Abstract
Little is known about the amount of cross-transmission, the risk factors for infection, and the relative effectiveness of infection control procedures when methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection occurs at highly endemic levels in intensive care units. A cohort study was done to identify exposures associated with cases that likely were the result of cross-transmission (i.e., occurring in clusters and with indistinguishable MRSA macrorestriction profiles). Fitting a simple stochastic model to the ascertained data allowed prediction of the effectiveness of infection control measures. Exposure to relative staff deficit (adjusted rate ratio, 1.05 independent; 95% confidence interval, 1.02-1.09) was the only factor significantly associated with potential transmission (P =.001). It was predicted that a 12% improvement in adherence to hand-hygiene policies might have compensated for staff shortage and prevented transmission during periods of overcrowding, shared care, and high workload but that this would be hard to achieve.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 481-488 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | The Journal of Infectious Diseases |
| Volume | 185 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 15-Feb-2002 |
Keywords
- Cluster Analysis
- Cross Infection/etiology
- Humans
- Intensive Care Units
- Methicillin Resistance
- Models, Biological
- Risk Factors
- Staphylococcal Infections/etiology
- Staphylococcus aureus/drug effects