Carbapenem Resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) Reporting
Requirement for Maryland Labs
New Maryland Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) Reporting Requirement
CRE Case Report Form
As of November 7, 2013, directors of Maryland medical laboratories and directors of laboratories located outside Maryland (collectively referred to hereafter as “directors of medical laboratories”) that perform medical laboratory tests on any specimen acquired from a person in Maryland are required to report Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae to the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) Office of Infectious Diseases Epidemiology and Outbreak Response (OIDEOR).
Specifically, directors of medical laboratories shall report any Enterobacteriaceae (including but not limited to E. coli, Klebsiella spp, Enterobacter spp) isolated from any source that is:
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Non-susceptible (I or R) to any carbapenem (Imipenem, Meropenem, Doripenem or Ertapenem) AND resistant to all third-generation cephalosporins tested (Cefotaxime, Ceftriaxone, or Ceftazidime)
OR
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Found to be a carbapenemase-producer via phenotypic testing (Modified Hodge Test, etc) or genotypic testing (PCR)
CRE from cases meeting the above definition should be reported within one business day to the DHMH OIDEOR. The report should include at least the following: date of report; patient name; patient date of birth; patient sex; patient residence; lab name; lab accession number; specimen collection date; specimen source; organism isolated. Reporting via electronic laboratory report is preferred; however, where that is not possible, the DHMH CRE Case Report Form or an automated testing instrument (ATI)report containing the requisite information should be faxed to 410-669-4215.
In addition, the director of a medical laboratory shall submit all CRE isolates to the DHMH Laboratories Administration. Questions about isolate submission can be directed to the DHMH Laboratories Administration at 410-767-6135/6137.
Questions about this requirement overall can be directed to the DHMH Office of Infectious Diseases Epidemiology and Outbreak Response at 410-767-6685.
Authority: Annotated Code of Maryland, Health-General Article, §§18-103(a), 18-102(b), and 2-104(m)