U.S. healthcare facilities aren't doing enough to protect patients from Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections, according to a new poll of infection control professionals released today.
The online poll conducted by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control (APIC) found that 59 percent of those responding said their healthcare facility has stepped up efforts to curb MRSA in the past six months. But 50 percent said their healthcare facility is "not doing as much as it could or should to stop the transmission of MRSA."
"It's troubling that so many infection control professionals say not enough is being done to prevent the spread of MRSA," said Lisa McGiffert, Director of Consumers Union's Stop Hospital Infections Campaign (www.StopHospitalInfections.org). "MRSA could be beat if the leadership at hospitals moved more aggressively to adopt strategies proven to protect patients from these virulent infections. We need to require hospitals to report their infection rates so the public can see if they are achieving results."
Consumers Union has worked to help pass laws in 20 states requiring hospitals to report their patient infection rates. Legislation to establish a national infection reporting law has been introduced in Congress by lead sponsors Representative Tim Murphy, R-PA., Representative Elijah Cummings, D-MD., and Senator Dick Durbin, D-IL. See: http://www.consumersunion.org/campaigns/Congressional%20Legislation%20110th.pdf
Last June, APIC published the first nationwide MRSA prevalence study and found that MRSA was 8.6 times more common than previous estimates had indicated. The report found that the antibiotic-resistant bacteria are found in all wards throughout most hospitals. See: http://journals.elsevierhealth.com/periodicals/ymic/article/PIIS01966553070077 29/abstract
In October, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that nearly 95,000 developed MRSA infections in 2005 and almost 19,000 people died. CDC research indicates that 85 percent of these infections are picked up by patients exposed to MRSA in hospitals and other healthcare settings, like nursing homes and dialysis centers.
APIC's most recent survey found that 41 percent of infection control professionals said their healthcare facility had not taken any new prevention measures since the MRSA prevalence study was published in June. Of these respondents, 19 percent said there were "no resources to change their approach" while 33 percent noted other reasons such as the "lack of support from hospital leadership, not enough staff and lack of time."