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Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA): A Briefing for Acute Care Hospitals and Nursing Facilities

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

John M. Boyce
Affiliation:
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Task Force, The American Hospital Association, Chicago, Illinois
Marguerite M. Jackson
Affiliation:
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Task Force, The American Hospital Association, Chicago, Illinois
Gina Pugliese*
Affiliation:
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Task Force, The American Hospital Association, Chicago, Illinois
Murray D. Batt
Affiliation:
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Task Force, The American Hospital Association, Chicago, Illinois
David Fleming
Affiliation:
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Task Force, The American Hospital Association, Chicago, Illinois
Julia S. Garner
Affiliation:
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Task Force, The American Hospital Association, Chicago, Illinois
Alan I. Hartstein
Affiliation:
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Task Force, The American Hospital Association, Chicago, Illinois
Carol A. Kauffman
Affiliation:
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Task Force, The American Hospital Association, Chicago, Illinois
Mildred Simmons
Affiliation:
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Task Force, The American Hospital Association, Chicago, Illinois
Robert Weinstein
Affiliation:
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Task Force, The American Hospital Association, Chicago, Illinois
Carol O'Boyle Williams
Affiliation:
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Task Force, The American Hospital Association, Chicago, Illinois
*
American Hospital Association, 840 North Luke Shore Dr., Chicago, IL 60611

Extract

The incidence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has increased in communities and in healthcare facilities in the United States since the mid-1970s. Although MRSA often is thought of as a nosocomial infection problem because it is encountered in facilities of all types and sizes, it also causes many community-acquired infections. Approaches to control of MRSA vary widely, and there is lack of agreement on the most appropriate measures to control MRSA in healthcare facilities. The wide variation in approaches is due, in part, to the lack of data establishing the efficacy of specific control measures. As a result, the approaches that have been advocated have resulted in confusing and often conflicting recommendations and control measures. In some settings, there also have been unreasonable barriers and administrative hurdles that delay or prevent the transfer of patients between acute care and nursing (extended care) facilities.

Type
Special Report
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 1994

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