Hospital MRSA Infections May Follow Patients Home: Study

New research suggests that many patients discharged from a hospital into home health care are sent home with a drug-resistant staph infection known as MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, and about one in five may transfer the organisms that cause the infection to others in the home.

A study published in the August 10 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine found that 12% of patients requiring home health care were released from the hospital with MRSA. The study also found that those infected patients could pass the MRSA organisms on to contacts at home, including friends, family and healthcare providers.

The study followed 1,501 adult patients in French hospitals who were checked for MRSA before being released for home health care between February 2003 and March 2004. The study found that 191 of those patients, 12.7%, had hospital MRSA infections before being discharged. Of those who were followed up, about 50% got rid of the infection within a year of going home, and about 20% passed the MRSA organims to other contacts they had at home. However, none of those who came in contact with an infected patient at home developed a MRSA infection.

MRSA is a type of staph infection that does not respond to most antibiotics. The bacteria are carried in the nose or on the skin, and can be very dangerous once they reach the organs or bloodstream. However, many people carry the MRSA bacteria without becoming infected, primarily because the bacteria do not get the opportunity to enter the bloodstream.

If a MRSA infection occurs, it can spread quickly and could impact vital organs like the heart or lungs if it is not diagnosed early and treated promptly. In serious cases, individuals who survive the infection can be left with permanent problems, such as loss of limbs, hearing or loss of use of vital organs.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are more than 2 million U.S. hospital infections acquired each year, resulting in about 90,000 deaths annually. Another 1.5 million long term care and nursing home infections occur every year.

The study found that elderly patients were the ones most likely to take home the MRSA bacteria from the hospital. It also found that elderly contacts at home were the most likely to contract MRSA from those who already had it. Home health care providers were also at high risk of contracting colonies of the bacteria.

Researchers indicate that, while there seems to be a low risk of actual MRSA infections for those in contact with people under home health care, hospitals should be more diligent in ensuring that patients do not contract hospital MRSA infections. They also recommended that those who come in regular contact with someone under home health care should use infection control measures, like hand washing and using gloves, similar to those employed in hospitals.