MRSA Test Could Cut Infections
Posted on: Monday, 6 February 2006, 06:00 CST
A new screening test for MRSA could cut infections and reduce the pounds 1 billion-a-year NHS bill for dealing with hospital bugs, it was claimed today.
The new technique checks for the presence of the resistant superbug's DNA in patient swabs.
Researchers said it shortened the time taken to identify patients carrying methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus by two thirds. An evaluation of the test in Switzerland showed if it had not been used, 55 previously unknown MRSA carriers would have been missed by doctors.
The test significantly reduced the spread of MRSA infection in one medical intensive care unit.
No reduction in infection was seen in a surgical ICU, but 245 non- infected patients were spared a total of 1,227 unnecessary days in isolation.
Researchers carried out the study at Geneva University Hospital, which admits 47,000 patients a year. They wrote: "The test could help improve MRSA control strategies, especially if it is linked to systematic on-admission screening and pre-emptive isolation of newly admitted patients."
Source: Birmingham Post; Birmingham (UK)
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