Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40597409›Full record

ArticleAntimicrobial resistance and infection control2025

Multicenter exploration of microbial communities in hospital toilets reveals: antibiotic exposure in a nosocomial settings selects for coEnterococcus over commensal taxa.

Claudio Neidhöfer, Marcel Neuenhoff, Esther Sib, Anna Rehm, Lúcia Ribeiro Dias, Bernd Neumann, Jörg Steinmann, Manuel Döhla, Yousra Kherabi, Ana Budimir and 10 more

Abstract readMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Article in Antimicrobial resistance and infection control, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

20 authors.

Claudio Neidhöfer *Institute of Experimental Hematology and Transfusion Medicine, University Hospital, Bonn, Germany. claudio.neidhoefer@usb.ch.
Marcel Neuenhoff *Algorithmic Bioinformatics, Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany.
Esther SibInstitute for Hygiene and Public Health, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
Anna RehmAlgorithmic Bioinformatics, Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany.
Lúcia Ribeiro DiasInfectious Diseases Department, Unidade Local de Saúde São João, Porto, Portugal.
Bernd NeumannInstitute of Clinical Microbiology, Infectious Diseases and Infection Control, Paracelsus Medical University, Nuremberg General Hospital, Nuremberg, Germany.
Jörg SteinmannInstitute of Clinical Microbiology, Infectious Diseases and Infection Control, Paracelsus Medical University, Nuremberg General Hospital, Nuremberg, Germany.
Manuel DöhlaInstitute for Hygiene and Public Health, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
Yousra KherabiUniversité Paris Cité, Inserm, IAME, Paris, France.
Ana BudimirDepartment of Clinical and Molecular Microbiology, Clinical Hospital Centre Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia.
Crystel HajjarFaculté de Pharmacie, Université Saint-Joseph, Beirut, Lebanon.
Rouba KhatibFaculté de Pharmacie, Université Saint-Joseph, Beirut, Lebanon.
Katharina AxtmannInstitute of Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, University Hospital, Bonn, Germany.
Katjana SchwabDepartment of Oncology, Hematology, and Rheumatology, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
Peter BrossartDepartment of Oncology, Hematology, and Rheumatology, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
Steffen EngelhartInstitute for Hygiene and Public Health, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
Nico T MuttersInstitute for Hygiene and Public Health, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
Gabriele BierbaumInstitute of Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, University Hospital, Bonn, Germany.
Stefan JanssenAlgorithmic Bioinformatics, Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany.
Marijo ParčinaInstitute of Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, University Hospital, Bonn, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundExcessive antibiotic utilization in hospital settings catalyzes the emergence and dissemination of multidrug resistant (MDR) bacteria, with sanitary facilities serving as critical vectors for their propagation. This study investigated the impact of patient antibiotic exposure on microbial diversity in hospital sanitary facilities, as well as the emergence of uniform communities and prospering taxa under antibiotic pressure.

methodsFor this purpose a cross-sectional study was conducted between September 2022 and April 2023 from eight hospitals in seven cities across five countries, representing a diverse mix of tertiary care, military, oncological, psychiatric, and general teaching hospitals to analyze bacterial population differences in hospital toilets on wards with high versus minimal antibiotic administration using 16s rRNA amplicon sequencing.

resultsPCoA analysis with Bray-Curtis and unweighted UniFrac metrics revealed microbial clustering influenced by antibiotic exposure and geography. Among all taxa analyzed, Enterococcus showed the strongest and most consistent association with high-exposure environments, making it one of the most striking findings in our dataset.

conclusionRoutine overuse of antimicrobial agents aimed at false patient safety promotes a high-risk environment in the sanitary facilities of respective wards. Hence, the issue of hospital acquired infections with MDR pathogens transcends mere pathogen spread, entailing significant changes to both environmental and microbial landscapes over time. The situation signals an emerging ecological problem within healthcare environments, and highlights the urgency for an integrated approach to antimicrobial stewardship. The low detection of key nosocomial Gram-negative genera likely reflects the focus on toilets rather than sinks or showers.

Indexed as

Anti-Bacterial AgentsBacteriaCross InfectionMicrobiotaToilet FacilitiesCross-Sectional StudiesDrug Resistance, Multiple, BacterialHospitalsHumansRNA, Ribosomal, 16SAnti-Bacterial AgentsRNA, Ribosomal, 16SAntibiotic exposureAntimicrobial resistanceHealthcare environment microbiomeHospital-acquired infectionsHospital sanitary facilitiesInfection controlMultidrug-resistant bacteria

Identifiers

PMID40597409
PMCPMC12220145

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.