New guidelines could help reduce the rate of hospital-contracted MRSA (Staphylococcus aureus ).
This drug-resistant bacteria is responsible for scores of patient deaths, a Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America news release reported.
It causes about twice the amount of patient death as well as significantly ups hospital stays and medical costs.
"Many hospitals have made inroads in preventing healthcare-associated MRSA through essential prevention strategies, but some hospitals need additional intervention," David Calfee, MD, MS, co-lead author of the guidelines with Cassandra Salgado, MD, MS. said in the news release. "This guidance provides a roadmap for prioritizing and implementing strategies."
The guidelines included conducting regular MRSA risk assessments; implementing MRSA monitoring programs; cracking down on compliance with hang washing requirements; ensuring compliance with protocol after being in contact with MRSA-infected patients; ensuring proper cleaning and disinfecting of all hospital equipment; educating hospital staff as well as patients and families about their role in "prevention, transmission and recommended precautions"; and implementing an alert system when MRSA is identified in the facility.
"There is no "one-size-fits-all" approach to improving practices. Local contextual factors matter when implementing strategies," Edward Septimus, MD, an author of the commentary, said in the news release.
MRSA is a staph infection of the skin. It tends to start out as a small red bump that turns into a painful abscess that requires surgical draining. Bacteria from this infection can "burrow" deeper into the body, potentially causing more dangerous infections in the "bones, joints, surgical wounds, the bloodstream, heart valves and lungs," Mayo Clinic reported.
The work was published in the July issue of the journal Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology. The work was led by "the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the American Hospital Association, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, and The Joint Commission," the news release reported.
