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.
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Learn MoreMRSA 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.
4 Comments
MartaNovember 19, 2015 at 5:08 pm
My elderly Mother was sent home with MRSA, another hospital did not diagnose it. Her primary care Doctor sent her to her rheumatologist. I hired a private ambulance company to have her taken to a respected hospital and she was diagnosed within 30 minutes. She needed surgery to remove the infection, it was so bad. She has never recovered from the hospital dementia after surgery.
TerriAugust 2, 2014 at 11:32 am
My wife died from HA-MRSA May 16, 2014. This was contacted in hospital. 2010, she was admitted to a hospital on 6/28/10 for a blood clot. She did not have HA-MRSA for the first 2 1/2 - 3 months (4 months total) of her hospital stay due to medically induced complications stemming from the clot. Last April, she was admitted to another hospital for sepsis - the HA-MRSA entered her blood stream. Her [Show More]My wife died from HA-MRSA May 16, 2014. This was contacted in hospital. 2010, she was admitted to a hospital on 6/28/10 for a blood clot. She did not have HA-MRSA for the first 2 1/2 - 3 months (4 months total) of her hospital stay due to medically induced complications stemming from the clot. Last April, she was admitted to another hospital for sepsis - the HA-MRSA entered her blood stream. Her lower aorta was replaced, due to a bulging infection that was about to burst. She survived this most dangerous procedure. The HA-MRSA started to take over all her organs until she eventually passed away 7 days later. Her death certificate reads: Immediate cause: cardio pulmonary attack Due to or as a consequence of : sepsis shock Due to or as a consequence of: MRSA bacteria
LeonaAugust 28, 2013 at 12:26 am
My father died from this terrible infection. I was given the runarrounds due to this matter. I have yet not found a lawyer to help me with this issue. I am determined to continue to research further of how my father was given this infection from this VA hospital, Houston TX. My father felt so highly of this hospital. I find that this infection MRSA has killed so many people and that some hos[Show More]My father died from this terrible infection. I was given the runarrounds due to this matter. I have yet not found a lawyer to help me with this issue. I am determined to continue to research further of how my father was given this infection from this VA hospital, Houston TX. My father felt so highly of this hospital. I find that this infection MRSA has killed so many people and that some hospitals are not being responsible for. My family was so devastated because the hospital was very evasive about this matter. One thing lead to another after the finding of this horrible infection. He had a hip replacement when all hell broke lose, besides his leg was cut off. Leona
SharonAugust 12, 2009 at 5:43 pm
It's not just the hospitals that are liable should a patient contract hospital MRSA infections. It's the doctors! Doctors do not wash their hands. The chances are only 50-50 that the doctor treating you in the hospit;al, even when performing your surgey, has washed his hands. The odds are the same as flipping a coin. According to the National Quality Forum, hand-washing compliance rates at hospit[Show More]It's not just the hospitals that are liable should a patient contract hospital MRSA infections. It's the doctors! Doctors do not wash their hands. The chances are only 50-50 that the doctor treating you in the hospit;al, even when performing your surgey, has washed his hands. The odds are the same as flipping a coin. According to the National Quality Forum, hand-washing compliance rates at hospitals are generally LESS THAN 50 percent. When MRSA kills more people every year in the U.S. than the AIDS virus and is usually contracted in hospitals it's a serious problem. Hospitals are so desperate to get doctors to wash their hands that they are threatening loss of hospital priviledges and termination and are alread using staff "spies" and covert camera surveillance of doctors. (Note: The hospital might have video of a doctor "not" washing his hands). In Houston, some of the hospitals have printed placards that arrive with each patient's first meal that asks the patients to please ask their doctor if he has washed his hands before examining them! Ethic Soup blog has an excellent article on this problem at: http://www.ethicsoup.com/2009/01/dont-kill-me-doctor-wash-your-hands.html