Hand hygiene compliance affected MRSA colonization in single-patient and open-model rooms alike in a neonatal ICU, but average daily census only affected infants in single-patient rooms, according to research published in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology.
Further, single-patient rooms did not reduce rates of MRSA colonization, late-onset sepsis or death in a retrospective cohort study conducted by Samuel Julian, MD, of the department of pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine, and colleagues in a tertiary referral center.
“In this analysis, average census positively correlated with MRSA colonization only within the single-patient room configuration,” the researchers wrote. “Increased vigilance is required during periods of high census, with particular attention paid to hand hygiene, the only variable that affected MRSA colonization.”
In a unit organized into single-patient and open-unit rooms, the team examined clinical data sets including bed location and microbiology results from 1,823 patients (55,166 patient-days) during 29 months. The investigators calculated differences in outcomes between configurations using chi-square tests and Cox regression.
Abstract and full study here
Connie Steed, MSN, RN, CIC, FAPIC, has worked in the field of infection prevention and control for over 40 years. Connie’s experience encompasses academic and community acute care hospitals, Long -Term Care Facilities and Ambulatory care. Connie recently retired from her position as Corporate Director of Infection Control for Prisma Health. Connie is currently a consultant specializing in infection prevention and control. She is board certified in Infection Prevention and control (CIC) since 1985 and a Fellow of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC). Connie has served APIC as a volunteer leader in multiple capacities including 2020 APIC President. She is published in the field and has presented nationally and internationally. Connie received her Bachelor’s and Master’s in Nursing from Clemson University.
Karen Hoffmann, RN, MS, BSN, CIC, FAPIC, FSHEA, has specialized in infection prevention and control for over 4 decades, serving for 23 years as the Associate Director of the North Carolina Statewide Program for Infection Control and Epidemiology (SPICE), and is an adjunct faculty at the University of North Carolina’s School of Medicine. Karen also served as the Infection Preventionist Consultant for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) from 2011 to 2020. She is a Fellow in both the Society of Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) and the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC). In 2019, Karen served as APIC President and has presented nationally and internationally. Karen earned her BS in Nursing from Indiana University and her Master’s in Healthcare Epidemiology from the University of Virginia.