According to the Centers for Disease Control, Hospital acquired infections (HAIs), including the infections caused by Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), are costing hospitals more than $30 billion per year. New federal health care rules are also reducing reimbursements to hospitals for HAI treatment. Studies show that nasal carriage plays a major role in HAI and […]

Antibiotic resistance and development of antibiotic stewardship programs are ongoing issues for healthcare providers. The annual  “Get Smart about Antibiotics Week” developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other partners highlights events, educational resources, and a spotlight for organizations to coordinate strategies around stewardship programs and the overuse and misuse of antibiotics. Press Release […]

While the incidence of the most common strain of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections has decreased in hospital-onset cases, new research shows that it has failed to decline in the general community, as evidenced from the study in The Journal of Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology. MRSA infections are an ongoing issue in healthcare settings, but the […]

by Phenelle Segal Despite significant advances in the reduction of healthcare-associated methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), the process for prevention of transmission remains tedious, time consuming, demanding of healthcare personnel, costly and, oftentimes, unsuccessful. The traditional approach to prevention of transmission of multi-drug resistant organisms (MDROs) has included screening for colonization (e.g., MRSA screening of […]

Daily monitoring of patients receiving antimicrobial injections targeting methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is associated with improved clinical outcomes, according to a study published online in the Journal of Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics. The study included daily reviews of prescriptions and the review occurred within 24 hours after initiation of therapy. The researchers found that implementation of daily review correlated […]

Read the Full Study on American Journal of Infection Control A Rhode Island Hospital and The Miriam Hospital study found that a small percentage of nursing home patients carrying multidrug-resistant bacteria are admitted to hospitals without showing symptoms caused by the bacteria. The research – published in the American Journal of Infection Control – highlights […]

Over-bed tables, bed rails, other flat surfaces, bed linens and patient gowns tend to be the surfaces in a hospital room that are most contaminated with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, according to EOS Surfaces. See the infographic below. This infographic was created by EOS Surfaces.

The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) supports all of the nation’s healthcare providers across the spectrum of healthcare stepping up coordinated efforts to curb improper use of antibiotics by practicing antibiotic stewardship.  A new Vital Signs report released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) spotlights the issue of healthcare […]

Bacteria’s ability to become resistant to antibiotics is a growing issue in health care: Resistant strains result in prolonged illnesses and higher mortality rates.One way to combat this is to determine bacteria’s antibiotic resistance in a given patient, but that often takes days — and time is crucial in treatment. ASU scientists have developed a […]

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 […]