Patients

Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) Infection

CRE infections are most commonly seen in people with exposure to healthcare settings like hospitals and long-term care facilities, such as skilled nursing facilities, and long-term acute care hospitals. In healthcare settings, CRE infections occur among sick patients who are receiving treatment for other conditions. Patients whose care requires devices like ventilators (breathing machines), urinary (bladder) catheters, or intravenous (vein) catheters, and patients who are taking long courses of certain antibiotics are among those at risk for CRE infections.

Some CRE bacteria have become resistant to almost all available antibiotics and can be deadly—one report cites they can contribute to death in up to 50% of patients who become infected.

Frequently Asked Questions

General Information about CRE

Patients should:

Tell your doctor if you have been hospitalized in another facility or country.
Take antibiotics only as prescribed.
Expect all doctors, nurses and other healthcare providers wash their hands with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub before and after touching your body or tubes going into your body.
Clean your own hands often, especially:
- Before preparing or eating food
- Before touching your eyes, nose, or mouth
- Before and after changing wound dressings or bandages or handling medical devices
- After using the bathroom
- After blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing
Ask questions. Understand what is being done to you, the risks and benefits.