(March 22, 2010 - Insidermedicine)

Rates of infection with the drug-resistant bacteria known as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) diminished in Paris hospitals following the institution of a long-term intensive program, according to research published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Here is some information about MRSA:

•       It is a strain of Staphylococcus aureus that is resistant to the antibiotics normally used to treat it, making it difficult to treat

•       Most MRSA infections occur in hospitals or other health care settings, but it has been found in the wider community

•       MRSA infections usually affect older people and those with weakened immune systems, but they have also been seen in otherwise healthy individuals

Researchers from Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière in Paris report on the results of a program launched in 1993 by the Assistance Publique–Hopitaux de Paris (AP-HP) that was designed to curb the spread of MRSA within the 38 hospitals the AP-HP administers. This program included such widely-accepted measures as isolating patients with MRSA in single-bed rooms, promoting hand hygiene and the use of alcohol-based hand- rubs, active surveillance of high-risk patients, quick notification of MRSA cases, and feedback on the results.

From 1993 to 2007, rates of MRSA infection dropped by 35%. The greatest improvement was seen in intensive care units, where patients are generally very weak and highly susceptible to infections. Following a 2001 campaign that promoted alcohol-based hand-rubs, use of these products increased from 2 t o 21 L in acute care hospitals.

Today’s research indicates that long-term intensive measures can successfully reduce the transmission of drug-resistant germs in hospital settings.