Knowledge and practice of Chinese physicians toward carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae: a nationwide cross-sectional survey in top 100 hospitals

Antimicrobial resistance has markedly increased worldwide concern over the past decades, while the current emergence of carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae (CRE) constitutes a great public health threat (1,2). In United States, CRE infections have been confirmed in nearly all states and are associated with 25% attributable mortality (3,4). A single CRE infection can cost ranging from $22,484 to $66,031 for hospitals, $10,440 to $31,621 for third-party payers, and $37,778 to $83,512 for society (4). Because of limited antibiotic options to treat such infections, CRE is listed as a critical priority pathogen by the World Health Organization (WHO) to guide research, discovery, and development of new antibiotics (5)