APIC Updates Its MRSA Guide

The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) announces that it has published a second edition of its Guide to the Elimination of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Transmission in Hospital Settings in an effort to provide the most current evidence-based practice guidance to protect patients from healthcare-associated infections.

Developed by leading experts in infection prevention and hospital epidemiology, the revised guide includes updates and enhancements to the original APIC guide published in 2007. Additional references, resources, research findings and guidance are integrated into the best practice recommendations for effective hospital MRSA management programs.

MRSA is a type of staph bacteria that is resistant to certain antibiotics called beta-lactams. These antibiotics include methicillin and other more common antibiotics such as oxacillin, penicillin and amoxicillin. Drug-resistant pathogens are a growing threat to all people, especially in healthcare settings. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 70 percent of the bacteria that cause hospital-associated infections are resistant to at least one of the drugs commonly used to treat them. In the U.S., MRSA is associated with an estimated 19,000 deaths and $3.2 billion to $4.2 billion in added costs annually.

"The human and financial impact of MRSA infections makes efforts to eliminate MRSA transmission in healthcare settings compelling and necessary," says Kathy Aureden, MS, MT (ASCP), SI, CIC, lead author of the guide and epidemiologist at Sherman Hospital in Elgin, Illinois.

To learn more about the Guide to the Elimination of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Transmission in Hospital Settings and APICs extensive library of other elimination guides, as well as many more infection prevention resources, visit www.apic.org/eliminationguides.