Screening for MRSA Does Not Limit New Infections

Screening all surgical admissions had little effect in a European hospital with a relatively low infection rate.

Faced with soaring rates of nosocomial methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections, some experts recommend universal screening of all newly admitted hospital patients for MRSA carriage. In a giant prospective cohort crossover study that involved eight surgical services at a large Swiss teaching hospital, researchers evaluated the efficacy of this technique. During one 9-month period, each service screened all newly admitted patients for MRSA carriage; a second 9-month period provided control data. Throughout the study, MRSA carriers were treated with contact isolation, topical decolonization, and MRSA-directed emendation of the usual antibiotic protocols.

More than 10,000 patients were screened with rapid PCR-based analyses…

Reviewing Author

Abigail Zuger, MD

Disclosures

Nothing to disclose

Abigail Zuger, MD

Disclosures

Nothing to disclose