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Study Shows Rise in Staph Among Hospitalized Patients

Posted on: Monday, 16 April 2007, 18:00 CDT

CHICAGO, April 16 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a recent study of more than 45 million hospital discharge records, staph infections among hospitalized patients are on the rise. The study, conducted by Gary Noskin, MD, infectious disease specialist and associate chief medical officer at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, also revealed that the increase in staph infections is resulting in millions of dollars of excess healthcare costs due to longer hospitalizations.

Staphylococcus aureus, commonly known as staph, is potentially serious bacteria that can cause a range of illnesses from mild skin infections to life-threatening blood stream infections. According to the study, the occurrence of staph increased among all hospitalized patients at a rate of 7.1 percent annually from 1998 to 2003. Among surgical patients, the rate was even higher, at 7.9 percent, and among orthopedic patients specifically, a staggering 9.3 percent.

"These data send a very important message to hospitals and healthcare institutions about the correlations between infection control and healthcare costs," said Dr. Noskin. "Identifying the bacteria is crucial to reducing its spread, and if we can prevent these infections from occurring, we can undoubtedly improve patient outcomes and reduce hospital visits, which ultimately reduce cost."

Dr. Noskin said Northwestern Memorial employs a comprehensive approach to the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of these infections. For example, the hospital appropriately administers antibiotics at optimal times prior to surgery to prevent surgical site infections. The hospital also is the site of other ongoing research to discover faster methods for identifying staph bacteria and preventing them from developing into infections.

Other standard precautions to reduce the occurrence of staph infections include proper hand-washing and requiring employees to wear gloves to decrease the spread of bacteria. These study results were announced over the weekend at the Society of Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) annual meeting.

About Northwestern Memorial Hospital

Northwestern Memorial Hospital is one of the country's premier academic medical centers and is the primary teaching hospital of the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Northwestern Memorial and its Prentice Women's Hospital and Stone Institute of Psychiatry have 744 beds along with 1,424 affiliated physicians and 6,464 employees. Providing state- of-the-art care, Northwestern Memorial is recognized for its outstanding clinical and surgical advancements in such areas as cardiothoracic and vascular care, gastroenterology, neurology and neurosurgery, oncology, organ and bone marrow transplantation, and women's health.

Northwestern Memorial received the prestigious 2005 National Quality Health Care Award and is listed in six specialties in this year's U.S. News & World Report's issue of "America's Best Hospitals." The hospital has also been cited as one of the "100 Best Companies for Working Mothers" by Working Mother magazine for the past seven years and has been chosen by Chicagoans for more than a decade as their "most preferred hospital" in National Research Corporation's annual survey. Northwestern Memorial carries the Magnet status designation in nursing, the highest recognition possible for exemplary patient care and nursing excellence.

Northwestern Memorial Hospital

CONTACT: Kimberly Arndt of Northwestern Memorial Hospital,+1-312-926-6503, karndt@nmh.org

Web site: http://www.nmh.org/

Source: PRNewswire

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