Testing all patients for MRSA is effective

CHICAGO, March 18 (UPI) -- Testing everyone admitted to three U.S. hospitals for Methicillin-resistant Staphlococcus aureus resulted in MRSA being greatly reduced, a study found.

The study, published in Annals of Internal Medicine, found universal surveillance was associated with a reduction by more than half of healthcare-associated MRSA bloodstream, respiratory, urinary tract and surgical site disease occurring during the hospital stay and in the 30 days after discharge.

However, an accompanying editorial noted that the rapid polymerase chain reaction, or PCR-based test, used in the universal screening phase of the study wasn't used in the first two phases and thus could skew results. The PCR-based test costs about $25 to $30 compared to the $5 standard culture lab test, so screening all patients with the fast test may have an economic impact on the hospital, the editorial said.

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggested that screening surgical patients for MRSA wasn't effective in affecting the spread of the disease but the difference in the Annals of Internal Medicine suggested that screening all hospital patients for MRSA could make the difference in reducing hospital-acquired infections.