Infection control and hospital epidemiology : the official journal of the Society of Hospital Epidemiologists of America
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Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol · Feb 2006
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in German intensive care units during 2000-2003: data from Project SARI (Surveillance of Antimicrobial Use and Antimicrobial Resistance in Intensive Care Units).
The objective of this study was to analyze methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) percentages (defined as the percentage of S. aureus isolates that are resistant to methicillin) and antimicrobial consumption in intensive care units (ICUs) participating in Project SARI (Surveillance of Antimicrobial Use and Antimicrobial Resistance in Intensive Care Units), to look for temporal changes in MRSA percentages and antimicrobial consumption in individual ICUs as an indicator of the impact of an active surveillance system, and to investigate the differences between ICUs with increased MRSA percentages versus those with decreased percentages during a period of 3 years (2001-2003). ⋯ The MRSA situation in German ICUs is still heterogeneous. Because MRSA percentages range from 0% to 64.4%, further studies are required to confirm findings that no change in the MRSA percentage and a decrease in the nosocomial MRSA infection incidence density in SARI ICUs reflect the impact of an active surveillance system.
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Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol · Feb 2006
Reduction in incidence of nosocomial methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection in an intensive care unit: role of treatment with mupirocin ointment and chlorhexidine baths for nasal carriers of MRSA.
After the introduction of routine treatment for every nasal carrier of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, active follow-up surveillance for nosocomial methicillin-resistant S. aureus infection was conducted for 5 years in an intensive care unit of a tertiary-care teaching hospital. There was a significant decrease in the incidence of nosocomial methicillin-resistant S. aureus infection during the later years of follow-up. Decolonization of nasal carriers of methicillin-resistant S. aureus is probably associated with such findings.