Study Details Incidence of MRSA Infections
The Journal of the American Medical Association recently published an article from a team at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that detailed both the incidence and extent of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).
The CDC team evaluated data collected from a population-based surveillance study completed in nine different communities around the country. All the locations are contributing participants in the Active Bacterial Core surveillance (ABC)/ Emerging Infections Program; data was collected from July 2004 through December 2005.
MRSA infections were categorized according to two factors: either community associated among patients who had known no risk factors for MRSA or healthcare associated: community or healthcare facility onset.
The outcome measures of interest included the incidence of MRSA infections, rate of invasive MRSA, inpatient mortality among patients with MRSA, and molecular characterization of strains.
During the study period, almost 9,000 cases of MRSA were reported; most were healthcare associated. The majority, 58 percent, had disease onset in the community and 26.6 percent commenced within a healthcare facility. 1,234 of the infections or 13.7 percent were community-associated. Just over one percent of the infections could not be classified.
The highest rate of incidence was among persons over age 65; 127.7 per 100,000 persons, African Americans; 66.5 per 100,000, and males; 37.5 per 100,000. Almost 1,600 patients died in the hospital while infected with MRSA during the period. The standardized mortality rate determined based on the study data was 6.3 per 100,000.
October 19, 2007 Related topics: Trends, Hygiene & Cleanliness