Hospitals that work together on infection control efforts fare better than hospitals that act alone, according to a study led by the University of Pittsburgh.
For this study, researchers used data from 29 hospitals in Orange County, Calif., and developed a computer simulation to assess a procedure called "contact isolation" to limit MRSA transmission. The simulation explored scenarios in which different combinations of hospitals implemented contact isolation to varying degrees.
The researchers found the more that hospitals work together and coordinate infection control effort, the more success and benefits they will reap. Specifically, when the simulation was run with all the hospitals in Orange County implementing contact isolation simultaneously with a 75 percent compliance rate, MRSA prevalence decreased an additional 3.85 percent over what the hospitals could have achieved on their own.
The researchers also found when a hospital required contact isolation, MRSA incidence did not just decrease at that hospital but also in other nearby hospitals that had not implemented the requirement, suggesting a positive ripple effect.
For this study, researchers used data from 29 hospitals in Orange County, Calif., and developed a computer simulation to assess a procedure called "contact isolation" to limit MRSA transmission. The simulation explored scenarios in which different combinations of hospitals implemented contact isolation to varying degrees.
The researchers found the more that hospitals work together and coordinate infection control effort, the more success and benefits they will reap. Specifically, when the simulation was run with all the hospitals in Orange County implementing contact isolation simultaneously with a 75 percent compliance rate, MRSA prevalence decreased an additional 3.85 percent over what the hospitals could have achieved on their own.
The researchers also found when a hospital required contact isolation, MRSA incidence did not just decrease at that hospital but also in other nearby hospitals that had not implemented the requirement, suggesting a positive ripple effect.
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