Hospitals See More Staph Infections

Jun 25, 04:08 PM

Current Headlines: By Janese Heavin, Columbia Daily Tribune, Mo.

Jun. 25--A study released today that showed drug-resistant staph germs might be infecting as many as 5 percent of hospital patients didn't surprise local health officials.

Rather, they said, it highlights how prevalent the superbug -- known as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus -- is outside hospital walls.

The report, released by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, estimated that at least 30,000 U.S. hospital patients might have MRSA at any given time. That's 10 times the rate health officials previously estimated.

Researchers concluded that about 75 percent of patients already had the bug when they entered the hospital.

"I'm not surprised we're seeing more of it than previously thought," said Bonnie Greene, director of patient safety and infectious control at Boone Hospital Center, which took part in the study.

"The numbers might indicate a bigger increase in community-acquired MRSA coming into health-care facilities, which we weren't seeing 10 years ago," she said.

MRSA can cause minor infections such as pimples or serious infections such as pneumonia, Greene said.

The MRSA germ has typically thrived in hospitals and nursing homes, where open wounds are common. But in recent years, the bacteria has become more common in the community, where outbreaks have occurred among prisoners, children and athletes who are in close contact, with the germ spreading through skin contact or shared items, such as towels.

"It's been gradually spreading," said Gordon Christensen, a physician and professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia. "Thirty years ago, it was sporadic outbreaks. ... Now, it's a common problem hospitals have to deal with."

Both Boone Hospital and Truman Memorial Veterans' Hospital reported an increase in the number of patients coming in with MRSA over recent years. The infection can resemble a bug bite or common skin boil before affecting a larger tissue area. Others might carry colonized versions of the bug without having an infection.

Doctors can usually treat MRSA infections through a variety of antibiotics; however, it can become fatal among patients who have other chronic illnesses.

To reduce risks of the germ spreading, Truman Memorial is testing all intensive-care unit patients for MRSA, regardless of whether they show signs of infection. Since March, patients entering and leaving the ICU are swabbed in the nose to test whether they are carrying colonized germs.

"We can identify those who are carriers," said Kathy Kormann, infection control specialist. "We want to see if patients are picking up the organisms in the hospital and, if so, how they're acquiring them."

The VA hospital will expand the swabbing program to all acute patients by Sept. 30.

Patients who are identified as having or carrying MRSA are isolated in most hospitals. Medical staff also wear gloves and gowns when treating the patients to prevent spreading the bug.

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