Infections caused by MRSA doubled at academic medical centers in the U.S. between 2003 and 2008, according to a study published in the August issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.
Researchers relied on the University HealthSystem Consortium database, which includes data from 90 percent of all U.S. non-profit academic medical centers. However, like many databases, the UHC data are based on billing codes hospitals submit to insurance companies, which often underestimate MRSA cases. Researchers found that the billing data missed one-third to one-half of actual MRSA cases at four hospitals. They used that rate of error as a proxy to correct the billing data from other 420 hospitals in the UHC database and arrive at the final estimates.
The researchers ultimately found hospitalizations due to MRSA increased from about 21 out of every 1,000 patients in 2003 to about 42 out of every 1,000 in 2008, or almost 1 in 20 inpatients. The findings run counter to a recent CDC study that found MRSA cases in hospitals were declining. The CDC study looked only at cases of invasive MRSA — infections found in the blood, spinal fluid or deep tissue. It excluded infections of the skin, which the UHC study includes.
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Researchers relied on the University HealthSystem Consortium database, which includes data from 90 percent of all U.S. non-profit academic medical centers. However, like many databases, the UHC data are based on billing codes hospitals submit to insurance companies, which often underestimate MRSA cases. Researchers found that the billing data missed one-third to one-half of actual MRSA cases at four hospitals. They used that rate of error as a proxy to correct the billing data from other 420 hospitals in the UHC database and arrive at the final estimates.
The researchers ultimately found hospitalizations due to MRSA increased from about 21 out of every 1,000 patients in 2003 to about 42 out of every 1,000 in 2008, or almost 1 in 20 inpatients. The findings run counter to a recent CDC study that found MRSA cases in hospitals were declining. The CDC study looked only at cases of invasive MRSA — infections found in the blood, spinal fluid or deep tissue. It excluded infections of the skin, which the UHC study includes.
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