through the food chain 4
• Ensure proper sanitation during food preparation to prevent contamination 4

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

• Neglecting hand hygiene between patient contacts is a major risk factor for transmission 1, 2
• Failing to change gloves between patients or after handling contaminated materials 1
• Using non-sterile fluids in respiratory equipment 1
• Inadequate cleaning of shared medical equipment 1
• Underestimating the importance of environmental cleaning in preventing transmission 1

Klebsiella pneumoniae is an opportunistic pathogen that can colonize mucosal surfaces and spread to other tissues 3. Its ability to form biofilms and its thick capsule make it particularly difficult to treat once infection occurs 5, 6. Therefore, prevention through proper hygiene and infection control measures is crucial to reduce transmission and subsequent infections.