Avis Ward

A Decrease in Staph Infections in ICUs Reported



Posted: Wednesday, February 18, 2009

by Avis Ward
GeoVi's Home for Pregnant Teens

Invasive infections with methicillin-resistant Staphyloccoccus aureus (MRSA) have become a focus of national attention over the past several years due to their potentially lethal complications and reports indicating that their frequency is on the rise in most US hospitals.

According to a government report released today in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), "the rate of dangerous staph infections has dropped dramatically in hospital intensive-care units, a rare encouraging sign about a hard-to-treat "superbug." There were 600 hospitals to participate in the first of its kind study. Hospitals reported to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention during the study period.

Since my brother was an unsuspecting host of the staph superbug while in ICU, this report caught my attention. The government reports across the country, there was nearly a 50 percent drop in the "super-bug" infection in ICUs from 1997-2007.

"We may actually be starting to get a toehold on" these dangerous germs, said Dr. Buddy Creech, a Vanderbilt University infectious disease specialist who was not involved in the research. That's encouraging."

The study's authors say it is unclear why the drop occurred but may be because doctors and nurses are working harder at prevention efforts. I am not sure that is very reassuring when a high standard of care for patients should always be at the forefront of their minds. These prevention efforts could include frequent hand-washing, instrument sterilization and other measures.

Catheters that can be connected to a patient for days can increase the risks for infections from all types of bacteria. The study focused on catheters that deliver medicine or those that monitor vital signs. They are usually threaded into an artery near the heart to meet these requirements.

The MRSA is among the most dangerous types of bacteria a patient in ICU can contract. Although the germs can live harmlessly on the skin or in the nose they can spread quickly and become deadly once they enter the bloodstream.

Thankfully, my brother is alive today but had a near death experience with MRSA. Healthcare providers are encouraged to be diligent in providing a higher standard of care so that patients are well-cared for and safe.

2009 by Avis Ward of GeoVi's Home for Pregnant Teens

Source: February 18, 2009 Issue of JAMA: Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Central LineAssociated Bloodstream Infections in US Intensive Care Units, 1997-2007

Avis is founder of El Elyon Outpouring Center, an Empowerment Outreach Ministry emphasizing God’s Unconditional Love and Grace and GeoVi’s Home for New Life, a nonprofit providing faith, hope, and love to teens, pregnant teens and their babies. She's CEO of Providential Coaching, a Christian Life coaching practice teaching young women how-to turn within for divine direction to learn and follow the plan God has for their lives. She's the host and creator of Devoted Housewives in the House of God, an Internet Radio Talk Show. Speaker, Seminar Leader and an Ambassador of Love. Avis respectfully acknowledges her deceased parents as her role models, and the hero and heroine in her life.
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)
» left by Sandra E. Graham
from Paragould, AR USA 3 years 64 days ago.
I certainly hope they are right. We still see numerous cases in the hospital that my husband and I have used quite often. Just a month or so ago, a lady died there of staph infection after having some type of fairly minor surgery. And there was another case reported at the same hospital a few months before. Several young children around our area had minor cases but were treated and cured. It's a frightening thing.
 
Thanks for the article giving us hope, Avis.
 
Sandra
» left by Avis Ward from SC 3 years 64 days ago.
Sandra, thank you for reading and leaving a comment. I'm unhappy to hear you know patients who contracted a staph infection while in a hospital. Happy their experience wasn't fatal. This study gave me a bit of hope, too. Probably too many lawsuits. My brother's total care was written off due to his near death experience.

Take care special care and be well.

Avis
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