Structured Intervention Reduces Mortality in Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia

Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (SaB) is a main cause of bacteremia in both community and hospital settings; patient mortality increases with patient comorbidities and use of non–beta-lactam therapy (for methicillin-resistant S. aureus infections [MRSA]). Recent data point toward reduced mortality with infectious disease consultation, presumably due to higher adherence to practice standards of diagnosis and therapy.

At a single university hospital, researchers compared the effect on mortality of implementation of a structured intervention bundle for SaB that consisted of six core standards of care in SaB:

(1) documentation of follow-up blood cultures for clearance, (2) early source control, (3) early use of beta-lactams for methicillin-susce…