Stop Getting Sick at the Hospital:
Preventing the Spread of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in U.S. Hospitals
Information/Preliminary Issues
Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a type of staph bacteria that is resistant to treatment by typical antibiotics. The most common kind is hospital-acquired (HAI), nosocomial, or healthcare-associated MRSA (HA-MRSA). People who undergo invasive medical procedures, who have compromised immune systems, or are being treated in patient care settings are most at risk for this infection. (CDC 2013)
The first observed cases of HA-MRSA occurred in the 1960’s. Since then, the overall proportion of staph bacteria that are methicillin resistant has increased over two-fold since 1992. (CDC 2013) In 2005, a conservative estimate of hospital patients that developed cases of invasive MRSA was close to 100,000; the number of fatalities was 20,000 deaths. The majority, or at least 65% of health care associated infections is attributed to MRSA. The mortality for hospital blood stream infections such as MRSA is 25% (Klevens et. al 2007).
The scope and magnitude of the explosive rise of HA-MRSA affects not only U.S. health care system but U.S. society as a whole. On the individual level, MRSA infections are correlated with greater lengths of hospital stay, higher mortality, and increased costs. Isolation from treatment of MRSA has been reported to be associated reduced frequency of visits by attending physicians and nurses, anxious and depressed patients, and more bedsores and falls. For health care providers, the treatment of infections of antibiotic resistant infections such as MRSA will have serious resounding economic impact: treatments costly due to...
... middle of paper ...
..., Petit, S., Gershman, K., Ray, S., & Active
Bacterial Core surveillance (ABCs) MRSA Investigators. (2007). Invasive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections in the United States. Jama, 298(15), 1763-1771.
Pittet, D., Hugonnet, S., Harbarth, S., Mourouga, P., Sauvan, V., Touveneau, S., & Perneger, T.
V. (2000). Effectiveness of a hospital-wide programme to improve compliance with hand hygiene. The Lancet, 356(9238), 1307-1312.
Rosner, A. J., Becker, D. L., Wong, A. H., Miller, E., & Conly, J. M. (2004). The costs and consequences
of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection treatments in Canada. The Canadian ournal of Infectious Diseases & Medical Microbiology, 15(4), 213.
Wenzel, R. P., Bearman, G., & Edmond, M. B. (2008). Screening for MRSA: a flawed hospital
infection control intervention. Screening, 29(11), 1012-1018.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is similar to regular hospital acquired MRSA in that it is resistant to cefazolin, and antibiotics similar to cefazolin. However, it differs from MRSA in that it doesn't display MRSA’s common risk factors, and is susceptible to other various antibiotics.
However, increasing antibiotic resistance patterns among intensive care unit pathogens, cultivated by empiric-broad spectrum antibiotic regimens, characterizes the variable concerns. Recent literature point that antibiotic use before the development of VAP is associated with increased risk for potentially resistant gran-negative infections and Methcillin-resistant Staphylococcus auereus (MRSA)
Health tips. Hand hygiene. (2009). Mayo Clinic Health Letter (English Ed.), 27(12), 3. Retrieved from
Stanley, J., Gannon, J., Gabuat, J., Hartranft, S., Adams, N., Mayes, C., Shouse, G. M.,
In one of the studies healthcare workers were provided a questionnaire only 27.3% responded that no other healthcare worker had ever talked to them about MRSA (Raupach-Rosin, et. al, 2016). This study proves that healthcare workers need to be more educated on the topic of MRSA, how it spreads to the patients, and how the intervention of infection control and patient education will assist in reducing the amount of MRSA cases acquired. In one study, patients underwent a MRSA screening for nasal colonization. Out of the 29,371 patients, 3,262 had MRSA colonization. (Marzec & Bessesen, 2016). The study conducted allowed healthcare providers to see the effects of how easily MRSA is spread and how many patients could easily contract
...ood to above 60 degrees C and storing food below 7.2 degees C are two effective ways of controling S. aureus growth in food. The most important recent epidemiological information concerning this organism involves the increasing resistance to antibiotics. Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) is the most common of these antibiotic resistant organisms. The effects of MSRA are the same as any other S. aureus infection, however, MSRA infections are a difficult to treat because there are few effective antibiotics available. MSRA infections are generally not life threatening, however in some extreme cases death can occur.
