Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus control in the long term is feasible when a bundle of infection control precautions are strictly enforced over time, according to a study in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology.
Researchers examined the infection control program at the University Hospital Basel in Switzerland. The program was established in 1993 and it has included:
• Strict contact precautions with single rooms for MRSA-colonized/infected patients
• Targeted admission screening of high-risk patients and healthcare workers at risk for carriage
• Molecular typing of all MRSA strains
• Routine decolonization of MRSA carriers
Between 1993 and 2012, 540,669 blood samples were cultured. Researchers identified 1,268 episodes of Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infections from 1,204 patients.
MRSA accounted for 34 episodes. MRSA bloodstream infection incidence varied between 0 and 0.27 per 10,000 patient days and remained stable through the study period.
