In a six-month period in 1978 61 patients at a university hospital became colonized or infected with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Ninety-three percent of patients with MRSA were on surgical services. Patients with burns acquired MRSA more frequently than did other acutely ill surgical patients (p less than .001), and often remained colonized for 30 days or more. The interval between admission and acquisition of S. aureus, number of antibiotics received, duration of antibiotic therapy before becoming colonized, and cost of hospitalization, were significantly greater in patients with MRSA infection than in matched controls with nosocomial methicillin-sensitive S. aureus infections. Acquisition of MRSA was epidemiologically associated with exposure to certain hospital personnel. Fourteen (6%) of 220 personnel exposed to MRSA patients harbored MRSA intranasally. Three of 14 colonized personnel carried MRSA intermittently for three or more months. Appropriate control measures failed to terminate the outbreak.

Burns↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Increasing occurrence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in the United States.

Although several outbreaks of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections have been reported in recent years, the geographic distribution and frequency of MRSA infections in American hospitals is unknown. We conducted a questionnaire survey to determine the magnitude of the problem. Data from 261 hospitals were included in the survey. MRSA were reported by 145 hospitals located in 36 states. Large hospitals reported these organisms significantly more often than small hospitals (p less than .001). University hospitals reported MRSA more often than community or community-teaching hospitals (p less than .001 and p less than .005, respectively). The number of hospitals reporting MRSA increased from 24 in 1975 to 112 in 1980 (p less than .001. Our data suggest that MRSA are widely distributed geographically and that the number of hospitals with these organisms has increased dramatically since 1975.

Cross Infection↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Antiseptic technology: access, affordability, and acceptance.

Factors other than antimicrobial activity of soaps and antiseptic agents used for hand hygiene by health personnel play a role in compliance with recommendations. Hand hygiene products differ considerably in acceptance by hospital personnel. If switching from a nonmedicated soap to an antiseptic agent or increased use of an existing antiseptic agent for hand hygiene prevented a few more infections per year, additional expenditures for antiseptic agents would be offset by cost savings.

Anti-Infective Agents, Local↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Dietary therapy in type II diabetes mellitus: correction.

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Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2↗