Scott II, D. R. (2009). The direct medical costs of healthcare-associated infections in U.S. hospitals and the benefits of prevention. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/HAI/pdfs/hai/Scott_CostPaper.pdf
Interestingly, two studies of the four compared the compliance rates of HCWs in particular nurses and physicians. Sharma, Puri, Sharma, & Whig (2011) found in their study that compliance rates for hand hygiene protocols was significantly higher for physicians (50.8%) as a opposed to nurses (41.3%). In contrast, Mathai, George, & Abraham (2011) had conflicting findings in which higher compliance rates were associated with nurses (45%) in comparison to physicians (17%). Both studies had similar sample sizes and were investigated in developing countries India and Pakistan; nonetheless, language barriers and varying educational levels of different staff groups, may have influenced the understanding of the need for effective hand hygiene (Mathai et al., 2011). Of four studies, three were observational studies, which provide opportunity to question the rigour of the
Patient education is of paramount importance if MRSA is to be reduced to its lowest minimum. According to Noble 2009, patient’s education stands a critical component of managing MRSA therefore; nurses are expected to be prompt in educating patients on specific measures in limiting and reducing the spread of MRSA by person to person contact. (Noble, 2009) The specific measures includes definition of MRSA, mode of transmission, the damage it can do to the body, specific treatments available and the process of treatment. This is to help the patient take part in the care. Noble 2009 explains that during care giving nurses and all other healthcare provider involve in giving care to a patient should communicate to patient all the precaution that will prevent the transmission of MRSA, and also giving the scientific rationale for the use of any precaution that is been used in the cause of care giving. (Noble, 2009.)
The systematic review; Interventions to improve hand hygiene compliance in patient care, conducted by the Cochrane Collaboration investigated inventions to improve hand hygiene compliance within patient care. The review included 2 original studies with an additional two new studies (Gould & Moralejo et al., 2010). Throughout the review it was affirmed that among hand hygiene is an indispensable method in the prevention of hospital-acquired infections (HAI), the compliance among nurses’ is inadequate. Nurses are identified within the public as dependable and trustworthy in a time of vulnerability due to their specialised education and skills (Hughes, 2008). Thus, it is imperative that evidence based practice is cond...
Ornstein, R., Rosen, D., Mammel, K., Callahan, S., Forman, S., Jay, M., Fisher, M., Rome, E., &
Medical asepsis plays an integral role in infection control within a health care facility. It includes procedures used to decrease and prevent direct contact with blood or bodily fluids and emphasizes keeping the environment clean on a regular basis (Curchoe, Astle, & Hobbs, 2014). In order to achieve optimal health, individuals depend on practices and techniques that control and ultimately prevent the transmission of infection. These practices and techniques can help avoid the transmission of infections by creating an environment that protects both health care workers and patients from communicable diseases. Good hand hygiene has been stressed as the single most important measure to prevent cross-infection to patients in health care facilities
Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, is a strain of staph infection that is resistant to certain antibiotics. Methicillin is just one of the many antibiotics this particular strain of staph bacteria is immune to. There are two types of MRSA that can infect a person, healthcare-associated and community associated. Although the resiliency of MRSA has made it challenging to defeat, the infection is treatable and avoidable.
Infection control is very important in the health care profession. Health care professionals, who do not practice proper infection control, allow themselves to become susceptible to a number of infections. Among the most dreaded of these infections are: hepatitis B (HBV), hepatitis C (HCV), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Another infection which has more recently increased in prevalence is methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). These infections are all treated differently. Each infection has its own symptoms, classifications, and incubation periods. These infections are transmitted in very similar fashions, but they do not all target the same population.
Graham, P. L. (2006). A U.S. Population-based survey of staphylococcus aureus colonization.Annals of Internal Medicine, 144(5), 318. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-144-5-200603070-00006