• Bruce Y Lee, Sarah M Bartsch, Kim F Wong, James A McKinnell, Eric Cui, Chenghua Cao, Diane S Kim, Loren G Miller, and Susan S Huang.
• Am. J. Epidemiol. 2016 Mar 1; 183 (5): 480-9.

AbstractA recent trial showed that universal decolonization in adult intensive care units (ICUs) resulted in greater reductions in all bloodstream infections and clinical isolates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) than either targeted decolonization or screening and isolation. Since regional health-care facilities are highly interconnected through patient-sharing, focusing on individual ICUs may miss the broader impact of decolonization. Using our Regional Healthcare Ecosystem Analyst simulation model of all health-care facilities in Orange County, California, we evaluated the impact of chlorhexidine baths and mupirocin on all ICU admissions when universal decolonization was implemented for 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% of ICU beds countywide (compared with screening and contact precautions). Direct benefits were substantial in ICUs implementing decolonization (a median 60% relative reduction in MRSA prevalence). When 100% of countywide ICU beds were decolonized, there were spillover effects in general wards, long-term acute-care facilities, and nursing homes resulting in median 8.0%, 3.0%, and 1.9% relative MRSA reductions at 1 year, respectively. MRSA prevalence decreased by a relative 3.2% countywide, with similar effects for methicillin-susceptible S. aureus. We showed that a large proportion of decolonization's benefits are missed when accounting only for ICU impact. Approximately 70% of the countywide cases of MRSA carriage averted after 1 year of universal ICU decolonization were outside the ICU.© The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

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