Case Studies in Infection
Training in Infection Control
The Bug Blog
Downloads |
|
|---|---|
|
2007 MRSA Policy (84 kB) |
 |
| MRSA Patient Information Leaflet (75 kB) | |
Important Links |
|---|
| Health Protection Agency Staphylococcus aureus Information |
| Department of Health Simple Guide to MRSA |
Page updated 21 January 2009
Key Points |
|---|
|
Use diligent hand hygiene (See Section on Hand Hygiene) to prevent the spread of MRSA Screen for MRSA before major surgery and on admission to the ICU Use Staphylococcal Decontamination Protocol for staff and patients without wounds Apply Staphylococcal Decontamination Protocol for 3-5 days pre-operatively Isolate patients with infected wounds and respiratory tract colonisation |
Staphylococcus aureus colonises the nose, and sometimes the axillae, hair, throat and perineum. Commonly it causes wound infection, superficial or deep, sometimes with blood stream spread (bacteraemia). Occasionally patients may die from overwhelming sepsis due to Staphylococcus aureus. The most likely mode of spread is by indirect contact via a staff member acting as a transient carrier of Staphylococcus aureus on the hands, transferring the organism from one patient to another. Many more patients and staff are colonised with Staphylococcus aureus than have overt infections. Hand carriage is temporary. Staff transmit the organism to susceptible patients without being aware that they are carriers. Therefore, meticulous hand hygiene before patient contact is essential to prevent transmission.
Hospital-acquired infection leads to a prolonged stay in hospital. In addition, Staphylococcus aureus strains which are resistant to methicillin (MRSA) are difficult to treat. If resistant to methicillin, these strains are also resistant to flucloxacillin and all ß-lactam antibiotics. Usually they are also resistant to other valuable antibiotics. Furthermore, some epidemic strains of MRSA appear to spread more easily from patient to patient than other strains. As time passes, it is expected that more and more people in the community will be colonised with MRSA than with methicillin sensitive staphylococci.
A patient with MRSA will be identified in the laboratory because a specimen (often a wound swab) has been sent from the ward. The ward and medical staff will be notified of the results by the Infection Control Team.
Each member of the Health Care Team is responsible for protecting patients from infection by:
 |
 |